Ontario to spend $5m on Abitibi project

The Ontario government will contribute almost $5 million to a geoscience project designed to stimulate mineral exploration in the Timmins and Kirkland Lake areas.

The “Discover Abitibi” project is a collaboration among mining companies, the local communities, the Geological Survey of Canada, and the Ontario Geological Survey. Together, they collect data under the management of the Timmins Economic Development Corporation.

So far, Discover Abitibi has collected data using geological information systems and airborne geophysics.

“These projects are expected to generate significant economic activity in the immediate and long terms,” says David McGirr, chairman of the Timmins Economic Development Corp.

Since October 1996, the provincial government, through the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation, has contributed more than $460 million to some 1,280 projects. These projects have created 16,410 jobs in northern Ontario.