COMMENTARY — Can mining thrive in B.C.?

The mining industry in British Columbia employs almost 10,000 people and supports another 20,000 there and across Canada. Many more depend, to some degree, on mining in the province. Lawyers, accountants, consulting engineers, equipment manufacturers, railroads and others sell goods and services to the mining industry, both here and abroad.

Let’s look at some numbers taken from a report released by Price Waterhouse in 1995:.

* the industry’s sales amounted to $4.1 billion, roughly 15% of British Columbia’s exports;

* the total salaries and benefits paid by the industry there was $673 million; and

* contributions to the government amounted to $524 million.

In May, the Mining Association of British Columbia released a survey that showed broad public support for the industry. The survey showed that: * 87% believe that mining is either very important or fairly important to smaller communities;

* 80% believe the industry as a whole tries to be a “good corporate citizen”; * 68% believe mining is carried out in an environmentally sensitive and responsible manner;

* 78% agree that the provincial government should be doing more to support and promote British Columbia’s mining industry; and

* 65% believe that mining companies should be allowed to explore and mine areas that are being claimed by natives, rather than wait until claim disputes are resolved.

Armed with the foregoing, it would be easy to believe that the mining industry is entirely welcome in British Columbia, yet serious barriers and disincentives to investment exist in the province. These include: lack of access to land for exploration; cumbersome regulations; security of title; complex permitting procedures; and high taxes.

Perhaps the most serious of these are disincentives to exploration. Base metal reserves, the lifeblood of our industry, are declining, and if British Columbia is going to benefit from mining, reserves have to be increased and barriers eliminated.

I believe we can create the positive environment necessary to sustain a mining industry in the province. British Columbia is endowed with the right geology for mineral deposits, and it hosts the world’s foremost institution dedicated to raising venture capital for mineral exploration. Our mining people are among the best in the world.

To get our industry going again, it is necessary to convince urban British Columbians that mining makes an important contribution to their lives.

Companies need to demonstrate that they will operate in ways that respect society’s environmental and social values, and governments must show themselves to be decisive by opening areas to exploration, and guaranteeing the right to mine. The loss of investor confidence that resulted from the expropriation of the Windy Craggy deposit must be reversed.

People continue to consume public services at levels beyond what they are willing to pay for, and they are leaving their children saddled with debt.

The same people are allowing land to be locked up in parks without knowing what resources the land contains; our children may need those resources to pay for the debts we are ringing up today. To my mind, incurring such debt, while, at the same time, eliminating the means to repay it is unfair and immoral.

The situation can be ameliorated, to some degree, by a strong mining industry that provides exportable mineral commodities and pays wages and royalties.

— The preceding is from a speech given by the author, the vice-president of Cominco, at a conference hosted by The Fraser Institute.