LETTER TO THE EDITOR — Coverage of Quebec projects decried as lacking

Your newspaper continues to have poor coverage of exploration and mining activities in Quebec.

I have subscribed to The Northern Miner since the early 1980s, and I was not astonished to read the comments made by Terrance Coyle to that effect (T.N.M., May 13/96).

For those who rely on The Miner to learn about what is happening in exploration in Quebec (and in Canada), it is disappointing to realize that developments in Guyana, Ghana or Guinea account for most of the news.

I don’t know if this type of coverage helps sell your newspaper abroad, but if The Miner neglects to report adequately on such interesting topics as those now happening north of Sept-Iles, in the La Grande area, or in Abitibi, I think you are falling short of your mission as “North America’s Mining Newspaper.” You are in danger of becoming “North America’s Mining Companies’ Newspaper.”

People who need to be informed on such projects will have to obtain information from other sources.

Jean-Pierre Thomassin

Geologist, St-Jean Chrysostome, Que.

Editor’s note: Our mandate is to cover the activities of Canadian and American mining companies, at home and abroad, as well as certain foreign companies with listings on North American exchanges. We feel that we cannot adequately cover Barrick Gold or Placer Dome, to cite two examples, if we confine our news reports to their projects in North America. We have provided reports on the discoveries at Sept-Iles, La Grande, Berthiaume and Barry Twp.

and shall continue to follow events in those regions.

Your comments are appreciated, however, and we are mindful that our primary commitment is to cover mineral projects in our own backyard.