Letters (September 07, 1990)

Media Circus

Re: “Don’t Just Sit There,” by Moira Jackson. Northcare, a community coalition of resource companies and municipalities in North Bay, Ont., is trying to promote the message Jackson suggests. But we feel like a voice in the wilderness.

In discussions with journalists, we conclude that our industry leaders are so used to careful control of situations that they hesitate to fling themselves into a media circus. As with every other venture, media relations require study and understanding. Northcare provides guidance to its members on media relations, as well as on how to get one’s point-of-view across with control, outside of front-page sensation and paid advertising. We see some encouraging results, but there is a long way to go.

Judy Skidmore,

Executive Vice-president,

Northcare (Northern Community Advocates for Resource Equity)

Beep Mania

On page nine of the June issue, you have an article called “A Giant Beep for Mankind.” Would it be possible to get the address of the inventor, Edwin Gaucher, so I might obtain more information about this interesting device?

Project Manager Martin Sadd,

Alaskagold Mines,

Vancouver, B.C.

Reference is made to The Northern Miner Magazine news item that appeared in June about the beep mat, a geophysical device for ocating sulphides. As importers/exporters and marketers of such prospecting aids, we would like to get in touch with Gaucher and, in this respect, perhaps you would be kind enough to reply with Gaucher’s mailing address.

The writer finds The Northern Miner Magazine extremely valuable in keeping us informed of developments within the North American mining industry. We have developed leads from both product advertisers and mining companies, which have proven mutually advantageous to us all.

Bert Unwin,

Bert S. Unwin International,

Jennings, La.

P.S. How about providing readers with an update on Bougainville Copper and other mining projects in Papua New Guinea, where, we understand, local conditions have become rather chaotic as a result of civil unrest there.

Please supply me with further information on Gaucher’s beep mat.

Merle Cosby,

St. Catharines, Ont.

Editor’s Note: Mr. Gaucher can be reached at the following address: Instrumentation GDD Inc., 3700, boul., de la Chaudiere, Ste-Foy, Quebec, G1X 4B7. AA to the request for information on Papua New Guinea, we are as yet a mining magazine with a primarily Canadian focus. Therefore, a mine visit to Bougainville will not be on our agenda for some time.