MINER DETAILS — Studies, studies and more studies

Mining companies hoping to bring a new mine on stream in British Columbia must go through three stages of the province’s mine development review process before getting the final go-ahead. If the projects are non-controversial and perceived as environmentally benign, the government will sometimes waive stage two and advance the project to the final stage of permitting and licensing.

If the project is controversial, however, it will usually be moved to the second stage where it may go round and round a seemingly endless treadmill of studies, studies and more studies.

If a project is unfortunate enough to generate international controversy, as is the case with Geddes Resources’ Windy Craggy copper project, it will have a difficult time even getting out of the starting gate.

The company submitted its stage-one report in early 1990. It has since been awaiting the terms of reference for a stage-two assessment study, and comments from its first-stage review.

The review process is now suspended entirely, pending a report on the Tatshenshini-Alsek region being prepared by Stephen Owen’s commission on resources and the environment. By this fall, Owen plans to put forward a proposed process to address land-use and water-use issues in the area. As part of the process, Owen will travel to Washington, D.C., where a congressional committee is reviewing the potential cross-border implications of the mining proposal on neighboring Alaska.

But the U.S. is in an election year, and unless George Bush suddenly is able to get a grip on the “vision thing,” Democratic candidate Bill Clinton looks like a shoo-in as the country’s next president. His running mate, Senator Al Gore, recently sponsored a joint resolution in the House of Representatives and the Senate to join with Ottawa to obtain World Heritage Site status and “protection for the entire Alsek and Tatshenshini river watershed.” The British Columbia government says it will need a full public evaluation of the facts and options before it can decide on a land-use designation for the region. The process to resolve this basic uncertainty should not be prolonged or prove costly to taxpayers.