NW Quebec prospectors fight to save ground-staking

A plan put forward by Quebec’s ministry of natural resources to revise the provincial mining act is drawing criticism from two of the province’s prospectors associations.

Amendments being proposed under Bill 182 include:

* replacing ground-staking with map-designation based on a pre-defined division of the territory using the National Topographic System; * implementing a single exploration title encompassing all substances, replacing five such titles;

* adopting provisions designed to avoid accidental forfeiture of titles upon renewal, with the intention of reducing lawsuits; and

* employing transitional measures to allow the new mining code to be implemented without overriding the rights of current title holders. Staked claims will be converted into new map-designated claims on a voluntary basis, at the claim-holder’s request.

The ministry began a consultation process in the autumn of 1996, with draft legislation being presented to the provincial assembly in late 1997.

One vocal opponent to the bill is Daniel St.-Pierre, president of the largest of the regional prospectors associations in Quebec, the Northwestern Quebec Prospectors Association (NWQPA).

“We know half of the prospectors will leave the business because, in the winter, they need to stake claims to make a living,” says St.-Pierre. “I don’t know why they want to abolish us. If it’s only for the cost of ground-staking, which is only 1.5% of all exploration costs, I don’t believe it.

“We’ve proposed two or three systems to make the claim-staking system more secure, but the government and the Quebec Prospectors Association (QPA) never listen to us. They just want map-staking because the big companies want it.”

He notes that ground-staking has benefited the economies of northern communities: “In a ground-staking rush, it is good for the helicopter companies, the restaurants, the motels, for everybody in these little towns.

With the map-designation system, people will not buy any Ski-Doos, they will not be buying groceries locally to go into the bush or be renting helicopters.”

St.-Pierre charges that the QPA has not been representing the prospectors of the Abitibi, especially with respect to the issue of map-staking. All 70 members of the NWQPA have quit the QPA over the past five years.

Through its lawyers, the NWQPA is demanding that the QPA change its name, alleging that the name “L’Association des Prospecteurs du Qubec” was originally registered in 1938 for use by the NWQPA, and that today’s QPA has been using the name without authorization since 1975.

Chantal Patenaude, director general of the QPA, disagrees that the organization has forgotten the ordinary prospector. “We represent the majority of mining exploration people. You can never please everybody — we are doing our best to ensure that what is coming up will be good for the majority of the mining exploration people. Of course, people who used to stake in the bush will lose their job. Everyone knows that.” Patenaude points out that in Quebec, only 36 people stake more than 100 claims annually. She also notes that all the ground-staking that has been done over the past 100 years has to be located accurately in order to be transferred to the map-designation system. “So there’s going to be work there for those people to go and locate the surroundings of the properties.” The QPA is currently working with Quebec’s ministry of natural resources to put together two levels of prospecting courses that will be offered free to people who currently stake more than 50 claims per year. Included will be a course on how to use global-positioning-system equipment.

“I understand the point of view of these ground-stakers,” says Patenaude.

“They’re afraid they’ll lose five-, ten-, fifteen-thousand dollars in income per year. On the other hand, if they can go one step higher and become the guy who looks for good ground, who can do a little bit of research at the ministry, then they’ll become small-time promoters and property dealers. And it would be beneficial to them because they can do this year-round, rather than just waiting for someone to phone and say ‘Okay, I need staking today,’ and then spend another three months at home waiting.

“So the QPA does represent prospectors, and we are making sure that the current prospecting programs remain in place. We made sure the government kept its program that gives prospectors up to $15,000 per year to go prospecting on their own claims. And they don’t have to match dollar for dollar — they don’t have to put anything up. We also have a program where if a prospector finds a new showing 400 metres away from any old one, we give him a $1,000 cash bonus.”

Asked if she thought Bill 182 would be passed in its current form, Patenaude responded, “No, I hope not. There are a lot of changes that we’re asking for, especially to protect the small guy who has to compete against the big guy.”

Public hearings on the bill will begin March 3. Among the groups that have been invited to make presentations to the provincial government commission are the NWQPA, the QPA, the Quebec Mining Association, various regional prospecting associations, and the Association of Geological and Geophysical Professionals of Quebec, as well as provincial notaries and lawyers associations.