PRODUCER PRICES; FUTURES PRICES; PDAC cites Sandy Lake to

A new agreement between the federal and Ontario governments and the Nishnawbe-Aski First Nation has caused a lot of problems for Sandy Lake Resources.

The private company has been prospecting on mining claims by a lake of that name in northwestern Ontario for several years without hindrance and in co-operation with the local Sandy Lake Indian Band, says the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC).

Since the new agreement, the rules have changed. The dilemma created for the company has arisen not so much from the regulations per se, but from the near-paralysis of the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources. In essence, the application for working on the claims must be approved by the chief of the Sandy Lake Reserve and up to 30 days are allowed for the submission of queries and concerns.

In this particular case, the company is reported to have responded to the questions raised both in writing and at meetings with the band. Nevertheless, the ministry did not see fit to issue a work permit until eight months had elapsed, the PDAC says.

The company has quoted a loss of $180,000 resulting from the delay as well as the loss of the working season for the year.

Both the company and the PDAC are reported to have repeatedly asked Bud Wildman, natural resources minister, and his officials to act in a timely manner.

The company points out that if its shareholders feel they are going to be balked by an insensitive bureaucracy, they will make their next investment in a more congenial jurisdiction.