Cutbacks today may cause future grief

From the standpoint of mineral industry investment, Quebec is hopping. Mineral exploration and development spending is reaching record levels, due partly to increasing world demand for metals.

Companies are drawn particularly to Quebec not just because of the right geology, but also because of the support the Quebec government offers explorers, particularly fiscal incentives.

However, industry watchers cite one government issue that will cause grief down the road if left unchecked: the ministrys budget cuts have caused Gologie Qubec to slash its fieldwork to almost none. Admittedly this problem is not unique to Quebec: most provincial and federal surveys are doing far less basic fieldwork and data-gathering across the country, than they used to.

Dan Tolgyesi, president of the Quebec City-based Quebec Mining Association, made the point nicely in the associations 2004-2005 annual report published in June 2005: the Quebec government must use all the instruments and means at its disposal to support the mining industry. For example, Gologie Qubec and SOQUEM must both receive the funding they need to maintain their work at an adequate level, and apply all their expertise to the task of helping review mineral reserves.

In a late August interview, Jean-Pierre Thomassin, executive director of the Rouyn-Noranda-based Quebec Mineral Exploration Association, was more blunt. For the first time in the last 50 years, we will not have any field work this summer from the ministry, except for small, one- or two-week projects.

They said as soon as the financial situation of the province is back to normal they will start again, but Im not sure. I think the government is profiting from the fact that [spending is so high] in the private sector. They just think that business is spending $225 million [estimated 2005 spending on mineral exploration and development in Quebec], so what is $5 or $10 million less? But these are long-term impacts. If you dont do geoscience right now, you will discover fewer mines in the next 10 years. We are discovering mines now in Quebec because there has been a lot of geoscience work done in the last 10 years. Politicians dont think long-term any more; they just want to be re-relected.

You can find out more about the many issues being addressed by these two very active organizations by visiting their websites. The Quebec Mining Association can be found at www.amq-inc.com, while the Quebec Mineral Exploration Association is at www.aemq.org. Both organizations offer at least some of their materials in English, as well as French.