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B.C. to reduce red tape

Mining explorers may save time and money but environmental groups are crying foul
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David Moore, president and CEO of Serengeti Resources: “[red tape] has caused us and others to miss exploration windows this summer and was leading to a kind of a gridlock, had it continued”

BC’s junior exploration companies are applauding a mining legislation change that will eliminate permitting requirements for some low-impact exploration work – and saying the change is long overdue.

“We’ve been waiting upwards of six months this year to receive approved notices of work for low-impact exploration activities – and that’s just not workable,” said David Moore, president and CEO of Serengeti Resources Inc. (TSX-V:SIR). “It’s caused us and others to miss exploration windows this summer and was leading to a kind of a gridlock, had it continued.”

Just-passed amendments to the Mines Act allow the province to introduce regulations that will exempt “some lower-risk activities” from the permitting process. The province intends to develop the regulations over the next few months in consultation with First Nations, industry and the public.

According to the Ministry of Energy and Mines, activities to be considered for exemption from permitting could include:

•mineral exploration involving a drill program of a limited size; not located within the riparian setback distances of any stream, wetland or lake; and where road building is not required;

•mineral exploration that involves charging the ground with an electrical current and measuring the response to understand what minerals are in the ground;

•mineral exploration involving small-scale clearing to expose the underlying rocks and sample the mineralized zone under the sand, gravel and dirt;

•small volume aggregate extraction; and

•new drill programs for mineral exploration on an operating mine site.

Moore voiced support for the legislative change, which begins to deliver on Premier Christy Clark’s commitment, in her B.C. Jobs Plan released in September, to reduce a mining permit backlog by 80% by August 31, 2012.

“It’s definitely a step in the right direction,” said Moore. “Refocusing government’s, industry’s and First Nations’ resources on reviewing significant projects and significant activity that comes with more disturbance – that’s appropriate.”

Bob Quartermain, president and CEO of Pretium Resources Inc. (TSX: PVG), also voiced support for the province’s move. He said that anything that speeds up the early exploration process “can benefit both the province and many of the First Nations who also are focusing activities on assisting the exploration and mining industry.”

The Association of Mineral Exploration BC agrees.

“Time and money [will] be saved,” said Gavin Dirom, the association’s president and CEO.

Dirom added that industry won’t be the only group to benefit from the reduction in red tape.

“We will all benefit with the likely increase in investment that will be accruing to B.C. because it will be seen to be a place that there’s a reasonable permitting timeline and it’s clear as to what’s expected.”

But even as the mining industry lauds the province’s move, environmental groups are crying foul.

“To further weaken B.C.’s environmental assessment regime by allowing bureaucrats to simply exempt certain activities from permitting and environmental assessment is going in the wrong direction,” said George Heyman, executive director of the Sierra Club of BC.

Heyman added he’s concerned that the legislative changes don’t spell out which low-risk activities will be exempted from permitting.

“[The amendments] give the discretion to a bureaucrat in the ministry to exempt certain forms of exploration or drilling or other mining activities from the permitting process,” he said. “That does not give [the Sierra Club] or British Columbians the kind of certainty we need.” •