MRNF - Summary and highlights of the Québec Mining Industry for 2004

Dépôt légal - Bibliothèque nationale du Québec, 2004
ISSN en ligne : 1499-8467

By signing the Peace of the Braves Agreement with the Cree on February 7, 2002 and the Sanarrutik Agreement with the Inuit on April 9, 2002, Québec has pledged to encourage and facilitate the signing of agreements between mining promoters and the Aboriginal peoples.
Three native mineral exploration funds, to which the Department granted $650,000 in financial support during the 2004-2005 fiscal year, are currently active:
- the Nunavik Mineral Exploration Fund, active since 1998;
- the Nitassinan Innu Mining Fund, active since March 2002;
- the Cree Mineral Exploration Board, created in March 2002.
In 2004, 75 Crees (25% of the labor force) worked at the Troilus gold mine north of Chibougamau and 65 Inuit (14% of the labor force) worked at the Raglan nickel mine in Nunavik. Moreover, more than 50 Cree and Inuit prospectors worked for mining companies exploring in the James Bay and Nunavik areas.

The Department contributes to the creation of protected areas, at the same time as it looks after the interests of the mining sector.
The area of land set aside in protected areas continued to increase: from 2.9% of the landmass in 1999 (48,000 km²) to 5.4% in 2004 (90,016 km²). Québec’s strategy concerning protected areas is to reach 8% of its surface area, that is, 133,000 km².
Work continued to identify new territories of interest in the natural provinces of the Abitibi and James Bay Lowlands (F), the central Laurentians (D), and the Mistassini Highlands (G).
In 2004, a strategy aimed at protecting exceptional geological sites was developed, and the population can now propose potential sites to the Department.
In 2005, work will be carried out in the natural province of the southern Laurentians (C).
In 2005-2006, the Department will propose legal means to protect designated exceptional geological sites.

The Act to amend the Mining Act was sanctioned on December 18, 2003. In addition to modifications to the financial guarantee, the following measures are among the main changes:
- A claim holder may renew claims if they are located within a 4.5 km radius circle of a claim for which there is an excess of assessment work credits.
- Map designation within a staking park is possible under certain conditions.
- Municipalities and intermunicipal boards may obtain an exclusive lease for exploitation of surface mineral substances for the construction and maintenance of their road networks.
- In the public interest, the granting of mining titles on certain territories can be temporarily suspended for a maximum period of six months during the preparation of a ministerial order concerning, for example, the creation of a protected area.

On July 20, the Steering Committee of the Strategy, composed of representatives of the provinces and territories and co-chaired by Québec and the Northwest Territories, presented its report to the provincial and territorial mines ministers during the Mines Ministers’ Conference in Iqaluit. The ministers approved the National Diamond Strategy action plan. The fifteen recommendations set forth in the action plan are framed around three aspects that underlie the development of the diamond market in Canada: the supply of Canadian-sourced diamonds, the demand for diamonds processed in Canada, and the regulation of the markets. These three aspects must be taken into account if the diamond industry is to be developed in a sustainable way.
The provincial and territorial Premiers received the action plan and approved the National Diamond Strategy at the Council of the Federation held at Niagara-on-the-lake, from July 28 to 30, 2004. The Premiers mandated the provincial and territorial mines ministers to continue to plan the implementation of the Strategy.
Ministers Brendan Bell of the Northwest Territories and Sam Hamad of Québec made public the action plan of the Strategy on September 24, 2004. The industry gave it a very favorable welcome.

Québec’s diamond strategy was announced on June 14, 2004 in Matane in the presence of the Premier of Québec. This strategy comprises 14 measures aimed at enhancing exploration, development, cutting, polishing, and jewelry making.

In order to facilitate the discovery and development of new copper deposits in northwestern Québec and to ensure the availability of feed to the Horne smelter, the government has until now encouraged mining exploration by renewing and improving existing fiscal measures and by acquiring geoscientific knowledge in priority sectors, including those of Rouyn-Noranda and Matagami.
The Department began the production of mineral potential maps for base metals for the Abitibi region and the southern part of the James Bay territory. About 120 regional maps will be launched at the next Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada Convention (PDAC). These maps will show many new exploration targets for copper in Québec.
As an additional measure contributing to the same objectives, a Copper Plan committee was struck in 2004. It is composed of representatives of the Québec Mineral Exploration Association, the Québec Mining Association, Coalition Noranda, SOQUEM, the Ministère des Ressources naturelles et de la Faune, and the Ministère du Développement économique, de l’Innovation et de l’Exportation.

The Department made particular efforts to encourage the development of the granite sector:
- An advisory board composed mostly of industry representatives was set up.
- A granite section was developed on the Internet website of the Department.
- Inventory surveys were carried out and promotional documents were published.

The Department invested more than $3.5 million in inventory surveys and geoscientific studies. Work was concentrated in the most accessible areas and was carried out in response to the need for increased resources, especially copper, zinc, and gold. The Department also sought to highlight the mineral potential of new, poorly known sectors in the extension of the Chibougamau mining camp, on the North Shore, and in Gaspésie. During the summer of 2004, seven geological surveys and about fifteen thematic studies were carried out in various areas. The first results were revealed in November during Québec Exploration 2004.

The second edition of Québec Exploration was held from November 22 to 25. Organized jointly by the Ministère des Ressources naturelles, de la Faune et des Parcs and the Québec Mineral Exploration Association, the event attracted nearly 1,200 participants from the mining exploration sector, geoscientific research organizations, and the business world.
A colloquium on Québec’s geological heritage was held immediately following Québec Exploration 2004.