The Honourable John Snobelen
Minister of Natural Resources
Queens Park
Toronto, Ontario
September 25, 2000
Dear Minister Snobelen:
I am writing this letter on behalf of the Porcupine Prospectors and Developers Association and mining stakeholders in the Timmins area to register our serious concerns regarding a number of Candidate Sites chosen as part Ontario's Living Legacy Approved Land Use Strategy.
A brief examination of Map Number OLL0699 (July, 1999) reveals a number of new Candidate sites situated directly overlying areas with known extremely high mineral potential. Sites such as C1558, C1565, P1577, C1584, C1597, C1604, C1603, C1602, C1600, P1715, C1596, C1594, P1639, C1579, and C1564 - to name but a few - overlie rocks which hold very high potential for hosting important deposits of copper, zinc, lead, gold, silver, nickel, platinum, and palladium. Indeed, virtually all of these Candidate Sites also directly overlie areas with pre-existing mining claims. For example, Site # C1602 sits astride Roberston and Sheba Townships, overlying an important occurrence of zinc-copper mineralization in a poorly explored area with excellent potential of hosting significant quantities of zinc-copper. Another example would be Sites # C 1600 and P1715. These sites are located in Yarrow, Powell, and Cairo Townships in the immediate vicinity of the village of Matachewan, an area known for mines and mineral occurrences of gold, silver, barite, copper, and molybdenum. Recent activities in the area have also discovered important occurrences of nickel as well. Yet another example would be Site # C 1594 located in Hutt and Halliday Townships. These areas are known for possessing rocks that are extremely favourable for hosting zinc-copper occurrences similar to the Kidd Creek deposit.
Minister, I could go on at length, but the point is made. Your Ministry's selection of Candidate Sites clearly has not heeded the recommendations of the Consolidated Round Tables, has not heeded the recommendations contained within the detailed Mineral Resource Assessments prepared by the Ministry of Northern Development and Mines, and has paid little attention regarding the interests of the mining and exploration stakeholders. Although the Round Table process did not recommend sufficient amounts of areas desired by your Government, your Minstry could have easily continued to work with the major stakeholder groups to identify other areas which met the selection criteria rather than conducting a behind-the-doors session with a select group of interested parties. This action on the part of the Ministry of Natural Resources has sent a clear signal that mining is no longer a desired activity in this Province. Indeed, the message from your government is clearly in favour of eco-protectionism and resource-based tourism activities (“McJobs” if you like), and the mining investment community is responding to this message.
We call upon you and your Ministry to work with the stakeholder groups to remove at least the sites listed above from the Approved Land Use Strategy and to find alternate sites which are acceptable to all parties.
Yours Truly,
Reno Pressacco
Chair, Lands and Environment Committee
Porcupine Prospectors and Developers Association
cc. Bob Calhoun, PPDA
Gilles Bisson, MPP
Tim Hudak, Minister of Northern Development and Mines
J.C Caron, Mayor, Kapuskasing