Do away with mining gaslighting

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 23/03/2024 (911 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Cherry-picking environmental issues and denigrating Manitoba’s environment framework may provide good fodder at the door for environmental fundraising campaigns, but in terms of public policy, it is nothing more than gaslighting. The lobbyist for the Wilderness Committee, quoted in the Free Press article ”Concerns raised over mining exploration in caribou habitat,” (March 13) puts science and professionalism on the back burner.

Manitoba has one of the most rigorous and thorough processes for protecting our environment. So when lobbyists attack mineral exploration using misleading statements, they also attack the fabric of science and professionalism.

Mineral exploration permits in parks, like exploration work planned for Grass River Provincial Park, are only issued after professional biologists at the wildlife branch evaluate the potential effects on wildlife and ensure the project is compatible with the goals of the park.

In this case, the permit requires the diamond drill rig — a unit the size of an ice fishing shack — to be slung by helicopter to the site.

If there are any caribou in the area, the process is immediately cancelled, according to directives embedded in the Wildlife Act and in the Canadian Aviation Regulations.

Mineral exploration is not mining. Calling exploration projects “mining” is deliberately misleading. Early-stage exploration projects generally consist of remote sensing or by walking the ground. Access to mineral dispositions is usually by foot, boat, truck or more commonly now, by helicopter.

If we look at real data, tracking from March 2018 shows that the Reed caribou local population has remained stable and was possibly increasing over the nine-year modelling period, averaging about 330 individuals.

Many mining companies actively work to enhance wildlife management within the regions where they operate. An excellent example is Hudbay Minerals’ work with caribou in the Grass River area, as published in their annual sustainability reports.

The paid lobbyist of the Wilderness Committee recently said that a Manitoba exploration company would “bulldoze caribou.”

No one is bulldozing caribou. It is a ridiculous statement. And it does nothing to improve the environmental performance of mineral exploration, mining, or any other development being proposed for our province. In fact, there is good evidence to suggest that these types of projects have virtually no negative impacts on caribou populations.

Manitoba needs mineral exploration projects. Manitoba needs mining. Billions of dollars are left on the table annually because we have not properly developed our mineral endowment. Compared with jurisdictions with similar mineral endowments, Manitoba is losing out on between $4 billion and $6 billion in GDP annually.

In other words, a healthy mineral industry would put an additional income of $5,000 for every man, woman and child in the province, plus the related taxes at each level of government to pay for health, education, roads, and other services.

And Manitobans, including those working in these industries, care deeply about the environment. That means we have an opportunity, and a responsibility, to show the world how we can develop mineral projects properly.

But first, we must move past the cheap rhetoric and start focusing on real solutions.

MaryAnn Mihychuk is president of the Manitoba Prospectors and Developers Association.