The best part about being a mine inspector is the variety, from working with the RCMP on investigations to helicoptering into remote exploration sites, says Doug Flynn, senior in… Read More
For the last 20 years, while “everybody else was largely focused on the Golden Triangle,” prospector Edward Balon was uncovering a rich new epithermal gold district just a few hou… Read More
Many multinationals are looking at B.C. as a place to invest,” says AME chair McLeod Mineral exploration and development in B.C. is starting to show a definite spring in its step, w… Read More
Geologist Andy Randell standing on the rim of Lost Valley at the edge of the Cambria Icefield, near Stewart, B.C. | Andy Randell British Columbia is beautiful. Spectacular mounta… Read More
Mineral exploration and mining in British Columbia faces many challenges today, such as declining ore grades, difficulty in obtaining operating licenses and environmental an… Read More
We are approaching the time of year when explorers from all over our province (and all over the planet!) gather in the global mineral exploration and mining hub of Vancouver. Round… Read More
Few people outside the mining and mineral exploration industry know the processes, the people, the history or the complexity of finding and extracting the minerals and metals th… Read More
Corinne McKay, the newly appointed director of the AME, brings with her a wealth of experience managing finances for the Nisga’a Nation in the Nass River Valley of northwestern Br… Read More
Granite Creek circa 1886. The cabin of Frenchy, a Chinese immigrant and well-known placer miner, is in the foreground. Placer gold was supposedly first discovered in the Similka… Read More
Landing on a flagship roperty: Snip and its airstrip.Drilling in the historic Cariboo Gold Belt.Environmental work for Barkerville Gold Mines. Recent exploration projects in… Read More
As I write, the 2017 summer field season is in full swing, and the rebound from a five-year drought in financing for mineral exploration is building momentum. Investment in 2017 ha… Read More
AME honoured its 2016 award recipients on January 25 during the AME Roundup 2017 conference. This marks the 40th year that AME has celebrated the important achievements made by le… Read More
In a province that is as large and diverse as British Columbia, it’s natural that opinions on most topics – including mineral exploration and development – will be diverse too. Wha… Read More
If finding a gold deposit is like finding a needle in a haystack, then starting the search at an old gold mine is like removing the hay from the equation. “A lot of mines have been found… Read More
El Alacran gold mine is nestled in the jungle-covered hills of northern Colombia. The name means “the scorpion” in Spanish, and is a cluster of over 140 informal mining sites, inte… Read More
Site view of Pretium Resources Inc.’s Brucejack project The British Columbia mineral exploration and development industry appears to be emerging from its long, silent h… Read More
Small-scale mining in coastal British Columbia goes back beyond written records: native copper, for example, was used before European settlement. Industrial-scale mining, h… Read More
The exceptional mineral endowment of northwestern British Columbia has lured prospectors and exploration companies for more than a century, despite rugged topography and the… Read More
The unique geology of southeastern British Columbia has long been of interest for the mineral resources it contains. Not only does the region host good mineral potential, but the… Read More
A geological map of British Columbia looks a little like the end of a rainbow: bold swaths of colour run up and down the province, representing thick belts of rock pressed together b… Read More
Drill rig on the move, Copper Island, summer 1929. As early as 1898, pioneer prospectors trudged across the Bulkley Valley in west-central British Columbia. This group included… Read More
AME BC honoured its 2015 award recipients on January 27 at Mineral Exploration Roundup 2016. Every January, the Association celebrates the important achievements made by leade… Read More
Top-10 lists are frequently contentious to compile, and this holds true for this assessment of the 10 greatest mineral deposit discoveries in British Columbia in the 35 years of M… Read More
In 1981, Vancouver was home to a vibrant minerals industry and venture capital market, and the outlook for geologists graduating from the University of British Columbia that yea… Read More
Peter Bradshaw was inducted into the Canadian Mining Hall of Fame in 2015 as an accomplished mine-finder and developer, company builder, advocate of collaborative research and… Read More
Some mines, such as the Bingham Canyon Mine (also known as the Kennecott Copper Mine), are located conveniently close to all the infrastructure that is needed to make them economi… Read More
Gold at the end of the rainbow: Seabridge Gold Inc.’s KSM project. Northwestern British Columbia is a large, diverse area with a large, diverse mineralogy. Sometimes referred to… Read More
Smiley Caban conducting aquatic sampling with TNDC partner Rescan Tahltan Environmental Consultants, 2007. The 1980s were heady times for Vancouver-based junior companies,… Read More
The results of the recent Kemess Underground feasibility study outline the development of an underground block cave operation with average annual production of 105,000 ounces… Read More
Michael Peeman of the Ulkatcho First Nation working at the Blackwater project core shack. Realizing they can benefit from partnering with First Nations, many mineral explorati… Read More
Every January, AME BC celebrates the important achievements made by leaders in the mineral exploration industry here in B.C., throughout Canada and around the world. The Associ… Read More
Members of AME BC with experience in the industry understand and appreciate that today’s challenges are often tomorrow’s opportunities. Indeed, a feeling of optimism at AME BC’… Read More
Robert John Cathro, an AME BC life member and past president of AME BC, was born in Dauphin, Manitoba, on April 30, 1935, and died at home in Chemainus, British Columbia, on August 26… Read More
Who were the early prospectors and miners in the Bulkley Valley and what was it like? Although many prospectors were mining and gold rush followers who had worked their various way… Read More
What a view: Atholl Sutherland Brown overlooking the Seven Sisters and Skeena River from near the Victoria mine, Hazelton. When the Collins Overland Telegraph crews came throug… Read More
Vancouver-based IDM Mining Ltd. recently announced surface sampling results from its Red Mountain underground gold project in northwestern British Columbia. IDM began surfa… Read More
Before Uranium City, the Eldorado town site served the Beaverlodge staking rush and the early years of the uranium boom. Uranium became a strategically important commodity in 19… Read More
Summer at Kivalliq Energy Corporation’s Nutaaq camp at the Angilak property. Nunavut and Saskatchewan have more in common than exceptional and diverse mineral potential. They… Read More
Expanding horizons: Mineral exploration spending in Saskatchewan is well above historic levels – over $2.7 billion has been spent on exploration and evaluation programs in the… Read More
AME BC honoured its 2013 award recipients on January 29 at Mineral Exploration Roundup 2014. Every January, the Association celebrates the important achievements made by leade… Read More
Craig Finnigan, chief geologist of Kaminak Gold Corporation for eight years, passed away suddenly shortly after receiving the H.H. “Spud” Huestis Award with his colleagues. AM… Read More
As a result of having virtually no access to venture capital, the strength, resiliency and experience of the industry were put to the test in 2013. And not surprisingly, we rose to t… Read More
Skiing at Silver Star – a resort that comes by its name honestly. My first job as a geologist straight out of university in 1993 was near my hometown of Stewart, B.C., at an adva… Read More
Gold panning on Rock Creek, home to a gold rush in 1860 The first gold discovery in British Columbia was made in 1854 along the Pend d’Oreille River and its tributaries in an area sout… Read More
Operating Mines and Selected Major Exploration projects in British Columbia 2013 Exploration activity in British Columbia was predictably off the peak seen in 2012, when junio… Read More
