Author Archives: Webmin
CMA holds Annual Picnic at Sunny Cottonwood
CMA holds Annual Picnic at Sunny Cottonwood
by Arthur Topham
CMA Secretary
August 28, 2011
The weather couldn’t have been better for holding a picnic. Clear sunny skies and a shady porch to hang out in to discuss all the latest stories and adventures that the Cariboo Mining Association members have been experiencing this season made the afternoon affair a golden event indeed.
The turn out was great given that now is the height of mining season and the window for running gravels through the wash plants is wide open and people are “givin’ it” from morning to night in their efforts to run as much pay dirt as humanly possible.
It was just as well that around forty folks showed up because the pot luck dinner was abundant and the food superb and it would have been a pity to see it go uneaten.
CMA T-shirts, hats and Mining signs were available along with membership sign ups and of course everyone was keen to get their free red tickets for the Gold Nugget draw.
A “CMA Claim” draw was also held in order to raise a bit of gold dust for the coffers and members were diggin’ deep to come up with their loonies.
Miner talk was going on both inside and outside the hall throughout the event.
Brenda Dunbar, CMA Treasurer, was most pleased with the turn out. Yahooo!!!
Don’t you dare! says CMA member John Bot who was caught sniping goodies in the kitchen before dinner by the intrepid reporter of the event.
All in all it was a nice relaxing event as picnics ought to be and a wonderful time to hear from fellow members and find out how they were doing in their quest for the yellow metal.
A special thanks to the CMA ladies for the fine Cariboo cuisine and to the Cottonwood Community Association for renting out the hall once again and providing an evening of great country music and dancing.
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The Lore & the Lure: the Grouse Creek War and the Search for the Lost Heron Channel
The Lore & the Lure: the Grouse Creek War and the Search for the Lost Heron Channel
By Arthur Topham
Secretary
Cariboo Mining Association
Special to the Cariboo Mining Association
August 18, 2011
“I walked the streets of Barkerville
And paused along the way,
I marvelled at the ancient church
Left from that bygone day.
The rustic streets still echo strong
As in the days of old,
Where miners by the thousands came
In search of yellow gold.”
~ Betty McCrimmon, Cariboo Poet
from In Search of Yellow Gold
Some have rightly said that the Motherlode of the Cariboo’s early mining history, like the source of the gold itself, has still to be discovered; that the land of lore and legend, with its canyons and creeks and vast, unexplored valleys and crags still remains brim full with interesting and amazing tales and characters and mysteries that have been overlooked in the past half century or more.
One of those forgotten, yet actual, stories from the historic gold fields of the Cariboo region, goes back to the nascent beginnings of the famed 1860s gold rush when the area was first explored by the early gold seekers. While most history buffs will likely recall the famed Chilcotin War between the indigenous people and the colonial government that took place during the same period, if asked whether or not they also recall the Grouse Creek War or ever heard of Grouse Creek City most would undoubtedly shake their heads in a left right manner and say “no”.
Given the fact that the year 2011 marks the 150th Anniversary of the discovery of one of the Cariboo’s richest gold creeks, Grouse Creek, it’s only fitting that the story of this famed gold-bearing gorge be once again retold. But of even greater compound interest is the fact that Grouse Creek, tho’ having slumbered silently under a mountains of overburden and historic neglect, still remains a source of deep interest to present-day mining companies, very much aware of its past performances and challenges, who are busy as I type, investing even greater sums of money, time and resources in order to manifest that longstanding dream of uncovering still more of the yellow gold that the Cariboo poet Betty McCrimmon wrote about in her verse.
One of the most detailed accounts in existence of the history of Grouse Creek, its war and fortunes, was bequeathed to British Columbia by gold miner turned historian and writer, Mr. Fred Ludditt. Ludditt, who first visited Barkerville in 1930 then relocated there in 1935 from Quesnel to begin prospecting and testing the ground, had been placer mining along the Fraser River for some time but realized that he would only find fine gold along the banks of the ‘river of destiny’. He had heard the many stories about the course nuggets and heavier flake gold to be found in the Barkerville area and eventually the lure of such riches, as with so many others before him, drew him up into the the heart of the Cariboo Proper to try his luck.
Around this time there were between 200 and 300 people living in Barkerville and Ludditt and his brother settled in, fully aware of the local townspeople’s saying which Fred recalls went, “If you live in Barkerville for two weeks you are committed to it for life. This has been proved many times to be true. I, too, had not been there long before falling under the spell of Barkerville, its people and history, and of the glorious surrounding countryside.”
Those of us today having a keen interest in both mining and the history of the Cariboo are deeply indebted to the early miner/scribes and poets like Fred Ludditt and Betty McCrimmon who had the forethought, imagination and stamina to capture on paper the impressions, thoughts, words and historic deeds of earlier times. It is to Fred that I owe a note of thanks for the information on Grouse Creek contained in this article as well as to information found on Pete Wright’s website http://www.williamscreekgoldfields.ca/ .
Old photo of Grouse Creek showing the early workings. Circa 1880s
Shown here in detail is a section of Grouse Creek taken from the old Amos Bowman maps. Circa 1885-6
In the fall of 1860 George Weaver and Doc Keithley first climbed the steep southern slopes of the mountains range running down to Cariboo Lake to discover the great plateau and headwaters of Antler Creek running north. When they returned to Keithley for more supplies the word was soon out and by the spring of 1861 there were a number of claims staked along Antler as well as other parallel streams running northward – one of them being Grouse Creek. The first and most notably finds was the Discovery Claim which yielded a phenomenal amount of gold. Nearby a small settlement grew up along the sidehill next to the creek which the locals proudly called Grouse Creek City. It consisted of cabins and a store but as fate would have it for so many of wooden towns of the day most of it eventually succumbed to fire.
By 1864 the creek was being seriously explored. An American by the name of Robert Heron, while doing exploration work about a half mile downstream from the Discovery Claim, unearthed what he thought was an old pre-glacial channel running parallel with the bed. Heron and his partners then proceeded to take out over $300,000.00 in gold. At the time gold was running around $28.00 an ounce which meant Heron would have found at least 10,715 ounces of the precious metal. At today’s price for gold ($1824.00) this would translate into a profit of over $19,500,000.00. Not bad for a season’s work.
Having decided that the channel was worked out Heron sold it for $4000.00 and left the creek. The new owners formed the Heron Company and while doing further exploration discovered that the previous owner had shorted himself in more ways than one. A foot and a half below the original workings the new company discovered rich gravels that produced from 80 to 100 ounces of gold a week throughout the season.
By 1867 the Heron Company had found even more sections of this now famous channel, in particular one known as the Jimmy Allen tunnel which in a distance of 400 feet and along a narrow span of less than 8 feet yielded $750,000.00 worth of gold! Again, by today’s standards that would equal approximately $49,000,000.00 in gold.
As for the Grouse Creek War it centered on this same area wherein the Heron Channel was found and was, in the words of Fred Ludditt, “the most contentious mining dispute in the Cariboo” in 1867.
Because of the narrowness of the Grouse Creek valley in the area around the Heron claim which caused severe water problems for operations the Heron Company procured a franchise to build a several hundred foot long flume to divert the creek flow which, in turn, would allow the company to mine the actual gravels in the gutter of the creek channel. This at first proved to be an extremely lucrative venture that netted the company between 50 to a hundred ounces of gold each day but it also attracted others whose intentions were anything but honorable. Another outfit called the Canadian Company decided to stake right over the Heron property and then commenced to enforce their suspect actions by literally forcing the Heron Company employees to vacate the premises. When the Gold Commissioner, Henry M. Ball tried to dissuade the Canadian Company by swearing in about 25 constables to evict the interlopers they were met by a force of around 400 armed men who refused to leave the creek.
Eventually Ball had to wire the Governor of the province, Frederick Seymour, after further appeals to the Canadian Company fell on deaf ears. The Governor and his entourage arrived in Richfield on August 7, 1867 and met with the warring factions but in the interval between all the legal wrangling the Canadian Company was hellbent on high grading as much of the gutter gold as they possibly could. Seymour’s attempted resolution fell far short of justice and left a sour taste in mouths of the local residents who felt the Governor had sided more with the miscreants than the Heron Company. Eventually Seymour appointed a special commission to settle the dispute which finally saw the ground returned to Heron Company along with $3,600.00 in gold (likely but a small portion removed).
Governor Seymour and his party, including Judge Matthew Baillee Begbie, Colonial Secretary, Arthur N. Birch and Chief Commissioner of Lands and Works, Joseph W. Trutch, in the Cariboo at the time of the Grouse Creek War, 1868. F. Dally photo
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According to Ludditt the total estimated production of gold from Grouse Creek was around $4 million. Today that would be the equivalent of 140,351 ounces now valued at $256 million! A goodly sum indeed.
Due to such phenomenal profits as these are born legends and as word spread about the fabulously rich channel which became known as the Heron Channel hundreds of new miners travelled to the area in the hopes of finding other sections of the elusive pre-glacial paystreak. But elusive as it appears to be today the modern-day Heron’s are still searching and seeking it out with their 21 Century technologies and equipment, determined to match or even better the gold seekers of old.
This of course is where Rick Mason, Mine Manager for Hard Up Mining Ltd, an Alberta corporation, appears on the Grouse Creek stage.
Likely no better example exists that personifies the old expression ‘man’s reach should exceed his grasp’ than what we are witnessing today in and around the old Heron Channel on historic Grouse Creek. For the past year or more Pete Wright’s Devlins Bench Mining Ltd in conjuction with Hard Up Mining Ltd have been seriously busy stretching the long arms and buckets of their excavators deep into the hundreds of thousands of cubic meters of overburden along Grouse Creek in order to remove and uncover still further, unfathomed portions of the famed and fabulous richness of the pre-glacial Heron Channel.
Photo: Devlin Bench Mining Ltd
Aerial view of the Grouse Creek Mine site in 2010 showing settling pond on the right.
Photo: A. Topham
Rick Mason, co-owner of Hard UP Mining Ltd observing approaching truck loaded with pre-glacial gravels.
In a visit/interview to the mine site along with Chris Winther, President of the Cariboo Mining Association, in late July, 2011 Rick Mason explained to us the plans, workings and gargantuan efforts thus far exerted to literally move mountains of overburden (non-goldbearing material) in order to unveil the pre-glacial gravels along Grouse Creek.
As Rick put it, “We’ve reached what is likely the beginning of the most interesting stage of the exploration work thus far. The data that we’ve been able to put together indicates that there’s still around 2,400 feet of virgin pre-glacial channel left to be mined and given the fact that back in the 1860s the Heron Company took out $63,000,000.00 worth of gold from just 400 feet the prospect of an additional 2,400 feet of the same gravels is rather exciting.”
Photo: A. Topham
Rick Mason heading down toward the spot where the old 1960s workings are being exposed after 150 years.
Photo: A. Topham
Here one sees the remains of the old drifts that were dug into the east bank perpendicular to the creek bed.
Photo: A. Topham
Exposed drifts dot the high bank of overburden. Below are strewn the round timbers that once held the drifts in place. These timbers are as solid today as they were when first installed a century and half ago.
Photo: A. Topham
A close up of the old drift timbers. In the 1960s when a portion of the drifts were refurbished all the timbers used then were squared indicating that they weren’t part of the original workings from the earlier period.
Photo: A. Topham
Again we see the old drift at the furthest point of excavation to date. Water and slum material continually leak forth from the old tunnels.
Photo: A. Topham
Chris Winther, President of the Cariboo Mining Association in discussions with Rick Mason. Behind is the backdrop of sheer clay and rock overburden that at one time in the past presented an insurmountable obstacle to the placer miners of old. Today, thanks to modern machinery, these challenges can be met.
Photo: A. Topham
The steepness of the banks running down to the present day Grouse Creek are visible in this photo.
Photo: A. Topham
Once again we see the high banks of overburden behind Chris and Rick who are near the upper reaches of the workings on Grouse Creek.
Photo: A. Topham
The view here is looking up Grouse Creek toward the famed Heron Channel. Presently Hard Up Mining Ltd has about another 600 feet distance to go before reaching their destined goal.
Photo: A. Topham
Remains of the old track running into one of the many drifts along Grouse Creek. This bit of history is now held in place by the riparian zone that skirts Grouse Creek on either side for a distance of 10 meters.
Photo: A. Topham
Looking downstream to the wash plant and camp headquarters and beyond toward the Bowron Lake Park the magnitude of the project becomes only that much more prominent and apparent.
Photo: A. Topham
The iron (equipment) required to process the volume of pay dirt is costly and expensive to operate but without it the chances of ever recovering the remaining sections of the Heron Channel would be impossible to fulfill.
In their business prospectus for Grouse Creek one can read about the early history of Grouse Creek and how due to the “Grouse Creek War” the ground in and around the famed Heron Channel eventually was turned into a Crown Grant. These Crown Grants issued by Queen Victoria virtually guarantee the property owner, “absolute estate in fee simple, the most powerful real estate clause in existence. Today, Crown Grant 13f is one of only a half dozen remaining Crown Grants issued by the Queen in the 1800’s, and a powerful development tool for mining investment.”
Over the years the properties in the area exchanged hands but the owners were never able to muster the material wealth to tackle the project now underway. In 2009 Devlin’s Bench Mining Ltd purchased the ground and since then, along with Rick Mason and Hard Up Mining Ltd, has been pursuing the lore and the lure of this stunning project. Placer miners everywhere are sure to appreciate the scope of this project and I’m certain that everyone is keeping their fingers crossed that before too long those long arms will eventually uncover yet another dream and turn it into a modern day Cariboo gold fields reality.
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For more information about Grouse Creek, or Devlins Bench Mining Ltd. contact:
Pete Wright
General Manager
office: 250-994-3338
email: wrightcontractingltd@gmail.com
Business inquiries:
Dave Jorgenson
Site Manager
office: 250-994-3338
fax 250-994-3247
email: dave@williamscreekgoldfields.ca
Minesite:
250-994-3337
Links:
http://williamscreekgoldfields.ca/grouse_prospectus.pdf
CMA Letter to Stephen Harper: Scrap Bill C – 68
The Right Honourable Stephen Harper
Prime Minister of Canada
House of Commons
Ottawa, ON
K1A 0A6
August 17, 2011
Dear Mr. Harper,
Re: Scrapping Bill C – 68
At the regular monthly members meeting of the Cariboo Mining Association (CMA) on August 9, 2011 a motion was put forth and unanimously agreed upon that the CMA write to you and to our MP, the Honourable Richard Harris, expressing our strong feeling that Bill C – 68 in all its entirety be scrapped as per your election promise.
As placer and hard rock miners who, of necessity, require the protection of firearms in the course of our exploration and development work and as legal, law-abiding citizens living in a free and democratic country, it is our firm belief that Bill C – 68 not only infringes upon our basic human rights but also criminalizes lawful owners of guns and places our physical safety at risk.
You may not be aware but the mountainous regions of the Cariboo are still mostly vast tracts of wilderness inhabited by black bear, grizzly, cougar and mountain lions and thus pose a serious and imminent threat to the prospector and to miners out working their claims in these remote areas.
We therefore strongly urge you to follow through with your promise to rid Canada of this unnecessary and draconian law.
Yours truly,
Chris Winther
President
Cariboo Mining Association
Cc: MP Richard Harris
NRA: Goals for Immediate Firearms Legislation Reform
http://www.nfa.ca/goals-immediate-firearms-legislation-reform
Goals for Immediate Firearms Legislation Reform
• Completely repeal the former bills C-17 and C-68, known as the Firearms Act—including scrapping the firearms registry, firearms licenses, and destroying the records.
• Eliminate firearm licences and the requirement to take any sort of course to own one’s own property; ordinary firearms owners are not a threat to public safety, violent criminals are.
• Eliminate the automatic check of legal firearms owners when a person is stopped for a traffic offence and replace it with an instant check of criminal/parole/probation records; hunters and target shooters are not a threat to public safety – violent criminals are.
• Replace the licensing and registration provisions with a point of purchase instant criminal record check for firearms. This system would keep legal access to firearms away from criminal elements by making use of a practical list of people who should not have firearms, rather than by trying to make lists of those who may.
• Renounce the agreement to implement the UN marking regulations (Firearm Markings Regulation SOR 2004-275) that was passed in 2004.
• Cancel the introduction of the proposed new gun show regulations.
• Curtail the RCMP’s attempts to unilaterally reclassify firearms.
• End prohibitions on magazine capacity.
• Restore handgun hunting as a legitimate use of a handgun.
• Eliminate punitive safe storage and transport requirements that have caused much grief to firearm owners in the absence of any wrongdoing.
• Remove the category of prohibited from firearms ownership so as to allow free exchange of property. The arbitrary nature of the prohibited class is a great affront to ordinary citizens who happen to own these firearms. It is also a means of stealing their property from them as many prohibited category firearms may not be passed on to heirs, or readily sold at their fair market value. If there is to be a “restricted category”, then it must have broader reasons for use, which should allow combined reasons for ownership and use, and it must include at least hunting and self-defence along with the other categories.
• Encourage support for recreational and competitive shooting sports so as to eliminate the negative stigma created by this regressive legislation.
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CMA’s Annual General Meeting Forges New Beginning
While the numbers were down compared to previous years the Annual General Meeting of the Cariboo Mining Association held downstairs in the Billy Barker Hotel in Quesnel, B.C. on Saturday, June 4th, 2011 brought together a respectable group of placer and hard rock miners determined to resolved past issues that have plagued the association for years and forge a new beginning.
Donny Kirkham, 1st Vice-Pres. Linda Brown, Sec. Chris Winther, Pres. Celine Duhamel, Dir.
The meeting was chaired by CMA President Chris Winther accompanied at the head table by 1st Vice President Donny Kirkham, Secretary Linda Brown and Director Celine Duhamel.
Two guest speakers had been invited to the AGM in order to address a number of concerns that placer miners have been discussing over the past months dealing with changes in government regulations, internal ministry changes and problems that miners deal with in their everyday operations on their claims.
Brian Murland of Fisheries & Oceans Canada
The first speaker was Brian Murland of Fisheries and Oceans Canada stationed in Quesnel. Brian is the Field Supervisor for Conservation and Protection in BC’s Interior North district. He fielded a number of questions from the audience regarding regulations pertaining to on site activities on mining property. From dredging issues to other environment-habitat related matters Brian did his best to answer some of the tough questions that placer miners put forward.
One issue that has always been perennial for placer miners is that of protecting one’s tenures from over-zealous weekend-type wannabe “gold miners” who think they can come on to your claims and just start panning for nuggets. With the recent and popular television series about placer mining in Alaska plus the incredible increase in gold prices many armchair prospectors who don’t have a clue about the rules and regulations surrounding placer miners are expected to be roaming about the hills of the Cariboo in search of fast fortunes. The results of this phenomenon are not good and apart from the naive and misinformed novices there’s also the growing problem of serious theft with experienced gold snipers coming onto claims with mechanical equipment such as dredges and portable shaker plants, etc. when the owners are absent and within days processing valuable amounts of gold-bearing gravels and then leaving an environmental mess that the tenure holder is left to clean up.
Brian advised the members on a number of strategies to deal with the “recreational” panner. Posting signs warning strangers that the area was an active mining site was primary but also in the event of actual trespass he said that photographs of anything suspicious were of vital importance as well as taking notes of events that occurred. Brian then displayed a notice taken from the Ministry of Mines that he told the audience his department would be making available to the public that outlined some basic rules and regulations regarding recreational panning.
It was a lively debate and clarification on a number of issues was forthcoming. Brian has been in the area for over a decade now and so has a good working knowledge of mining and knows many of the placer miners in the region. He also notified members that he now has an additional two staff members to assist him and welcomed everyone to contact him with their concerns.
After Brian’s presentation and the question and answer period the meeting broke for coffee and donuts (thanks to the generosity of Donny Kirkham!) and this period was taken up with discussions amongst miners as many of them had not seen old friends for some time.
The second speaker was Adam Schaan, Office Manager for Cariboo North MLA Bob Simpson. Adam presented the members with a brief overview of how the provincial government is now operating and the types of problems that have arisen since the recent changes in the provincial leadership of the Liberal and NDP parties.
Adam Schaan, Rep. from Cariboo North MLA Bob Simpson’s office
One issue that has been on the minds of miners for some time now has been the proposed fee increases for claim holders. Up until the AGM many miners were gearing up for these increases happening this spring but Adam pointed out that with the limited amount of time due to the government not sitting in the house plus all the changes within the Liberal party itself it looked like these issues would not be dealt with until late in the fall and, in the event of a possible fall election, not until the spring of 2012 at the earliest.
Adam informed the members that Simpson’s office was contacting Randy Hawes, the new Minister of Mines and would be giving him a list of the CMA’s concerns prior to Hawes planned speaking engagement with the CMA later on in June or early July.
CMA Director Celine Duhamel kept the speakers voices well lubricated
Longtime CMA member John Bot pays close attention to the discussions
Following the end of discussions with the two guests the CMA got down to the business of holding elections for the upcoming 2011 – 12 year. CMA President Chris Winther made it clear to the membership that all the internal strife that had been taking place within the association over the past few years had taken its toll and had a negative effect on both dwindling membership and the moral of the organization and that he hoped that the upcoming Board of Directors and Executive would work hard to change this unhealthy pattern for the good of all the membership. There was a general sense that amongst the membership that yes, it was time to put old grievances and grudges aside and focus in on rebuilding the organization so that the upcoming challenges to the industry could be met head on by a strong and vibrant association.
When the dust had settled and the numbers counted the association had a new slate of people put in place who were determined to rebuild the infrastructure of the association, increase the membership and polish to a golden luster the public image of the Cariboo Mining Association’s public image.
The new Executive of the Cariboo Mining Association are:
PRESIDENT: CHRIS WINTHER
1ST VICE PRESIDENT: DON RABBY
2nd VICE PRESIDENT: DENNIS WITTNER
SECRETARY: ARTHUR TOPHAM
ASSISTANT SECRETARY: BILL WILSON
TREASURER: BRENDA DUNBAR
DIRECTORS:
DONNY KIRKHAM
MIKE MORONI
DAVE ERlCKSON
GLEN LESLIE
CELlNE DUHAMEL
EDITH SPENCE
The meeting wrapped up around 4:30 p.m. with plans to postpone the next monthly meeting until July 12th at the Senior’s Center at 7:00 p.m.
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Mineral Tenure Act Regulation – Proposed Amendments Summary Report 2011
Mineral Tenure Act Regulation – Proposed Amendments Summary Report 2011
Table of Contents
1. Executive Summary…………………………………………………………………………………1
2. Background…………………………………………………………………………………………….3
3. Discussion………………………………………………………………………………………………5
4. Next Steps……………………………………………………………………………………………….9
5. Appendices:
i. Consultation Process………………………………………………………………10
Executive Summary
Discussions between the former Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources (the Ministry) and the mineral exploration sector (industry) have revealed that a balanced fee structure, affordable to both the individual prospector and company (Junior, Senior and Major) is necessary to promote further mineral exploration in British Columbia.
Eleven (11) mining associations and organizations submitted feedback to the Ministry via face-to-face meetings with Ministry Titles staff and a 73-day industry comment period in the fall of 2010. Participants were asked to provide input on proposed amendments to the Mineral Tenure Act Regulation, including a new fee structure and revised annual exploration work requirements (claim maintenance). In total, 117 industry representatives participated in information sessions and 25 submitted additional feedback by email during the comment period.
The majority of feedback mirrors consultations held with industry in 2008 and reflects the primary goals of the amendments, which are to:
1. Increase the efficiency of the current mineral subsurface tenure process;
2. Increase the amount of mineral land available for actual exploration and development; and
3. Update the fee and work requirement structure to align with current industry exploration costs.
Key findings from the consultation include:
• Restricting the use of cash in lieu, in addition to proposals to double the fee payment, was strongly supported by industry.
• The majority of industry representatives were in favour of a yearly staged increase for the exploration work requirements (mineral) but felt that the initial two years and years eight and beyond needed to be lower to allow individual prospectors and smaller companies to prosper.
• Industry representatives were in agreement with increasing the claim registration fee for both mineral and placer development but felt that current proposals ($1.75/ha and $6.00/ha respectively) were too high.
• No consensus was reached regarding proposed increases to lease rental fees; however, the general perception from industry was that the jump from $5.00/ha to $20.00/ha for placer development was too high and not comparable to proposed increases for mineral lease rentals (from $10.00/ha to $25.00/ha).
• Approximately 50% of industry participants recommended a revision of the proposed Portable Assessment Credit (PAC) fee increase and utility without specific suggestions.
• Increases to the maximum production limits for placer activities were endorsed by industry, with recommendations to make legacy and claim amounts equivalent.
• Overall support was received for eliminating the work registration fee, increasing the maximum claim size, and increasing administrative fees.
• A number of out-of-scope issues and recommendations were identified by industry, including the need for a more streamlined permitting process; improved services from
the ministry with respect to inspections, permitting and titles acquisition and maintenance; greater support and incentives for current and future mineral explorers; education and training on applications, sampling procedures, and consultation requirements; and further review of Mineral Titles Online.
C.M.A. Sponsored G.P.S. Course by Chris Winther, CMA President
C.M.A. Sponsored G.P.S. Course
We were very fortunate to have Bob Zimmerman teach this course. He obviously enjoys what he does and was extremely patient with everyone. I’m sure the seventeen who participated in this could see the importance of more accurately marking our tenure boundaries etc. It kept our attention all day and was very informative. Hopefully we will be able to offer this again, later in the spring.
For those who took the course and would like to refresh the instruction, we could get together and help each other.
If any of you have suggestions for other informative courses, let us know. The more knowledge you have the more chances you have to succeed in your mining endeavors.
Contact Chris at: Chris Winther cariboominingassociation@hotmail.com
Response to CMA article: Rumours, Rumblings & Rock Hard Resistance
[Thulefoth, a member of the Pre-loved Placer Forums, has replied to the article below which was posted on the Pre-loved Placers Forum. I am posting it here on the CMA site as I feel it has relevance to the ongoing discussions that took place during the meeting held with MLA Bob Simpson. Webmin]
Re: Rumours, Rumblings & Rock Hard Resistance
Reply #1 on: March 18, 2011, 06:13:40 PM from “Thulefoth”:
Quote from: ArthurTopham on March 16, 2011, 12:06:05 PM
“… the general public perceives placer mining as an environmental threat and associates the behaviour and actions of small, independent miners with that of the big hard rock mining consortiums who tend to always capture the media’s attention with their giant projects that inevitably raise public concerns about environmental damage.”
Well, sure, once someone internalizes that what small miners do in the creeks constitutes an offence from certain philosophical viewpoints, then opponents will try to tar them with any other brush that’s handy. People who oppose the activities of small miners, then seek to link them to other actors who are suppose to be bad, too (corporate mining) … whether there is really any relationship or not.
On the one hand, California just ‘suspended’ all dredging. Other West Coast states have already gone through the dredging re-evaluation process, though, and it seems likely that California will align with their Ecologically informed rules, and reinstate dredging within not-too-long.
But on the other hand, events & trends in the USA are not going favorably for Enviro Activism. Long called a ‘Silent Majority’, important components of the vaguely small-c conservative population have been wrenching the US political scene in unusual ways.
Anthropogenic Global Warming reliably ranks Dead Last in a list of a couple dozen Issues that folks are polled on. Al Gore is a crazed sex poodle. Science has been reduced to consensus.
The Baby Boomers are aging. Wealth is fleeing. Security is evaporating. Global competitors are becoming actually competitive. These factors and more serve to shift the overall outlook of the country toward the pragmatically conservative. It is a reasonable guess that this is a long-term trend.
The idea that loggers are all but Untouchables, that clubbing a halibut on deck can be used to hurt you politically, that PETA is a legitimate voice on Farm Policy, and that small scale placer miners can be painted as Desecrating the Sanctity of Nature – are all assumptions that no longer appear to be in the ascendancy.
Canada traditionally puts more emphasis on Provincial & local authority, than on the Federal. The US strived for much of the 20th C. to hulk-up the role of the Fed, but now there are strong signs that this experiment is being dialed back.
Federal domination works through the distribution of tax moneys, and that distribution network deals with State & Provincial government & capitols, and especially with Big Cities.
As we watch Federal ‘payola’ systems wane & wilt, the system in which big cities rake in the cash purely & simply because they are big cities, will lose momentum. Cities will have to make decisions in a much more down-to-earth and business-like way, instead of putting on a song & dance for predictable hand-outs.
Cities are the bastion of both individuals and Philosophies that can’t club halibut, couldn’t turn trees into lumber, and won’t wash gravel down at the creek. These constituencies appear on-track to become, while perhaps not Endangered Species, at least diminished & displaced within the political ecosystem. Big Cities have long been our biggest & worse chronic welfare recipients … and they – and their Philosophies – will change as they are weened off the public purse.
The bottom line is, that although British Columbia will have Parks that preserve some stands of Old Growth timber, and there will certainly be mining regulations for both the large & small players – BC is wealthy in natural resources and needs to avoid getting sweet-talked or harangued into cutting off its nose to spite it’s face.
Trends in North American popular & political culture, and in the larger global context, support that going forward BC can & will strive to safeguard mining & miners. And loggers, and halibut-clubbers.
Ted
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The Cariboo Mining Association 