Vancouver Island, like the rest of B.C., has a rich history of mineral exploration and mining. The city of Victoria served as a pivotal staging point for those heading to hunt for gold during the rushes of the late 1800s and early 1900s.
My hometown of Nanaimo thrived in the mid- to late 1800s thanks to the extensive coal deposits in the area, and it wasn’t until the 1940s that lumber supplanted coal mining as the town’s main business. Similarly, the town of Ladysmith was founded around the shipping wharfs that were constructed for loading coal from the nearby Extension mine.
Mineral exploration and mining continue today, and although we have also been affected by the current slowdown in global commodity markets, there are still many projects contributing to the economy of the Island and B.C.. These include two major operating mines, many smaller mines and several advanced exploration projects.
Nystar N.V.’s Myra Falls zinc-copper-silver mine has been a stalwart of the Island’s minerals industry since its opening in 1966. Although it has temporarily suspended its operations to focus on infrastructure improvements, it usually employs 345 people.
In 2013, the mine produced 27,000 tonnes of zinc concentrate and 3,300 tonnes of copper concentrate along with lead, silver and gold. Once upgrades are complete, it has ample reserve replacement to continue to keep up with mining.
Likewise, the Quinsam coal mine has been operating for almost 30 years, and is the only operating underground thermal coal mine in Canada. Quinsam produces about 150,000 metric tonnes of high-quality coal each year and has about 75 employees. Quinsam has also recently completed successful exploration targeting low-sulphur coal reserves. Compliance Energy Corp.’s Raven project is currently on hold, but if permitted, it will become a major underground metallurgical coal mine.
There are also several exploration programs underway on the Island, notably Northisle Copper and Gold Inc.’s Hushamu copper-molybdenum-gold project, Imperial Metals Corp.’s Catface copper-molybdenum-gold project and Canadian Dehua International’s Pacific Iron magnetite project.
Not only does Vancouver Island host these vital mineral resources, it is also home to both the British Columbia Geological Survey and the Pacific Division of the Geological Survey of Canada. These publicly funded institutions focus on understanding the dynamic geology of B.C., the mineral riches it holds and the natural phenomena such as earthquakes that shape our ever-changing landscape. In combination with the University of Victoria’s school of earth and ocean sciences, Vancouver Island University’s earth science program and Royal Roads University’s environment and sustainability program, these institutions form an impressive concentration of geological talent.
These institutions are further bolstered by cutting-edge remote sensing and geospatial companies, such as Auracle Geospatial Science Inc., that are revolutionizing how we acquire, analyze and visualize geographic information.
It is important also to consider that the research and work that these institutions and mineral-exploration and development companies do is not possible without respectful access to land and honest and open relationships with the communities they work within.
As the regional group representing the Association of Mineral Exploration B.C., the Vancouver Island Exploration Group encourages initiating conversations with local communities and First Nations and maintaining these channels of communication throughout the life of a project.
This island’s history, diverse and rich geology and concentration of expertise make it a valuable contributor to the mineral exploration and development industry in B.C. Our province is well positioned globally to prosper from the next upturn in the minerals cycle, and Vancouver Island has a key role to play.
Jacques Houle is the president of the Vancouver Island Exploration Group and operates Jacques Houle P.Eng. Mineral Exploration Consulting from his home in Nanaimo.
