BC Business
Premier Christy Clark speaking at the 2014 AMEBC Mineral Exploration Roundup.
Premier Christy Clark delivered the message prospectors wanted to hear when she delivered the keynote speech to open this year’s week-long Mineral Exploration Roundup conference. “In our province there is absolutely no doubt that the resource industry is the foundation of our prosperity,” she told the packed ballroom at the Westin Bayshore. “Your business, mining, is our past, it is our present and it is our future.” She cited numbers pointing to “an incredibly bright future” for mining in the province, including record expenditures on mineral exploration in the past two years ($680 million in 2012 and a projected $476 million in 2013), and more than $8.3 billion contributed to the economy by mining in 2012. Clark also announced the extension of a flow-through-share tax credit program, which allows investors in mining exploration companies to claim tax deductions. The value of the program is estimated to be $10 million in 2014, she said. Clark pointed to the fact two new mines have opened and five more have begun construction or have received necessary permits since she promised in her 2011 Jobs Plan the opening of eight new mines and nine mine expansions. She said her government expects 16,700 job openings in mining over the next ten years. Pointing to her victory in last May’s election, Clark said “British Columbians made a choice. They said let’s grow this economy…. They said yes to economic growth. They said yes to resources. They said yes to mining.” The 2014 Mineral Exploration Roundup is hosted by the Association for Mineral Exploration B.C. and runs through January 30.