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Most likely one of the topics of discussion at the January 22-25 Association for Mineral Exploration Roundup 2018 (in which Manning Elliott will be participating) will be what is known in B.C. mining circles as the Golden Triangle.’
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And for good reason: the Golden Triangle is shaping up to be a long overdue B.C. success story for an industry that has had more than its fair share of challenges, says Manning Elliott partner Joseph Bonvillain.
Located in the northwest part of the province and a mining site before Canada even became a country, the Golden Triangle is so named because it hosts some of the richest gold ore bodies in the world, as well as abundant silver, nickel and copper deposits.
Bonvillain says, “Pretium Resources has become well known for its exploration in the region, and for developing its high-grade Brucejack gold mine 65 kilometres north of Stewart. In a tough market, the company was able to successfully raise lots of equity financing [in excess of $500 million], and this renewed interest in the area.”
Earlier in 2017, Garibaldi Resources (which, along with many other publicly listed exploration firms, is a Manning Elliott client) published promising results from an exploration program within a 65 square kilometre area on its mineral tenures in the Eskay region of the Golden Triangle; and this ignited further interest and helped it and other exploration companies raise money for work of their own.
Currently, 24 junior explorers are active in the region, and they stand to benefit from three crucial infrastructure upgrades: the paving of the Stewart-Cassiar Highway; the opening of ocean port facilities for concentrate export at Stewart; and the completion of a $700-million high-voltage transmission line bringing power into the region.
There’s another bonus for Golden Triangle players: retreating glacial ice and snow has of late uncovered rocks that were previously not accessible.
Having spent years providing B.C. businesses with auditing, accounting and tax services to enable them to meet their reporting requirements, Manning Elliott counts mining as one of its most valuable areas of its public company practice, and Bonvillain regards the Golden Triangle as “really big news for B.C. and people who work here. It’s a complete turnaround from a recent past when many Canadian firms focused their energy on Mexico and other countries, instead of this province.”
As many delegates to the AME Roundup will attest, Manning Elliott can help those in the industry make the most of mining’s resurgence. “For example, our provincial government supports exploration with a 20 per cent refundable tax credit called the BC METC, and we have the expertise to help companies claim it,” says Bonvillain, adding that a 30 per cent credit can be obtained if exploration is located on pine beetle-ravaged land.
He concludes, “Recently there was much talk of things improving in the mining sector, but we’ve now moved beyond that. Financing is being completed, there’s lots of activity overall, and I’m very much looking forward to developments in 2018. The outlook for big firms as well as juniors is very promising, so the AME Roundup will be a lively event, to say the least.”
Joseph Bonvillain is a partner at Manning Elliott LLP. He provides audit, tax, and general advisory services to small- and medium-sized public and private companies, especially those in the mineral resources industry.
Manning Elliott LLP is one of the province’s largest independent regional accounting and business advisory firms with offices in downtown Vancouver (604-714-3600), Abbotsford (1-604-557-5750), and Surrey (604-538-1611). The firm has been around for more than 60 years and employs over 180 professionals and staff.
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