The Northwest Territories and Nunavut Chamber of Mines said a government-funded program known as the Prospector’s Grubstake or Prospector’s Assistance Program has been cut from the Government of Northwest Territories budget this year, to the dismay of the Chamber and many of its members.
The Prospector’s Assistance Program had provided basic financial assistance to independent prospectors in the territories since 1962 and had been responsible for significant mineral discoveries, the chamber told members in its monthly update in May.
Preliminary research by the Chamber staff suggested that between 1993 and 2007, C$1.4 million was provided to prospectors through the program. Several of them successfully optioned their properties to junior exploration companies, and in the same period over C$16.9 million was spent on the optioned claims.
“This represents a 16-fold return on investment, with much of that expenditure going back into the NWT economy through local purchases and labor,” the Chamber said.
The Chamber also said it would like to see the program re-invented and is currently investigating new sources of government funding so that it could act as manager for the program. The Chamber is also investigating rejuvenating the Prospector’s Courses, a very successful outreach program that also got the ax in the recent GNWT budget.
The Prospector’s Course was typically the community’s only access to the basics of geology, mineral exploration, and prospecting, and the Chamber said it is important to continue this education for the benefit of northerners wishing to participate in the mining industry.
