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Mining Association press release ...

OMA to Offer "Fresh" Mining Perspective to Environment Commissioner

12.20.2007 - Ontario Mining Association President Chris Hodgson will help Gord Miller, Ontario´s Environmental Commissioner, gain a first-hand look at mining when he escorts him to the De Beers Canada Victor diamond project near Attawapiskat in February 2008. Mr. Miller recently released his annual report titled Reconciling Our Priorities, which suggested that the Mining Act should be re-examined and that there needs to be better overall land use planning for Northern Ontario.

His past reports show that Mr. Miller is familiar with the environmental progress the mining industry in Ontario has made -- and continues to make -- along with its postive economic impacts. While his recommendations may not have a major impact on existing mines (other than salt, which we will save for another day) his report did send a bit of a ripple through the prospecting community.

One of the first people off the mark to counter Mr. Miller´s recommendations was Gord Salo, President of the 600-member Sudbury Prospectors and Developers Association. "Despite the riches here for companies, workers and government, people in Southern Ontario who control the North don´t realize they are killing the goose that lays the golden eggs when they talk nonsense like what Miller is saying," said Mr. Salo.

Mr. Salo quoted the recently released OMA study "Ontario Mining: A Partner in Prosperity Building" produced by University of Toronto economists Peter Dungan and Steve Murphy to support his case. "The combined direct, indirect and induced economic impacts of a representative mine are extremely large," he said. "In its production phase, for each year of operation, the mine adds approximately $280 million to Ontario GDP and increases Ontario´s employment by almost 2,300 at a rate of compensation well above the provincial average and the government´s tax revenue would be about $84 million per year."

"We are hopeful that the trip to the Victor Mine, Ontario´s first diamond mine, would help put into perspective the environmental improvements around modern mining and the benefits a mine provides to local communities," said Mr. Hodgson. "Perhaps by getting him to see how a diamond mine operates in 2008 and to meet people from the local community who benefit from the mine, we can engage in meaningful dialogue and begin to help address some of his concerns and have this reflected in his next annual report."

The environmental commissioner of Ontario is an independent office. The environmental commissioner of Ontario is charged with monitoring government compliance with the Environmental Bill of Rights, so that the integrity of Ontario´s ecosystems, one of our most important legacies, are conserved for future generations. It is also has responsibilities for public education in the environmental area.