BC Liberals get too much credit

Letter to the Editor

Your recent editorial (“BC gov’t shows admirable hustle in promoting mining,” T.N.M. April 28-May 4/06) praises the B.C. Liberal government for boosting the mining industry in this province.

As someone who has been a prospector on the west coast of Vancouver Island since the Zeballos gold rush of the 1930s, and was in on the staking boom resulting from the Catface discovery of the 1960s, I’m skeptical.

In my experience, little has changed since the New Democratic Party was in power in the seventies and 1990s. There is only one producing metal mine on Vancouver Island and, regardless of high metal prices, none being developed into production.

To my knowledge, there aren’t even any exploration projects under way between Port Hardy, B.C., and Victoria. Twenty years ago I was personally acquainted with seven independent prospectors active in the Clayoquot Sound area alone. Now, since I quit, there are none.

It seems to me that if the current government expects to restore mining in B.C., they are going to do have to do more than just pat themselves on the back.

Walter Guppy

Courtenay, B.C.