Novia Scotia to launch $19.5mn data and geo-science program to attract major mining investment
Nova Scotia is seeking around $20 mn in government funding, as it looks to unlock the future potential of the region’s mining industry.
The Minerals Play Fairway project, an airborne geophysical survey program, will require $19.5 mn in funding as it looks to foster mineral exploration in Nova Scotia.
The project will help identify mineral deposits and attract significant investment into the provinces mining and quarrying sector.
Nova Scotia’s mining and quarrying industry employs 5500 Nova Scotians, mainly in rural areas, and generates $420 million per year in economic activity.
“Fostering mineral exploration isv essential to ensuring the industry’s ability to keep creating new jobs for Nova Scotians. If we do not do exploration today, there will not be new mines tomorrow.,” says the report.
“Many jurisdictions help reduce the time, risk and cost of exploration by offering free geophysical data to exploration companies. This is a common and effective way of attracting interest and investment.”
The program will be split up into four main stages; surveys phase 1 & 2, Funding, survey program and investment attraction and marketing.
The Minerals Play Fairway is modelled on the highly successful Nova Scotia oil and gas Play Fairway Analysis, which saw the Department of Energy commission a $15mn analysis and geoscience data package program. By making the resulting data free to access to the global oil and gas industry, Nova Scotia’s offshore industry attracted over $2bn in investment.
The hope is that the Minerals Play Fairway can replicate this success. “Improving our geophysical knowledge of the province would lead to improved safety, economic opportunities and better land, water and environmental management.”
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Earlier this year, Mining Association of Nova Scotia (MANS) established a new organization called the Minerals Research Association of Nova Scotia (MRANS), a not-for-profit to focus on research activities that will help the province’s mining and quarrying industry grow and create jobs, including managing Minerals Play Fairway.
“The annual Fraser Institute survey of global mining executives shows, year after year, that Nova Scotia is seen as the least attractive jurisdiction in Canada in which to invest.6 For this reason, it is not enough for us to match what other jurisdictions are doing to attract investment – we need to do more because we are at a competitive disadvantage to start with.”
“Minerals Play Fairway is the next major step we can take to prove that Nova Scotia wants the investment and job creation the mining industry can provide.”#
