Gold dominates Kenora's exploration activity.

Gold dominates Kenora's exploration activity

Mineral exploration is ongoing in the Kenora District even though the federal government cut the Canadian Exploration Incentive Program (CEIP), according to resident geologist Charles Blackburn.

Blackburn reported that the response has been good to two provincial programs, the Ontario Mineral Incentive Program (OMIP) and the Ontario Prospectors' Assistance Program (OPAP), which are aimed at encouraging mineral exploration.

"In 1989 we approved 28 OPAP applications for a total of $103,743, while OMIP had one application approved for $22,000. We expect an even greater number of applicants this year."

OPAP is favored by those requiring assistance, because half the awarded amount is issued on approval, while OMIP requires applicants to cover costs prior to grant application.

The Ontario Mineral Incentive Program (OMIP) provides grants to qualified applicants equal to 30 per cent of eligible exploration expenses to a maximum of $150,000 per applicant per year. The object of the program is to provide a portion of the risk capital required to "help discover the mines of tomorrow and the deposits and minerals required to meet growing demands."

The Ontario Prospectors' Assistance Program (OPAP) has been initiated to provide financial assistance in the search for new grass-roots exploration targets in Ontario. Aid is available to those individuals carrying out prospecting and grass-roots exploration activities on either their own properties or on Crown land. Maximum assistance is $10,000 per year with one grant per applicant per year.

Both programs are sponsored by the Ministry of Northern Development and Mines, administered under regulations of the Ontario Mineral Exploration Program Act (1989) and approved on a first-come-first-serve basis until the program's annual budget is designated.

Exploration activity in the Kenora District in 1989 did not reach the 1988 record, according to Blackburn's district exploration and development report.

Seventy-four projects by prospectors and mineral exploration companies were conducted. Sixty-two of these were for gold, compared with about 100 in 1988. Advanced exploration, with underground development, was conducted on one property only, the Nuinsco Resources Limited/Deak Resources joint-venture gold operation at Cameron Lake.

Since the publishing of the report, Nuinsco Resources has been taken over by Deak, whose main interests lie with its Quebec holdings.

Blackburn pointed out that "although the price of gold during the year has remained below the $400 (U.S.) level, gold remained the commodity most sought after, with 62 out of 74 exploration and prospecting projects directed at its assessment.

Blackburn said "reserve stocks of base metals have been depleted due to the exploration efforts directed at gold, so we are now seeing a slight increase in activity for these metals within our district."

"With the new, detailed geological mapping of the Kenora District... the time is right for a new assessment of the base metal potential of specific areas," commented Blackburn in his 1989 annual report.

JIM HOPPER Correspondent