Mining boosts local economy.

The City of Timmins is riding the fortunes of a robust mining sector to strong economic health, says Mayor Tom Laughren.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

"It's a very exciting time for Timmins," he says. "The city's economic health is good, and although forestry is down, we have all sorts of mining companies like Liberty Mines and De Beers Canada that are providing us with major economic mobility, which in turn has attracted big retail chains such as Home Depot, Shopper's Drug Mart and Mark's Work Wearhouse."

He points to the local unemployment numbers as an example of the growing prosperity, with the current 5.3 per cent, representing a drop from the 8 per cent seen in recent years.

In fact, with the local mining industry having snapped up virtually all available skilled workers, Laughren says the city has recently begun to undertake an immigration attraction initiative to help supply local operations. In April, the city hosted four informational sessions in the Greater Toronto Area for up to 140 immigrants with the intent to educate them about employment opportunities in the Timmins area.

While strongly optimistic about the future, Laughren says he is fully aware of the cyclical nature of resource industries. As a result, he says he hopes to be able to seek out new opportunities for diversifying the economy within the coming months. This includes looking to create jobs in other sectors, such as expanding the use of the new $10 million police station, Laughren says he hopes to leverage the facility's standalone communications centre, which is already set to handle dispatch for emergency services throughout the Highway 11 corridor, to also remotely monitor water treatment plants from Timmins up to the James Bay coast. This would require the installation of new cameras and telecommunications equipment, but would also create an undetermined number of additional jobs.

With an eye on making the most of a growing economy to ensure its future strength, Laughren says the city is also looking to pursue a variety of infrastructure projects to make the city attractive to outside investment.

In fact, $54 million is being earmarked for sewer and water improvements over the next 10 years, including a $16 million improvement for its water treatment plant. Up to $6 million has also been planned for additional road construction, including a $2 million investment in Airport Road to help attract additional businesses.

"You have to examine these kinds of opportunities when your economy is doing well and riding high and you've got the money to pursue alternative projects," he says. "Otherwise, you're left scrambling when things are at their worst and you've got nowhere to turn, as we've seen through the region a little bit."

Laughren credits the local Discover Abitibi initiative with helping to put the city in a position where it can consider some of these alternative projects. The project conducts geoscientific survey on local lands and collects the data to promote mining sector investment in those areas.

Robert Calhoun, project manager of Discover Abitibi, says the project has seen considerable success to date. He estimates that data collected and compiled by the project has contributed to the staking of approximately 22,000 claim units. This has led to an estimated $34 million in local investment, representing a three-to-one return on the project's investment. What's more, there are now up to 90 mining companies operating in the Timmins region, as compared to the 50 companies that had a local presence in 2001.

"Some people say that's because metal prices went up," says Calhoun. "Maybe, but if they didn't have our information to build on, would they have staked where they staked? That's my argument."

Currently, the project is seeking funding from governments and the public sector to move forward on a fifth phase. This will involve conducting geoscientific tests across new territories, which will be expanded to include areas north up to Detour, south to the Shining Tree Mine area, and over to Temiskaming Shores.

"It covers about two-thirds of northeastern Ontario, so it's a fair chunk of land," Calhoun says. "Last time, we focused our attention mainly on the Timmins and Kirkland Lake mining camps. This time, we're trying to move out of what we call the Abitibi Greenstone Belt into additional greenstone belts to the north and the diamond areas to the south."

Dave McGirr, president of the Timmins Economic Development Corporation, says that Discover Abitibi, alongside various these various local projects, are helping to keep the city in good stead for the future.

"It's a good time to be in Timmins," McGirr says. "There's an awful lot going on, and we have a bright future ahead of us."

www.city.timmins.on.ca

www.discoverabitibi.com

By NICK STEWART

Northern Ontario Business