Resource World Magazine

F E B R U A R Y / M A R C H 2 0 2 0 www.resourceworld.com 7 Editor's Comments Ellsworth Dickson Ellsworth Dickson, Editor-in-Chief Email: editor@resourceworld.com T: 604 484 3800 | 1 877 484 3800 A fter several years in the dol- drums, January saw new investor interest in junior min- ing companies. Shares of gold producers hit the comeback trail last summer when the price of gold rose; however, juniors remained quiet – until now. The TSX Venture Exchange, heavily weighted in junior explorers, has been steadily creep- ing up towards 600 – a welcome sign. Rod Blake's article on the junior miner recovery reviews this topic. In this issue Robert Simpson discusses the recent surge in mergers, acquisitions and miners investing in, but not acquir- ing, junior miners. This activity illustrates that the movers and shakers in the min- ing sector have an optimistic outlook for the industry and are proving it with their chequebooks. It was very encouraging to hear min- ing analyst John Kaiser's presentation at a recent Metals Investor Forum. He stated that the US $850/oz gold price in 1990 is equivalent to US $3,567/oz in today's cur- rency. It certainly appears that there is still a lot of rocket fuel available to lift gold prices and gold companies higher. Kaiser pointed out that the world is wracked with uncertainty for a num- ber of reasons such as rising tensions in the Middle East. "Uncertainty has gone through the roof," Kaiser noted. This has major implications that drive investors to safe haven investing such as gold. "We are at the start of another bull market," Kaiser said. "We are going to see gold break through US $2,000 an ounce." Some analysts have predicted a correc- tion in gold prices before it really takes off. As of January 22 when I write this, gold has been more or less been flat-lining for a couple of weeks. Here in British Columbia, almost every day the TV news highlights the conflict regarding the Coastal GasLink $6.6 bil- lion, 670-km natural gas pipeline that would run from Dawson Creek to the Pacific Ocean at Kitimat. Five Wet'suwet'en band hereditary chiefs are opposed to the project while all 20 elected band councils along the entire route want the pipeline to go ahead. Haisla Nation Chief Councillor, Crystal Smith, has pointed out that the gas pipe- line will not only finally lift Indigenous people out of poverty, they will have a say on how it will be developed, built and its impact on their communities. Coastal GasLink has said that the hered- itary chiefs have not responded to requests to meet. It has been reported in other media that the pipeline won't go ahead without the hereditary chiefs' consent. It has also been reported that the hereditary chiefs have made it clear they will never support the project. So which is it – con- sent or never? The hereditary chiefs want to meet with BC Premier John Horgan; he doesn't. These five hereditary chiefs and their supporters have built barricades on the access road and as of press time, it remains to be seen if the RCMP will enforce an injunction not to block road access as this project has government approval. Then, on the morning of January 20, in support of the hereditary chiefs, a protest group stopped passengers and cars from catching the ferry from Swartz Bay on Vancouver Island (Victoria) to the main- land at Tsawwassen for three hours. There were protesters in kayaks too. This was followed by Indigenous youth protestors being arrested after occupying the Victoria office of Michelle Mungall, former Minister of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources. They demanded that BC's MLAs meet the demands of the hered- itary chiefs. Who the heck do they think they are to disrupt people's lives like this? People taking the ferry from Vancouver Island to Vancouver have doctor's appointments, business meetings, jobs to go to, family members to tend to, cargoes to deliver, flights to catch at Vancouver International Airport and other responsibilities. This is unfortunate. Every cubic metre of natural gas shipped to Asia means that much less coal that will be burned – not to mention bringing many Indigenous people out of grinding poverty who rely of mea- gre government handouts. Isn't that what everyone wants? This brings up three points that I would like to make that will affect resource devel- opment in British Columbia: Who speaks for First Nations – heredi- tary chiefs or the elected chiefs and band councillors? Will delays and uncertainty drive away big time investors who may think that it is too difficult to bring BC resource projects to fruition – especially when some politi- cians are against them? Will the UN Declaration on the Right of Indigenous Peoples cause even more uncertainty for the future of mineral and petroleum resource projects? Those activists who just want to "turn off the taps" for fossil fuels clearly don't understand that this is unrealistic, imprac- tical and just plain impossible. Like it or not, for now, we are still dependent on fos- sil fuels. n Mining investment opportunities are knocking

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