10 www.resourceworld.com
A P R I L / M A Y 2 0 2 0
AT THE AMEBC ROUNDUP in Vancouver,
Resource World magazine sat down with
Katrina Nokleby, a geological engi
-
neer and Minister of Industry, Tourism
and Investment
for Canada's Northwest
Territories. She later added updates regard
-
ing the COVID-19 pandemic.
RESOURCE WORLD: How has the COVID-
19 pandemic affected exploration and
mining in the NWT and are there any
positive signs for the coming exploration
season?
KATRINA NOKLEBY: There will be a lag
for work in the field. Seeing things move
forward as the sentiment changes, more
and more people will be encouraged to
explore in the Northwest Territories.
I was encouraged from what I heard
at Roundup in Vancouver. There's a lot
of interest in the Northwest Territories
but also frustration that I'm hearing from
industry trying to navigate our systems
as well as the high cost of doing business
there.
RW: Yesterday I was at a breakfast pre-
sentation by a company that noted they
are
getting out of Burkina Faso because
it's too dangerous. Then I received a press
release from Montero Mining about how
the Tanzanian government expropriated
their mining concessions. There's no secu-
rity of mineral tenure.
I would
imagine that explorers would
like the fact that the Northwest Territories
has secure mineral tenure in a safe, stable
political jurisdiction. Can you comment on
that?
KN: When we had our diamond boom,
a lot of the conversation at that time was
around ethical diamonds versus some
other places. Today, I think there's a mes
-
sage we can also include regarding our rare
earth potential and having
them sourced
in Canada versus China. One of the best
things about the Northwest Territories
is that we have a very robust regulatory
system, one of the most advanced in the
world.
I think there's a want in the exploration
and mining industry to leave positive lega
-
Northwest Territories welcoming
mineral explorers
by Ellsworth Dickson
