$2.8M Announced For Mining Training

By 250 News

The provincial and the federal governments will invest a total of $2.8 million to help youth from rural and First Nations communities in northwestern B.C. get the hands-on experience they need to develop careers in the mining industry.

"B.C.’s exploration and mining industry has grown to record levels, as demonstrated by the latest exploration numbers announced last week," says Premier Campbell. (click here for previous story)

"By working collaboratively with the Province of  British Columbia through our Pan-Canadian Innovations Initiative, we are training the next generation of mining workers and we are laying a strong foundation for B.C.’s prosperous future," said the Honourable Monte Solberg, Minister of Human Resources and Social Development.

The Province is providing $900,000 in funding and the federal government will contribute $1.9 million for the Reclamation and
Prospecting Program, a pilot program that will be launched in the spring by Northwest Community College in partnership with the Smithers Exploration Group (SEG). Participants will receive on-the-job training in mineral prospecting, site evaluation and bush safety. They will also learn how to identify and assist in the environmental reclamation of old or abandoned mine sites.

More than 28,000 people in more than 50 B.C. communities are employed in the mineral exploration and mining sector: 10,300 in mining and the rest in exploration, smelting, refining and downstream mineral processing. It is estimated that an additional 8,500 additional jobs will available by 2010.

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