High-tech mining in Saskatchewan

The Saskatchewan mining industry is heading into the future, but some are going to be left behind.

The Ministry of Energy and Resources is going to be changing the way land claims are staked in the province.

Instead of having to physically go out and stake their claims on the land, come this fall, companies will be able to stake their claims online using the Mineral Administration Registry Saskatchewan (MARS) without ever having to go to the site.

This is bad news for Rod Spooner, with the La Ronge Mineral Exploration Group, a company that gets hired to do a lot of physical claim staking in Northern Saskatchewan along with line cutting, prospecting and exploration work.

“There are plenty of people up here who make a good part of their living staking claims for various mining companies. And those jobs are going to be lost, totally, instantly, as soon as this thing comes on,” said Spooner.

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Spooner said the change isn’t just going to hurt those like him who stake the claims. It’s also going to hurt those who supply him – hotels, food, fuel, helicopters and airplanes.

Traditionally when someone finds something good on land there was a staking rush where sometimes hundreds of people would descend on the area to try and get any piece of any land they could, but with this new system that will be a thing of past.

“Now, if somebody got wind of it, he could have that entire million acres staked around that new area before anyone could even get into the play themselves. It seems counter-productive to me, plus it puts a lot of people out of work,” said Spooner

The new technology is going to hurt a lot of people in the area, he said.

“It’s a big industry here, for us to go and stake some ground we might need helicopters, hotels, bulk fuel from the fuel agent, airplanes. My typical staking crew is eight or 10 guys. The last few staking jobs we’ve been on it’s been hard to find a staker – there’s been literally 75 or 80 guys out staking and that might be the only work these guys have for a few weeks,” said Spooner.

Spooner said they want the government to compromise with them – he already took his concerns to the provincial government at a public meeting that was held in La Ronge, but the system is already on track to be implemented in September.

Bob Ellis, director of public affairs for the Saskatchewan Ministry of Energy and Resources, said they’re putting work into the MARS system to take advantage of new technologies.

“We’re basically developing a system that meets our Saskatchewan needs and basically a system that remains competitive with other mining jurisdictions,” said Ellis.

The program has actually been in the works for a couple of years.

Ellis said he thinks the industry is happy with the idea of the new system.

“The mining industry is very supportive of this, because it allows companies to basically apply for dispositions at any time of the day, including weekends, (and) to eliminate some costs to the industry associated with physical ground staking of claims. (It) simplifies the processes,” said Ellis.

Ellis has heard some concerns, like Spooner’s, and said new regulations on the ground will bring more money to different parts of that business.

“We are requiring them, through our legislation, to spend more money on the exploration work they need to do around their claims, and in that regard we’re confident that we’ll see more deployment and more work in the actual exploration of the commodities,” said Ellis.

Ellis said the province is trying to follow leaders in this kind of technology, like British Columbia, and are trying to make it easier for mining companies to work in Saskatchewan.

lschick@panow.com