Thar’s gold in them thar hills. In the Iron Range, to be precise. And it was hardly surprising, with the shiny yellow metal trading at record prices, that there would exploration done in the area to the north and east of Creston. Numerous other companies have explored the mountain range in the past and the demand for many different metals has grown dramatically, much of it due to the expansion of the Chinese economy.
The challenge for us in the little old Creston Valley is to ensure the environment is protected during the exploration process and when mining takes place, if indeed it ever does. The Iron Range forms part of the Arrow Creek drainage, from whence comes the water supply for Erickson and Creston. It also provides water for Columbia Brewery, one of the drivers of what has become a very slow economy in recent months.
Questions and comments at last week’s meeting of the Arrow Creek Water Commission came from the curious and the adamantly opposed, as one might have expected. With a half-dozen folks from the company conducting the exploration in attendance, local residents took the opportunity to express their concerns. Some were just peculiar, like the ones from an Erickson resident who pushed to learn the names of past exploration companies and potential mining firms that could become involved. The questioner took on the air of a modern day Nero Wolfe, but seemed disappointed when there was no indication of involvement by one particular company, which may or may not be the devil incarnate.
The comment that really caught my attention was as predictable as it was unhelpful. “We know what you (the exploration group) are doing up there (in the watershed) — it’s all about the money,” was the gist of concern.
Now, among the many considerations that go into exploring for metals, precious and otherwise, the suggestion that money is the major motivation is hardly earth shaking. Gold rushes have always been caused by the promise of riches, but the search for less romantic minerals, like zinc and iron, is no different. And it’s not exactly the like the mining sector is alone in its quest for profitability, is it? Is the forest industry different? Fisheries? Agriculture? Anything at all that attracts private sector investment. Did the person posing the question think, perhaps, that there are mineral exploration companies that seek riches without being motivated by the lure of profit?
In the coming years, assuming the price of gold remains high, we will need to be vigilant in our concern for our major source of water. But being vigilant and wanting to prevent mining are two different things. Like it or not, we have a frail economic base here in the Creston Valley. There are legitimate questions about how long sawmills and other exporters can survive when the Canadian dollar is significantly higher than its U.S. counterpart. What was a profitable endeavour with a 70-cent dollar could be a losing proposition at $1.10. Diversity is our greatest economic strength, ensuring our economy doesn’t tank when others around us do. And mining activity has long been a missing piece of the diversity puzzle.
As was pointed out at last week’s meeting, we live in a highly regulated economy that, when the rules are followed, works to ensure that environmental damage caused by resource development is restricted and mitigated. And we are perfectly within our rights to express concerns and demand that any activity at all in our watersheds be carried out with care and caution. The time may come when we have to make a strong stand to protect our water, a resource more precious than gold. But if we have learned anything in the two decades of logging in the Arrow Creek drainage, it is that a balance of interests can be successfully struck. There are those who argue that logging in this important watershed has actually enhanced the long-term prospects for purity with the reduction of wildfire danger.
We have every right to ask questions and demand answers, not only from the private sector interests, but from each level of government. Wondering aloud about the economic motivations of mining exploration is unlikely to be of help, however.
Lorne Eckersley is the publisher of the Creston Valley Advance.