2007 a banner year for mining exploration.

• Author: Ulrichsen, Heidi
• Position: SPECIAL REPORT: SKILLED TRADES

If there was one thing the 400 prospectors and geologists attending the Ontario Exploration and Geoscience Symposium seemed to agree upon, it was that 2007 was a banner year for mineral exploration.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

"Certainly, this is an exciting time to be in the business, as you all know," said Michael Gravelle, the new Northern Development and Mines Minister.

The MPP for Thunder Bay-Superior North was the keynote speaker at the symposium's banquet dinner, held in December at the Radisson Hotel in Sudbury.

"In fact, this symposium is an ideal chance to celebrate another outstanding year for good news in mining exploration in Ontario."

More than 92,000 mineral claims were filed in Ontario by early December 2007, and Gravelle expected that number to rise to 100,000 claims by the end of the month.

About $519 million was spent on exploration in 2007, up from $346 million in 2006.

The province is committed to supporting the province's minerals industry by providing extensive geoscience information, maintaining favourable taxation policies and providing a stable and effective regulatory environment.

Gravelle, along with Ontario Prospectors Association president Wally Rayner, presented prospector Perry English with the 2007 Ontario Prospectors Award during the symposium dinner.

English, who has a long history in the industry, has filed a record-breaking 90 claims over the past two years.

"I'm not going to say too many words here. I'll just say thank you, and that a lot of this success comes from the partners I've had over the years. I really appreciate this," said English.

Ontario Prospectors Association executive director Garry Clark said the unprecedented amount of money spent on exploration in 2007 put all of the prospectors at the event in a really good mood. "It makes it a little bit easier to walk around here when everybody's smiling."

He's trying to get the word out to young people that the exploration industry is thriving, and it's a good business to get into.

"We have a problem with a lack of people in the industry to complete some of the jobs, be it geologists, people running diamond drills, or geophysicists. They're not there. We have a capacity problem."

In past years, most prospectors in the province were looking...