Rocks ‘n Rambling Friday April 10

This month’s Rocks ‘n Rambling is scheduled for this Friday – April 10.  Our thanks to Rugged Edge for offering its location on 19th Avenue in Smithers.

• Date: Friday April 10
• Time:  4:30 to 6:30 pm
• Place: Rugged Edge, 3405 19th Avenue

As usual RnR is a chance to get together to look over some rocks and exchange war stories.

Smithers Mining Week luncheon May 8

In a little over a month we’ll be celebrating Mining Week 2015 with our annual Smithers luncheon on Friday May 8. The luncheon is co-hosted by Smithers Exploration Group and the Smithers District Chamber of Commerce.  It brings together the minerals industry and members of the larger community who support the industry to get the latest updates on the industry across the province and the northwest.

Tickets will go on sale in mid-April from the Chamber of Commerce at $25 a ticket. To purchase tickets, please contact the Smithers Chamber of Commerce at 250-847-5072 or e-mail info@smitherschamber.com.  

This year we’re focusing on how businesses in the Bulkley Valley and on the lower Mainland depend for their success on the minerals produced in BC mines.

• Mining Association of BC President and CEO Karina Briño will set up the program with an overview of the minerals industry in BC in 2014.
• The Executive Director of Resource Works Stewart Muir will present a recent report that demonstrates how Vancouver business depends on natural resources from the Rest of BC.
• A panel of Smithers businesses will pick up that theme to talk about how they depend on minerals in everything from selling underwire bras and snowboards to making cheese.

Please join us on May 8 at the Hudson Bay Lodge in Smithers. Don’t delay – get your tickets for only $25 and help celebrate the minerals industry in your business and life. 

If you’re not going to be in Smithers, consider taking in one of the many other events around the province. Check out http://miningweek.ca/  for listings in Vancouver and the rest of the BC.

Support students Help Buy a Seat at NWCC SEM

Northwest Community College School of Exploration & Mining has launched its 2015 "Buy a Seat" campaign to raise funds to deliver the Dual Credit Environmental Monitor Assistant Program (EMAP) at Smithers Senior Secondary School.  Your donation will help 18 students in Grades 11 and 12  participate in this award winning program. 

The dual credit program exposes students to career pathways in natural resources and provides hands-on employment skills while earning credits toward high school graduation.  The full cost of a seat is $3675 but any and all donation amounts are welcomed.  Please contact DSmyth@nwcc.bc.ca for more information on how to donate.

Minerals North Mackenzie May 27 - 29

Minerals North 2015 will be in Mackenzie May 27 – 29, just two weeks after the Smithers Mining Week luncheon.  For a sneak preview of a really excellent program, go to http://mineralsnorth.ca/conference/programming/

The 2015 Minerals North Organizing Team has a list of accommodation opportunities for consideration during Minerals North.   To make sure there is accommodation for everyone who wants to attend they are encouraging you to "think outside the box" and consider camping, RV'ing, or experiencing the authentic opportunity of staying in a mining camp.  Alternately, you can stay in Prince George and enjoy bus transportation to and from Mackenzie on a daily basis.   An accommodation guide is available for download.  For more information about accommodations in Mackenzie, please contact "Accommodations Lead"  Kim Magee at kwmagee@telus.net

“The Nisselinka Claims” A book by Robert Long

Here’s a book after the heart of any explorationist in northern BC…. “In the early years of the 20th century Edward Wickford, a settler in the Bulkley Valley of northern British Columbia, lays claim to a rich vein of copper and gold in the fictional Nisselinka mountains. But events outside his control wreak havoc with his plans for development and dreams of wealth.” 

Robert Long has recently published “The Nisselinka Claims” which takes place in our backyard. He says “I have felt for a long time that the mineral exploration and the junior market is an extraordinary industry which has not had its share of fiction. This is my attempt to fill some of the gap. There are two parts to the story:  "Private Ventures" which covers quite a bit of early BC history, "Public Company" in which a prospector finds himself in conflict with a promoter who doesn't play by the rules.”

Robert has also provided some information on how to buy the book:

It is now available in both paper and e-book form and can be ordered from FriesenPress (http://www.friesenpress.com/bookstore).  Scroll until you get to The Nisselinka Claims. A click on the cover page takes you to prices for e-books (six formats), and paper versions in hard and soft covers.

 In about two weeks time it will be available to order from Amazon or major bookstores. Paper versions will be a little more expensive than at FriesenPress.  There is also a website (www.nisselinka.com) where you can get more information including a free pdf download of the first part of the book. 

KEG Kamloops April 14 and 15

And just a reminder that Kamloops Exploration Group’s KEG is coming right up – April 14 and 15 in Kamloops. For details go to http://www.keg.bc.ca/conference.htm