Yellowknife, NT – February 13, 2012
The Chamber of Mines congratulates the NWT Government’s Ministry of Industry, Tourism and Investment for the announcement late last week that the Prospectors Grubstake Program would be re-launched after a 5-year absence.
According to Minister Ramsay, the program will provide financial assistance to qualified Northwest Territories prospectors through the Prospectors Grubstake Program, the NWT Government hopes to see additional prospectors search for new mineral occurrences or to reassess previously known occurrences and deposits around the territory.
Healthy and active exploration is the foundation for a sustainable mining industry. It was the persistence and optimism of prospectors Chuck Fipke and Stewart Blusson that resulted in diamonds being discovered in the NWT.
This led to the largest staking rush in Canadian history, and most importantly resulted in 3 diamond mines – Ekati, Diavik, and Snap Lake – that have created some of the largest opportunities the NWT has ever seen, particularly in Aboriginal employment and business.