Established in 1980, Northern Ontario Business provides Canadians and international investors with relevant, current and insightful editorial content and business news information about Ontario’s vibrant and resource-rich North. Ian Ross is the editor of Northern Ontario Business ianross@nob.on.ca.
Although some companies and the province laud Ontario as being one of the best mining-friendly
jurisdictions in the world, Courte said that perception has changed. In conversation with her
industry colleagues, Ontario is considered a “risk area” for investment, based on some high-
profile First Nations-industry conflicts, along with the uncertainty of how the new Mining Act
plans and permits regulations will play out.
A Thunder Bay drilling company boss said exploration work is drying up in Northern Ontario and she’s finding greener pastures in the Caribbean. Barb Courte, president of Cobra Drilling and North Star Drilling, is dispatching four drills to the Dominican Republic this fall for a project with Unigold, a Canadian junior company.
“I’m getting calls from other companies in the Dominican to do more work.” While 2012 has been a solid year for her two companies, she has major trepidations for what lies ahead. “I think we’re going to have a very hard year ahead of us.”
A tepid investors’ market means exploration budgets for junior miners’ drilling programs are being slashed or the companies aren’t doing anything. “If they have any money, if they were going to do a 5,000-metre contract, they’re doing a 1,500-metre.”