Mining

Recent research shows that there is very limited potential for mining operations that are economically viable in the Great Bear Rainforest (EcoTech Consulting, 2005).

But that doesn't deter British Columbia's mining sector and the provincial government from pushing to keep huge areas in the Great Bear Rainforest open for business. On the Central Coast after years of negotiations between the logging sector, environmentalists and a diversity of stakeholders, 545,000 ha of proposed protection were quickly turned into areas where mining is permitted which will only falsely heighten the investment climate.

It is highly unlikely that mining will play a substantial role in the local coastal economy, but the impact of the mining lobby could cost First Nations and local communities millions in lost revenue related to the Conservation Economy.