At its Annual General Meeting, held during the Geoscience Forum in Yellowknife, the Chamber announced its new Board of Directors following its annual election.

In making the announcement, past president Lou Covello, who stepped down after five years, thanked the directors who had served the northern mining industry and the Chamber and over the past years and wished the new board success in challenging times.

Mr. Covello pointed to some successes in highlighting infrastructure, cost and regulatory issues facing mining and exploration and looked forward to increased engagement by northern territorial governments in meeting the challenges facing the north’s number one industry.

Mr Covello spoke about some successful training programs carried out by industry through the mine training society. Over 650 people have been trained and offered employment since 2004 in addition to other training opportunities offered by individual mines.

The main challenge facing industry continues to be the NWT regulatory system and many companies report difficulty in financing projects in the NWT because of its poor reputation for regulatory performance. Many remain doubtful of the NWT’s ability to recover when the capital markets eventually improve. In Nunavut, a new regulatory regime is in the works and it can only be hoped that lessons learned in the NWT are taken into account when drafting the new legislation for Nunavut.

Incoming President John Kearney spoke about the challenges facing the mining industry as a result of funds that are raised on Canadian exchanges being funnelled into offshore projects. If our industry is to continue in Canada and the north, we need to work to reduce this trend. Mr Kearney indicated that part of the solution is a greater effort at communication with the aboriginal groups who will be partners in the business.

As a concrete step towards meeting the challenges, the Chamber Board will hold an all day strategic planning session on Friday.

Election Results are as follows:

For Executive:

President: John Kearney, Chairman and President
Canadian Zinc Corporation, Toronto

Vice President, NWT: Hugh Wilson, Vice President, Environment and Community Affairs, Tyhee Development Corp. Edmonton

Vice President, Nunavut: Pamela Strand, President, Shear Minerals, Edmonton

Secretary/Treasurer: Cathie Bolstad, Director, External and Corporate Affairs, De Beers Canada, Yellowknife

For Directors:
NWT:
Lou Covello, Consulting Geologist, Yellowknife
Trevor Teed, Principal, Mountain Island Exploration, Yellowknife
Richard Morland, A/President, BHP Billiton Diamonds, Yellowknife
Lane Dewar, Principal, Cassidy Point Exploration, Yellowknife
Chris Hrkas, Exploration Manager & Senior Geologist, GGL Resources, Yellowknife
Robin Goad, President, CEO & Director, Fortune Minerals, London, ON
Dave Webb, President, CEO, Director, Tyhee Development Corp. Vancouver
Erik Madsen, Director, Winter Road Operations, Diavik Diamond Mine, Yellowknife

Nunavut:
Barry McCallum, Manager, Nunavut Affairs, Areva Resources Canada, Saskatoon
Larry Connell, Corporate Director, Sustainable Development, Agnico-Eagle Corp., Vancouver
Jennifer Pell, Chief Geoscientist, Peregrine Diamonds, Vancouver
Alex Buchan, Manager, External & Community Relations, Newmont Mining, Cambridge Bay
Eira Thomas, Executive Chairman & Director, Stornoway Diamond Corp. Vancouver
Denise Lockett, Principal, Lockett Consulting, Bowen Island, BC,
Sean Willy, Manager, Exploration Support Services and Corporate Social Responsibility,
Cameco Corp., Saskatoon

For Further Information Contact
Mike Vaydik
General Manager 867 873 5281

Website-www.miningnorth.com