Mineral Exploration

8 S U M M E R 2 0 1 6 Photographs : Chamber of Mine s of Ea stern BC ; Ana st a sia Ledwon /Smithers E xploration Group A ME's outreach grants have been a boon to our regional exploration group members around B.C. Aimed at fur- thering AME's own five-year strategic plan (amebc.ca/policy/strategic-plan), over the past six years this money has assisted these volunteer-driven organizations to hire part-time administrative help and promote public awareness of our indus- try across the province. Kamloops Exploration Group keg.bc.ca "KEG has become better known in Kamloops and our events have attracted increased attendance since we've been receiving these grants," says Julie Dormer, the outreach administrator for the Kamloops Exploration Group (KEG) over the past five years. "We try to offer all of our events free to the public," adds Dormer. AME's annual outreach grant has been put toward multiple lecture series, an annual Mining Day, speakers for the local museums, and school events. Her work allows the KEG directors and other volunteers to focus on their biggest fundraiser, the KEG Conference held each spring in Kamloops. In 2012, funds from the KEG Conference allowed the organization to support local participant Justine Wild in Students on Ice, a unique program that takes high school students to the Arctic and Antarctica on scientiŒc expeditions. Smithers Exploration Group smithersexplorationgroup.com The Smithers Exploration Group (SEG) also hired an outreach administrator, allowing the group to be more organ- ized and proactive about connecting with local schools, municipal councils, First Nations band councils, chambers of commerce and government ministries. In the spring of 2015 alone, SEG had a booth at the Gitanmaax and Gitanyow career fairs; joined local First Nations in several community-planning infor- mation sessions; presented cupcake and cookie mining activities at elementary schools; hosted numerous brown bag lunches in association with provincial ministries and local industry; sponsored two high school graduation scholarships; and promoted Mining Week 2015 with a poster campaign in Smithers. SEG is also an active supporter of Minerals North 2016 (Smithers/Telkwa) and, at press time, anticipated attracting 300 school- children to the conference. As with KEG, the AME outreach sup- port has freed up directors and other volunteers to focus on additional fund- raising and public awareness. Chamber of Mines of Eastern BC cmebc.com The Chamber of Mines of Eastern BC, based in Nelson, is located in its own research centre and mineral museum. It hosts the Minerals South conference every two years (next in November 2016), alternating with the Cranbrook-based East Kootenay Chamber of Mines. The organization engages numerous school groups in tours at its centre/museum, as well as arranges field trips and classes for the general public. Curator Brad Gretchev describes his job as selling an interest in minerals. "We want to bring the Chamber of Mines into the 21st century using digital techniques to expand educational outreach," says Gretchev, who has used Skype to lead a guest from Holland on a tour of the min- eral museum and teaches classes on using MinŒle and MapPlace online resources. Barcoding information for the entire collection using QR codes, which can be read by a smartphone app, has made it easy and fun for kids (and adults) to guide themselves through the museum. "Eighty-Œve percent of the general public is reactive to information," says Reaching out AME COVERS MORE GROUND THROUGH STRATEGIC FUNDING TO REGIONAL EXPLORATION GROUPS BY ANASTASIA LEDWON

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