A ‘KEY ECONOMIC ENGINE OF GROWTH’
Pamela Schwann, executive director of the Saskatchewan Mining Association, answered a few questions from Paul Sinkewicz during the seventh annual Mining Supply Chain Forum held April 14 and 15 in Saskatoon.
The executive director of the Saskatchewan Mining Association talks about jobs, the environment and the history and future of mining in the province.
How important is mining Saskatchewan’s economy?
Mining is one of Saskatchewan’s key economic engines of growth, directly contributing approximately seven per cent of our GDP. When you also include the related service sector industry that supplies to the mining sector, that number adds up into the
double digits.
What role does mining play in the lives of Saskatchewan residents?
On the surface, this is what you see: There are over 25 different mining operations in Saskatchewan spread out across the province from the coal mines along the U.S. border to the potash deposits that stretch across the south central part of the province to the uranium and gold mines in the northern part of Saskatchewan.
And that is just rural and northern Saskatchewan, we also have corporate offices of some global mining players like PotashCorp, Cameco, Mosaic, Areva and BHP Billiton in Saskatoon and Regina. So there are direct employment and business services tied to all those mine sites and corporate offices.
What you don’t see, and maybe many don’t attribute as a benefit of mining, are the services provided by government that are funded by royalties, corporate taxes and personal income taxes from those employed by the industry — services like health care, education, infrastructure development. Without mining, those dollars don’t flow to government and those services that enhance everyone’s quality of life would be significantly reduced.
How many people are employed by the mining industry and what types of jobs are available?
There are more than 30,000 people directly and indirectly employed by the mining industry. Jobs are highly varied — there are over 120 different career options with varying levels of technical expertise. As a sample: engineering, electricians, IT specialists, labourers, heavy equipment operators, safety and environment techs, instrumentation techs, human resources specialists, marketing, and financial analysts.
What types of minerals are extracted in Saskatchewan? How are the minerals used and how important are they?
Saskatchewan produces a diversity of minerals, but the key ones are potash, uranium and coal.
As we say, Saskatchewan mineral products feed and fuel the world. Without our products, there would be less food and less clean energy. Saskatchewan is a world leading producer in both potash and uranium. Potash is used primarily as a fertilizer in the U.S., Asia, South America and India to increase crop productivity, as these soils are typically deficient in potassium.
Uranium is used to fuel clean energy in nuclear reactors around the world — Canada, U.S., Europe and an increasingly significant growth in China — where new nuclear reactors under construction will essentially triple their current capacity.
Nuclear energy is an important baseload option for densely populated areas because it is clean energy that doesn’t produce greenhouse gases or contribute to smog.
In Saskatchewan, our low-grade coal deposits are used to power over 50 per cent of Saskatchewan’s baseload power — power to run 24 hours a day, seven days a week — required for things like industry, hospitals and schools.
What are some of the things the mining industry is doing to minimize its impact on the environment?
The mining industry has very strong environmental practices and works to reduce its overall environmental footprint on an ongoing basis — literally investing millions of dollars a year. There are a multitude of environmental activities, including ways to improve operations so there is a reduced impact on the environment (less water and energy usage) along with the ongoing operational activities such as monitoring of effluent and airborne releases to the environment. We are involved now in a study looking at population health dynamics of caribou.
Do you have any examples of projects or campaigns carried out by mining companies to improve the lives of residents in nearby communities?
The mining companies are very good corporate citizens with a priority for giving back to communities in which they operate. Their philanthropic projects are diverse — things like monetarily supporting food banks, United Way campaigns, Habitat for Humanity, the Saskatchewan Children’s Hospital, rural health facilities, recreational facilities and educational scholarships. There are too many to identify specifically, but companies also support their employees by encouraging them to make a difference and for them to volunteer.
The SMA’s 50th anniversary is this year, what do you have planned to mark the occasion?
We are just finishing a commemorative book that looks back over the 50 years of the association — and there will also be a number of other celebratory events integrated into our existing events, including our Mine Rescue Events and AGM.
How far back does the province’s mining history go? Do you know what and when the first “find” was?
Saskatchewan’s mining history goes back more than 100 years. And it was coal, first noted along the Souris River near Roche Percee (in southeast Saskatchewan) by James Hector of the Palliser Expedition in 1857, that gave birth to the Saskatchewan mining industry. We also had minor gold recovery along the North Saskatchewan River. Base metals and gold were found in the Precambrian shield of northern Saskatchewan in the early 1900s.
Looking to the future, how do you see mining evolving in Saskatchewan?
Mining will continue to be in Saskatchewan for decades, if not hundreds of years, as we have world-class deposits in terms of tonnage and grade. While mining is already a very technologically advanced industry, the use of remote mining technology robotics will continue to increase. Technological advances will also enhance safety and productivity and reduce environmental impacts. I also see a future with more diversity in terms of greater participation of under-represented parts of the population, including women, First Nations and Metis people and newcomers.