Wy usiness and industrial overview Good year for economy By Hon. DON PHILLIPS Minister of Industrized Small Business Development The year 1980 was an ex- traordinary one for the econ- omy of British Columbia. It was marked by a real rate of growth of 2.8 per cent. This is an excellent per- formance compared to a neg- ative growth rate for Canada and in the face of a recession in the United States’. econ- omy — B.C,'s major trading partner. Demand for British Col- umbia's goods was high as exports remained competi- tive in world markets in 1980 primarily because of a favor- able exchange rate and in- flated world prices for B.C.'s major commodities. Manu- facturing shipments for the year totalled $15,789.8 mil- lion. However, high interest rates and a recession in the United States caused a weak- ness in American house- building which reduced de- mand for B.C, lumber and plywood. In contrast, pulp producers enjoyed favorable vrarkets and prices, as did paper and paperboard manu- facturers. ‘Phe valule of mineral out- put in 1980 was fractionally below the 1979 value but well above the levels of previous years. Reduced sales of nat- ural gas to the United States was the major factor. Economic prosperity and quality of life enticed many people to move to British Columbia during 1980, bring- ing the total population to 2.6 million and increasing the labor force by 4.6 per cent. But, despite the substantial increase, employment growth was strong enough that the unemployment rate for the year was at its lowest level since 1974. High migration to B.C. placed tremendous strains on the housing and rental mar- kets in most major centres. Asa result, housing starts in urban British Columbia (cen- tee with a .population of 10,000 or more people) dur- ing 1980 reached the highest level ever recorded for British Columbia. Prelimin- ary data indicates that starts for these areas totalled 80,586 units — 44 per cent more than during 1979. B.C.’ reputation as a gate- way to markets was firmly underscored during the year as major ports reported ex- ceptional growth in. the amount of tonnage moving through the ports, At. the Port of Vancouver, 9.5 per cent more cargo was handled in 1980 than in 1979, almost all of it exports. Once again, capital spend- ing, to modernize and expand British Columbia’s indus- tries, was the propelling force behind the strong econ- omic performance. Capital and repair expenditures throughout the province for 1980 are estimated at $11,404.3 million, an increase of 22.4 per cent over 1979. ° There are large-scale in- vestae programs under- way in B.C.’s two major in- * dustries — forestry and min- ing. The two forestry giants, MacMillan Bloedel Ltd. and Crown Zellerbach Co.- Ltd. - have modernization ‘pro- grams in progress with a HON. DON PHILLIPS Minister of Industry and Small Business * Development combined value close to $1 billion. Northwood Pulp and Tim- ber Ltd. of Prince George is in the process of adding 725 t.p.d. to double the pres- ent capacity of the pulp kraft mill. Capital cost is estimated at $275 million. B.C. Forest Products Ltd. is one of three major com- panies expanding newsprint, capacity and adding thermo- mechanical ‘pulp machines. The cost to the company is $150 million. Western Forest Products Ltd, (formerly Ray- onier) is firmly committed to a modernization program of its B.C. operations costing $350 million over five years. Several other companies have plans for expansion on the drawing boards that could seo a further $1 billion being spent in the industry. In mining, Cominco Ltd. is firmly entrenched in an eight-year $425 million pro- gram at their lead-zinc com- plex at Trail and at the Sullivan mine near Kimber- ley. The lead-zine production complex is currently the largest in the’ world, and when the project is complet- ed, the capacity for these metals will be 600,000 tons combined, The copper-rich Highland Valley area of the province is on the ctergefof’-a mining: boom which could result in the valley producing 50 per cent’ of B.C.'s copper as sub- stantial amounts of capital to develop new mines or expand existing ones has been com- mitted. ‘The revival and expansion of a molybdenum mine and mill in the northeastern coastal region by Amax of Canada Ltd. will see a doubling of production upon completion. As well, the company is erecting a mod- ern town to accommodate 1,000 people. Other developments under construction or about to get underway which will impact on the provincial economy include: a natural gas pipeline to Vancouver Island; — 500-kilovolt power tran- smission line to Vancouver Island; — expanded ship repair facilities; ~a new shipping terminal with an adjacent industrial site; — Alaska Highway natural gas pipeline; »— B.C. Place, Pier BC Trade and Convention Ceti- tre, ‘Transpo, "86; We've been helping you with all your 9 years. nsurance needs for — light rapid transit sys. tem, Economic goals for British ‘In 1979, CanCel completed a major expansion of the smallwood sawmill to in- Columbia include’ diversifi- . crease the capacity of lumber cation of its economic base to achieve maximum benefit from its natural resources through further processing or value-added opportunities. Phe construction of a world- scale methanol plant with the capacity to produce 126 mil-. lion gallons of methanol an- nually on the west coast is a atep in this direction. Developers are currently evaluating proposals for the establishment of a liquified natural gas plant and ter- minal for the sale of natural gas, The LNG plant will shift 400 million cubic feet of gas per day to markets in Japan. In conjunction with the LNG project, a petrochemical project that will extract liquids such as propane and ethylene from natural gas, turn them into ethylene, and then turn the ethylene into a range of petrochecmical products for use in the plas- tics industry is also being considered. As part of the ING proj- ect, a terminal will be built which will also invotie the construction of four LNG tankers. Cost of these de- velopments are in the order of $5 billion. Other developments in- clude the multi-billion dollar, 2,000 megawatt thermal coal fired plant and a coal lique- faction plant at Hat Creek and B.C. Hydro's Site © hydro-electric plant. Also in the mega-project order of magnitude will be the development of north- eastern coal fields. The re- cent signing of an agreement to supply the Japanese steel. industry with 115 million tonnes of coal over a 15-year period will also involve the onstruction of a major port "If. CanCel's jon’. project is ‘an increase of:1,000 people | at Prince Rupert and a transportation network val- ued at, cost to $400 million. Increased shipments of coal to Japan and Pacific Rim markets from other major new coal mine developments that are underway elsewhere in the province, have spurred the expansion of Canada's largest coal-loading dock at Roberts Bank near Vancou- ver. Construction “of two additional terminals about 66 acres in size is in progress, ‘The expansion will ultimately quadruple the capacity of the facility to 40 million tonnes a year and will cost around $47.7 million. British Columbia is divided into nine diverse economic regions with each region contributing significantly to the development of the prov- ince’s economic mosaic. Economic activity through- out the Central Kootenay Region has traditionally cen- tred around the forest prod- ucts industry, with virtually all of the timber harvpated oving south to the an fal *~Filp-sawmill complex Castlegar. And we'll continue to provide the same friendly, ficient complete insurance service you need. Open 6 days a week all year long . . . to serve you better. ir Cohoe Insurance AGENCY LTD. 269 Columbia Ave. Ph: 365-3301 production. The company al- so has under study a $380 . millon project. to increaso Featuring pulp capacity by 500 ton per day. The decision on the largest whether to proceed is depen: tT dent on future market ae ! warehouse In ditions for pulp and a secure WH the Kootenays. economic supply of wood _ chips. Should "the project be” [J We've got 32,000 sq. #1. of given the green light, an‘ warehouts space to be increase in the work force of , e we'll have what 1,000 people is expected. tooking for. Mining in the central Koot- 3 oi enays have historically been of importance. To the north of the peels Noranda Mines Ltd. is preparing to develop the Goldstream Valley cop- per-zine mine. This $62 mil- fiom Project is expected to produce 75,000 tons of copper concentrate and 11,680 tons - of zine concentrate annually. Completion and start-up of the mines is slated for mid- summer of this year. Economic spinoff from the $425 million expansion pro- gram of the lead-zinc complex at Trail, continues to be felt at Castlegar, as many of the people employed at Trail have their homes there. An increase in the population of Castlegar has precipitated an increase in commercial dev- elopment and service facilit- - ies, making that city a major one-stop centre. . Additional spin-off benefits . accruing from.the construc. * tion of the Southern segment.+ of the: Alaska’ Highway. nat- ural gas pipeline has‘ also provided some impetus tothe local economy. ‘ In additional to forestry and mining activiites, the Watch for our Warehouse sale _ April Ist - 15th Central’Kootenay Region -is becoming synonymous with i A Pn] major hydroelectric dam - x »? construction which is under- , , . 7 : "y proposed $360 BUILDING SUPPLIES LTD. given the green * Your Tim-Br-Mart Dealer Weneta Juncilon trail B.C. way to help meet increased power demands in the early 1980's, The largest of these’ projects is being constructed on the Columbia River near Revelstoke by the British Columbia Power and Hydro Northwest Homes... Encino an ee Meeting the West Kootenays ggemeteosis | —_- Growing Housing Needs Further south on the Pend Oreille River (near the $500 million, Seven Mile hydro-electric power project has recently been completed. Should B.C. Hydro proceed with plans for a hydroelectric A dam and generating station on the Columbia River at Murphy Creek between Castlegar and Trail, an in- crease of 80 -95 per cent in employment opportunities be creat The development of the Kootenay region, as in other parts. of the province, is indicative of the strength of the provincial economy as | demand for our goods and services contributes signifi- cantly’ ‘to the shift of econ- + oe “prosperity to Western Featuring quality built homes by: riianco Home Systems Ltd.° Moduline Industries Ltd. ad "24x52 1152 sq. ft. Northwest Homes Ltd. JANICE HEAPS 940 Hwy. 3 — Just South of Castlegar — Ph. 365-3551 acest ERE R PCM LIN EAT SY _: Continued torn page! done in different ‘ways de- pending on several: related factors, of which ‘the chief ones ‘are: a ee and shape of gree of richness om the on ore; Somer of ‘occurrence; . geographic: lo- cation'and labor supply. Samples of a fow methods are: — drift, mining, under- hand stoping, overhead atop- ing, filled stopes and others. Tn the early days the pros- pectors went in. with hand '’ drills and hammers and hand paid with wheolbarrows. “Some of you would be sur- prised if you could see with ; your own eyes tho miles of fanaa raises god other first white men to look on the treasure-lined hills of fhe Blo- Blo- ean. Their wanderings them to the top of the tin un-named Payne hill where Carpenter went to look: be- yond for a glimpse of the blue waters of Kootenay Lake and ~ a short cut home to -Ains- faiture, but {t opened another. volume in the history of BC. He found the Payne, |<.‘ parte e story of their return Ainsworth, ‘of ‘the wild ccpede to the new Eldor- ado which followed the news of their discovery, and of the subsequent picturesque rush of 1892, much has beon and much has been written. Hundreds. and thousands of “Mining was practiced ‘since before _ the beginning of written history." ~ ‘drifts areiind this country. all. done by hand and candle- light. Then, when the ore was out, it would be’ loaded. on * packhorses ‘in; the. summer and packed out. In the winter '. dit would be loaded on raw. hides and hauled.down the” mountain» by. horse. One rawhide would carry about a ‘ton of ore. (I< have seen cayuses ride a rawhide of ore ‘down a hill when it went too , fast by sitting on the front end with their feet in the air.) ‘With the advent of steam and water power and com- better; more efficient mining methods doing away: with » Jot of extremely hard labor, and more than anything more safety. in working.con- ditions for the miners them- Fe are far cheek of the fowasy. industry. Well, now that you now a a little of what-the mining in- dostry is, I will get on with ae ee focan. 2In the carly daya the first Slocan ores were taken to the head of the Slocan Lake, then by. .packhorse. to Nakusp here the ore was loaded on ats and shipped to a.small shipped to Belgium and some to..smelters in the United States, such as Northport, Tro Kellogg and else- Same. ‘original discovery of ores in the Slocan was made in 1891 by two'old pros- pectors by the names of Eli Carpenter..and Jack Seaton who discovered the Payne Mine at Sandon. From that day on'the rush was to the Slocan district. . Literally - thousands: of claims were staked. Sandon became a tt claims’ were staked. The Nobel Five outfit alone lo- eated 21 claima in 80 days — every one now a mine. . Wildcatters followed, capi. tal was enticed by the im- mense surface showings, the camp tock a boom, the’ rail. roads and the success of the camp became a matter of - record. But old Eli and his partner. Seaton lacked faith inthe | land of promise which they: bad given to the world. They sold the Payne for a trifling itolees tb eiva van resume, ‘of all tho ore produced ‘at. each of the old mines would take ages to compile but lam able to “give “you the par -tieulars of a few. of the’ big: 935, producers up until Pie ld Hewitt property ertoi ‘ - But Tam amablo 9 give 8 & complete . record “of ., ship-. ments,’ One ‘ahipment: of ore * -ran 84 oz. silver, 84 per cent’ lead and 18° per cont ae to ore running an average of 254 oz, ailver:to’ the ton and 17 per cent lead. Ono shipment of 29 tons ran 478 ox sliver to 16 Meteor: G: P can City ‘on the first shipment. of 75" tans of ore in 1897 thousand dollars,.. went” to 1 to, blow. in’ the: jpokane pens, and ‘confidently! as- thoir friends that they: * ie jteve w= Bally, no less.'! ton is: cand now, ‘shot . the Payne’ is still shipping * ore. Steve’ Bailey, was “not Carpe quietly told his friends that” he had got more for the mine than it could ever.be worth. :° But Steve Bailey wasas far ~ wrong as Carpenter and Sea- ton, The new owners mined. .: In. the: three years of, th proprietorship they. took out as much ore as all the other Slocan mines combined. They © paid themselves a million of profits. Then they followed: the instincts of the shrewd operater; they did what Ger are seats . booming town with a popu- lation of i tour or five thousand people. At this time I will read an articls from the Arrow Lakes News:Centennial Paper: : : There.is an element of.ro- mance and adventure in min- ing which does not attach to any other industry. Once you live in a mine camp you are unfitted, to reside anywhere else.on earth. The cheerful © hopefulness ‘which there at- *tains,. the fond ‘expectancy, , : the waiting.’ forthe ‘unex- posted ~ all theso pe make the “hills ‘not’ only Aiebl e Bet lovable And that’ this unexpected does trestieatly happen’ is proven to the world every day. The ‘chapters which might be- written of lucky strikes, of sudden transfor-*- mations from: poverty to affluence, the tales.of men made rich in a night — these atories could not be. incor porated in a Carnegie «Li- brary. - Like all other’ camps the Slocan has had ita share of romance and the chapters are © evidently not all mitten yet. Under the hand of a talented writer the ‘story. of the Payne, for instance, * would make a tale no interesting as to cause contemporary nov- cee to o aide tothe rear and. Mont ‘Ne ‘Joth of December, _ 1891, two grizzled old pros- © pectors wandered ost aimlesaly up the gulch from the beautiful Slocan Lake. These men. were Eli: Car- penter and Jack Seaton, the giao it penter and Seaton and Bailey © had done before them — th vinloaded. This time the price :was $2,600,000 and ‘the’ purchas- ers were citizens of Montreal Cune ‘and Hoge and Sargeant hook hands with themselves and assured each other that they had got: more for the mine than it could ever be... worth. Then’, followed. the’ Mon ei management» — resent — and a systematic ° Fovelopment of the big Prop- erty. Now comes the story of a new strike, from 800 to. “Yoaded: The next chs) remains tobe written ell be tald in the stock market reports at Hiver at 25 cents an ounce — all these things will add to the excitement of the last chapter. - ‘The “Slocan ores were mainly silver, zinc and lead. Some gold came out of.the . Slocan City area but Sandon, New ate Silverton and: are strictly | ver tothe ties Reso property ‘produced up’ until 1922, Ore ranas high as 780 oz. of silver and-63 per cent lead. Net smelter returns to 1922 — $869,074.16, Alamo’ Group, ' up to 1928, With the ‘advent of steam an -not have the money. erty for $7,000 in's047 bat did Tecetat ‘all. Their interes i 4 in mining the publie."” : However, if feel. somehow that this cra has passed to ties“ considorable degree arid that a some, development work. The‘; ~ Galena Farm, Bilverton, ‘company we formed {s called 68,000 tons, 65 os, silver and ‘The Denver Bilver Inc. If we: five per. cent lead. can get this property, into Mammoth . Group, “Bilver- > +, production wo intend to open : ton, 208 o2, silvér, 67 per cent’ UP several more small Prop lead.. erties in the area, ; ‘Jackson Mino, south of ~ | 1am not trying to promo » Whitewater, | — we, had the sale of stock here but ex: Paint ‘that we have faith the Slocan and hope to see it: power and compressed air, the mining in-; Some: beck ai a healthy. ustry took aturn for. the batier A tons of ore averaging 60 oz. aie ae five per cent lead. Prince, Slocan. phe i shipped ore running 300 community sonie day... The: :-Monitor ‘; Group:(-at' zine ‘Three -Forks'ran steady for. silver and 60 per cent ‘ead. E ‘Capilio: Property New. ‘Denver shipped ore’that ran “870 oz, silver'to ton. Queen, “US, YOU: “have ‘the Scope. with today’s sie interest rates and ‘share, our knowledge of alternative financing, with ‘hings like equity loans and secondary: loans. In fact, we'll'guide you on every. aspec make the right sale at the:right CENTURY 21 Big Rock ‘Realty, (198 (Each offi ee doped owned «and arty, , D. to 1986; produced 2,828 ‘tons of oro with a total ‘production : Id, 809/520 panewncpanin 500. ind pendently ‘owned ‘and ‘operated ‘olfice: ign behind you:’And we'll advise you on: ways to’. NORTH AMERICA s that you'll; lop by. td. When it’ ‘comes. s i SCOTT. STAN PARTRIOGE 740