Stagg Editorial- August 1995

VOISEY BAY

Voisey Bay is in Northern Labrador. It is one of the richest deposits of nickel discovered in this century. It rivals the vast iron deposits found in the Carol Lake area of Labrador which grew into the Wabush-Labrador City complex that Newfoundlanders know so well.

The discovery of this easily mined ore deposit was made by two young prospectors from Newfoundland, one from Buchanss and one from Stephenville. These two fellows and their resulting elevation to wealth make them a throwback to the mythical "gold rush" days of the nineteenth century. That this can happen in the late twentieth century in Newfoundland points out that Newfoundland still is a frontier province with the exploration and discovery of natural resources still forming a very important part of its economy.

The off-shore oil industry is less than twenty years old in Newfoundland and it is less then fifty years since the Labrador iron deposits were exploited. Gold mines and mines yielding copper, nickel and zinc have come and gone on the island of Newfoundland with regularity over the past fifty years.

Voisey Bay does us proud as Newfoundlanders. It shows once again that the resources of our home province are rich and of world class stature. However it points out to us that caution, care and prudence are vital in the exploitation of these resources for the ultimate benefit of Newfoundland and Newfoundlanders. We can all remember too well the sour and nasty feelings that were generated by the giveaways of resources in Churchill Falls and the debacle that the off-shore industry has become.

Care must be taken that Voisey Bay becomes more than just an interesting success story for prospectors. It must be a development that yields profit, jobs and secondary development for Newfoundlanders in Newfoundland. The great resources of Labrador, both minerals and water power, contain a vast reservoir of profitand opportunity. Let us make the most of what Newfoundland has been given by nature.

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