Darlene Simpson, chief negotiator for the Skii km Lax Ha, says almost every mine built in British Columbia comes with an environmental cost to native communities.

But she knows there is something worse: poverty.

Canada's mining industry broke records in 2011 for exploration spending, production and exports, according to a report released Monday by the Mining Association of Canada.

The report states that Canada has emerged as the world's top destination for mineral exploration, attracting 18 per cent of global investment, well ahead of second-place Australia, which attracted 13 per cent.

British Columbia's modern mineral exploration and development industry is leading the way when it comes to attracting investment and building business partnerships with local and aboriginal communities.

B.C. laws that allow mining claims to be staked online with a credit card — but without consulting aboriginals — are likely to be rewritten in response to a Yukon Court of Appeal decision, the West Coast Environmental Law group says.

TORYPHOTOS ( 1 ) Noront Resources wants to develop a huge chromite mine in the 'Ring of Fire', McFauld's Lake, Ont.
Photograph by: Download , Noront Resources

MARTEN FALLS, Ont. — For Christmas, Chief Eli Moonias received a Toronto Maple Leafs jersey autographed by Wendel Clark.

Oil and gas development, logging, mines, large dams and other industrial infrastructure are having an alarming impact on natural areas and wildlife habitat in the booming Peace Region of northeastern British Columbia, according to a new study (http://davidsuzuki.org/publications/reports/2012/atlas-of-land-cover-ind...) released today by the

SURREY, BC, Dec. 6, 2012 /CNW/ - FortisBC announced it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the B.C. First Nations Energy and Mining Council (FNEMC), making energy self-sufficiency for First Nations communities a priority. It is the first time a privately-held energy company has signed such an agreement.

The Taku River Tlingit First Nation has announced it opposes the Tulsequah Chief hard rock mine near the Taku River in British Columbia.

Chieftain Metals Inc. of Toronto, Canada owns the Tulsequah Chief Mine. The mine is located about 40 miles north of Juneau. It is a zinc, copper, gold and silver mine from the 1950s previously owned by Redfern Resources Ltd.

A federal review panel has put the brakes on Taseko’s planned New Prosperity mine in the Chilcotin, citing a “major deficiency” in the company’s environmental-impact statement.

It is the coldest night of the season, well below freezing, and the tawny grasses are stiff with frost. Since dawn we’ve been trekking through a shadowy forest of pine and fir, eventually reaching a wide, arched meadow with views extending to the south and west.