Alberta's Minister of Energy Sonya Savage (Government of Alberta)

By Justin Goulet

Province announces Mineral Advisory Council

Sep 23, 2020 | 10:36 AM

CALGARY, AB – The government of Alberta has announced a five-member panel that will work to help the province become a world leader in mineral resource production.

The Mineral Advisory Council will help the province unlock Alberta’s vast, untapped geological potential for various minerals that are in increasing demand globally.

These minerals include lithium, vanadium, uranium, diamonds, potash and rare earth elements. Many of these are used to manufacture items such as batteries, cell phones and energy storage cells.

Minister of Energy Sonya Savage said a successful post-pandemic recovery requires a “strong and diversified economy”.

“Guided by the experience of our advisory council, we are designing a new mineral strategy that will place Alberta at the cutting edge of critical mineral exploration and development,” she stated.

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“Doing so will encourage investment and create jobs for Albertans, supporting our long-term economic recovery.”

In addition to the work to be done by the council, the government will engage with key stakeholders to gather input on the elements of a successful mineral strategy.

This includes improving public access to quality data about mineral occurrences in Alberta, having a streamlined regulatory environment in place that assures environmentally responsible development, enhancing opportunities for Indigenous Peoples, promoting innovation and attracting investment.

The government plans to release a complete strategy and action plan in the spring of 2021.

Members of the Mineral Advisory Council include:

• Stephanie Autut – Current executive director of the Nunavut Water Board. Autut has over 23 years of experience in environmental and land use planning and sustainable resource development legislation and regulation. She spent 11 years as the executive director of the Nunavut Impact Review Board.
• Bob McLeod – McLeod served two terms as premier of the Northwest Territories, retiring from the position in 2019. A 12-year political career followed 30 years in the public sector which focused on intergovernmental and Indigenous affairs, resource development, mining and regulatory reform.
• Allison Rippin Armstrong – Rippin Armstrong has more than 25 years of experience in regulatory processes and environmental compliance, and has worked with the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut Chambers of Mines, and the Yukon Women in Mining board.
• Gordon Stothart – The president and CEO of IAMGOLD, as well as the current chairman of the Mining Association of Canada. He has more than 30 years of experience in the international mining industry in operational, project and business development management roles.
• Eira Thomas – The president, CEO and co-founder of Lucara Diamond Corporation, as well as the current director of Suncor Energy. Thomas is a Canadian geologist with over 25 years of experience in the Canadian mining industry.

Alberta’s current non-energy mineral production comes mainly from 20 active quarries producing salt, silica sand, limestone and other industrial minerals.

The province noted that there is a small amount of gold production reported as a by-product of sand and gravel operations.

In 2019, Canada’s total mineral production value reached $48 billion.