Mining is a big part of the economy for North West BC, and Smithers. For the next two days Minerals North will be holding a conference at the Civic Arena in Smithers showcasing the industry.
Economic Development Officer for the Bulkley Economic Development Association Allan Stroet says they’ve had over 400 delegates already.
“We’ve certainly booked all the hotels we could. We’ve certainly seen an increase in restaurant visitation. We had Bovill Square events to bring people downtown onto Main Street to really check out our community,” says Stroet.
Stroet says it’s too soon to predict any growth or shrinking of the mining industry in the Northwest. He says with the opening of Red Chris Mine and soon Bruce Jack, and the closing of Huckleberry in august, there’s too many ups and downs to tell.
“you really have ups and downs, smithers is a very resilient community.”
He says the industry is the pillar of the Smithers Community.
“It’s largely invisible because the work is done off site. the projects are done in very remote places. but it still has a large impact on our community.”
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