Public service today

I like being in the public service. My job has incredible variety and lots of responsibility. I find it very satisfying.” Those were the words of Dave Lefebure, chief geologist for the British Columbia Geological Survey (BCGS), as I interviewed him about B. C.’s mining boom in mid-April.

As contrived as that may sound, I know it’s true. Public service just runs in Dave’s blood.

He was the lab assistant when I started in Geology at Queen’s University, and was very patient with my rambunctious class. When I started a masters program in Geology five years later at Carleton University, Dave was doing his doctorate there; he became my unofficial mentor, helping me find a decent supervisor, and encouraging me to start up a weekly departmental rag,”Geobull”.

He moved to British Columbia, and in 1986 began his career with the BCGS as district geologist in Smithers. He moved to Victoria in 1991 to help manage the Survey, which he has headed since 2002.

Over the decades, Dave has seen the highs and lows of mining and exploration in the province. This is definitely one of the high years, following a record $416 million in exploration spending in British Columbia last year, more than 14 times the $29 million spent in 2001. There are now 20 mine development projects at the permitting stage, compared with a single one in 2001.

There are a number of reasons behind the boost in activity and spending. The dramatic rise in the prices of coal, base metals and gold over those years hasn’t hurt. The plague of pine beetles on the forests of central B. C., while devastating the forestry industry, has dramatically increased the road network and opened up that land for mapping and prospecting. Half the Survey’s mapping budget is being spent in this area, which industry had largely ignored in the past.

But one of the most influential factors in the increase in activity in British Columbia has been the provincial government’s change in attitude. “The government has strongly expressed an interest in supporting mineral exploration and mining. For example, its support for Geoscience B. C. [a non-profit society] and the 2005 increase in the budget for the Geological Survey have sent a clear signal to the industry… and industry has responded.”

Increased funding has allowed the BCGS to become an efficient gatherer and disseminator of the kind of geoscience data that is helping explorers make quick assessments of the mineral potential of different terranes. The province was also one of Canada’s first to offer Internet programs that make information and customized maps freely available, and allow for online claim staking. As a result, British Columbia is steadily increasing its share of the national exploration spending, at a time when all parts of Canada are seeing gains.

While industry geologists are traveling far more than they used to, they are becoming less expert in any particular mineral belt. This is creating a greater need for Survey geologists as confidential experts on the local geology. But the rising industry salaries are luring those geologists away from government surveys, leaving fewer behind and many of those approaching retirement age.

To help attract new staff, Dave says that the BCGS is again supporting many grad students in their thesis work, mentoring and training them, and encouraging some to a life of civil service.

Full circle.