Ontario promotes new mining skills for youth
PARRY SOUND – The Ontario government is promoting mining by partnering with Scouts Canada on the first ever digital prospecting specialty badge to be used in the Canadian scouting movement, Rick Bartolucci, Ontario Minister of Northern Development and Mines announced today.
“The future of mineral development lies in the hearts and minds of our youth,” said Bartolucci, who presented the first badges to the 13th Burlington Scouts at the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada Annual Convention. “By earning these badges, these young people have not only developed important skills but also insights into prospecting which may ultimately lead them to consider a career in mining.”
Developed by the Ministry of Northern Development and Mines (MNDM) in collaboration with Scouts Canada, the new digital prospector specialty badge is aimed at encouraging young people to improve their mapping skills and expand their knowledge of resource-based industries.
“We’re extremely grateful that the ministry has worked with us to develop the criteria for this important skill set,” said Don Burgess, Scout Leader, 13th Burlington Scouts, who led the effort to establish the new badge. “The scouts have enthusiastically embraced the curriculum that has led them to learning these new skills.”
As part of the curriculum, the ministry facilitates access to its award winning CLAIMaps web site as well as providing links to similar sites in other jurisdictions. Scouts earning the badge are asked to generate a site-specific map and identify geographical co-ordinates, change the scale of the map, and identify specifics such as the contour elevation of a particular lake. Participants are also asked to manipulate and experiment with a map to determine various aspects of mining claims.
The curriculum for earning this badge is available to about 84,000 scouts across Canada.
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