Nice find Iceman. Here is the link to the article he is talking about: http://www.vancouversun.com/business/Schools+need+train+engineers+teachers+meet+demand+Coleman/5807344/story.html

So Minister of Energy and Mines is talking about 17 projects vrs Premier Clarke's 8. Maybe different sets (e.g. greenfield vrs expanding brownfield projects). I like Coleman's numbers better. He is one of the smarter Ministers in Cabinet and seems to do a good job with his ministries.

Here are some excerpts I liked from the article:

"...The mining sector, which now has about 14,000 direct jobs, has the potential to add another 10,000 new jobs over the next 1o years. Coleman announced that the province is committing $1 million to the mining industry associations to develop strategies to meet the sector's increased for skilled labour...."

[per Iceman] "...Coleman said B.C. has 17 new mines or mine expansions expected to be operating by 2015. He added later that on top of that, three or four major Chinese companies, including one that is considering a billion-dollar investment, are also looking at B.C. mining."

[ this one speaks to what I think Coleman is thinking is a good template for propective miners. It is also an excellent how the government is off-loading its responsibility to consult and accomodate FNs onto industry] "Coleman also stepped into the issue of consultation with first nations over mineral extraction, saying companies need to build a respectful relationship with them,

While he was speaking, mining company Taseko was in B.C. Supreme Court battling with the Xeni Gwet'in First Nation over Taseko's access to its New Prosperity property southeast of Williams Lake. The court granted the Xeni Gwet'in their injunction request.

"You've got to have a respectful relationship with the first nation in the area where you want to extract a mineral," Coleman said during the media scrum. "Simply put, we have had the court cases say they should be consulted and accommodated and worked with. You can do it two ways: you can litigate it or you can negotiate it. I think the best way is to sit down and work it out together."

However, he singled out NewGold's New Afton mine 10 kilometres south of Kamloops as an example of a mining company that has created a working relationship with first nations. NewGold has agreements that include jobs and training programs with the two first nations in the region. Further, the province has a revenue-sharing agreement with them.

"These guys, in my opinion, got it," he said. "They are mining. That's what they wanted to do. They went in and built a respectful relationship with the first nations and now they are actually building a mine."