A real map of mining projects planned in Quebec shows the opposite.
Screenshot from circulating post.
An image circulating containing screenshots of two maps suggests that forest fires in Quebec are taking place in the very places where mining projects are planned. However, this is not the case, and one of these two maps does not show what the author suggests.
Map of the fires taken 1 hour ago and the map of their mining project for by 2025 just a simple coincidence, a user claims in a Facebook post.
The post contains two maps: one that supposedly shows the wildfires raging right now in Quebec and another labeled Key Future Minerals in Quebec: Projects and mines.
The post has been shared at least thousands of times on Facebook, where there are dozens of copies. The cards also ended up on Twitter and TikTok, where several videos have accumulated more than 100,000 views.
Screenshot from circulating post.
The map on the left is a screenshot of a map from the Canadian Wildland Fire Information System of Natural Resources Canada, published on June 5 on the website of the Montreal daily Le Devoir . This map showed the situation on the ground on that date.
The map on the right comes from the Government of Quebec website. Despite the wording, the map does not show the location of planned mining projects in Quebec, but rather deposits of mineable mineral resources within the province.
A map showing the true location of some thirty Quebec mining projects can be found on the website of the Ministère des Ressources naturelles et des Forêts.
If we compare this last map to a representing the current state of forest fires at the SOPFEU site, we see that there is no link between these and the location of the mining projects.
The fires also seem to be mainly taking place in regions where no mining project is planned. There is no active forest fire in the Rouyn-Noranda region, for example, although a third of the mining projects are planned there.
You can consult the difference between the two maps using the interactive tool below.
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