I took a trip last fall to northern British Columbia.  Flying from Vancouver, I first stopped in a small village with a population of just over 5,000. This village is one of the “big cities” for the region.  In the surrounding communities, you’ll hear weekenders talking about “going for a night” in this small town with the same excitement as they might discuss a trip to Vegas.

Then I took a short fixed-wing flight to another rural community.  This tiny hamlet has an airstrip, a hotel and several cabins.  When the local pub didn’t get its food shipment one day, I was nearly left without any dinner — there simply aren’t other facilities here.

And yet places like these two small settlements are bustling with activity.  The short flight into the town cost more than my ticket up from Vancouver.  A night at the hotel proved more expensive than my last stay at the four-star Intercontinental in Bangkok.

These two small communities are beginning to feel the ripple effects from the world’s first trillion-dollar boomtown.

#-ad_banner-#That trip confirmed my suspicions that massive, natural gas-driven investments here are going to blow the local economy through the roof, and I shared the incredible opportunities with StreetAuthority Daily readers in Monday’s issue.

But today I would like to share with you an entirely different boom already unfolding in the region — mining.

This part of northern British Columbia has become one of the most desired places on the planet for copper and gold exploration and development.

This area is host to one of the most active mining sectors on the planet, evidenced by the fact that two huge copper-gold mines are coming online here, both of which have major potential. As I stated in my recent Junior Resource Advisor update:

We recently got an update on the newest project — the Red Chris mine from developers Imperial Metals (OTC: IPMLF) — showing that things are well advanced.

Imperial has completed much of the infrastructure for Red Chris, including roads, footings for power lines, and foundations for the mine buildings. Pre-stripping of ore began in January.

That means we’re not far from seeing this giant start up. The expected commissioning date is June 2014, with full production slated for the fourth quarter of this year.

I went on to tell my Junior Resource Advisor readers about another project involving a Chilean mining giant partnering with a Canadian junior minor, which could pay off big for early investors.

The details of the partnership go like this… The Chilean mining giant will cover the first $5 million in exploration and drilling expenses and pay the Canadian junior miner $3 million in cash — all to earn a 65% interest in the project.

That means the Canadian junior actually gets paid to make discoveries — instead of bleeding cash the way most junior exploration companies do. And the Canadian junior retains at least 35% ownership in the projects, potentially resulting in huge gains for shareholders in the event they hit pay dirt.

So what’s the upside? We can’t be completely certain with projects like this, but when another junior explorer, Doubleview Capital (TSX-V: DBV), had a promising drill result from its first copper-gold development in the region, shares climbed nearly 700% before tracing back a bit.

You don’t see major mining companies striking those kinds of rich deals in many parts of the world. The fact they’re doing so in British Columbia is a testament to the huge potential of this emerging mining hotspot.

Out of fairness to my Junior Resource Advisor subscribers, I can’t share the name of this junior minor in today’s issue. But there will be a lot more activity like this in the coming months and years, and I’ll be sure to provide updates to readers when I have any new information to report. In the meantime, I encourage you to read my full report on our Canadian boomtown, where I’ll give you even more details on this exciting opportunity.