PDAC Convention 2002

The mood was upbeat at the PDAC's 2001 Annual Convention, Trade Show and Investors Exchange, held in Toronto, Canada, from Sunday, March 11 to Wednesday, March 14. The event, the 69th organized by the association and a premier event for the global mineral industry, attracted some 6,700 attendees, including representatives of 65 countries.

Technical program offered a wide range of topics
The technical program kicked off on Sunday afternoon  with papers on metals, minerals and markets. The keynote session on Monday morning introduced mining perspectives from around the world, emphasizing particularly North America, the developing Americas, Australia and the Far East and Africa. The technical program then split into three sessions that ran continuously during the three days. Sessions included: Diamonds: Canada's new best friend; Mining finance, the new environment; Geophysical practice: Exploring methods that really work; Mining – Socio-economic challenges for the new millennium; PGMs: Exploring for and mining these high-tech precious metals; and New discoveries and developments. An open session, consisting of some 30 papers which had been selected for presentation from a call for papers, was also part of the technical program. Those papers which were made available by speakers are listed at http://www.pdac.ca/pdac/publications/papers/2001/index.html.

Crowds came to hear about investment prospects in mining
The Investors Exchange, which featured 170 mining companies, attracted widespread interest from convention delegates and also from the many local people who came to find out about investment opportunities in mining.  Representatives of 35 of the exhibiting companies also gave presentations in the Exchange Forum, located in the Exchange. Company presentations were, as far as possible, grouped by commodity - gold, copper-gold, platinum-palladium-nickel, and diamonds. On the last day of the forum, Bob Bishop, Gold Mining Stock Report, John Kaiser, Bottom-Fishing Report, and Rick Rule of Global Resource Investments Ltd. delivered their views and insights on the sectors they cover, plays and companies to watch, to a packed audience.

Pavilions were a great attraction in the Trade Show
The Trade Show was bustling with activity from first thing in the morning until its late afternoon closing as delegates visited the more than 400 booths. Countries such as South Africa and Australia featured several company and government  displays within pavilions, as did British Columbia, Manitoba, the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Ontario, Quebec, Saskatchewan, and the Maritime provinces.

Many other features attracted the attention of the delegates: Prospectors Tent, Core Shack, the International Mineral Resource Centre which, for the first time this year, displayed geoscience publications from sister associations alongside government publications from around the world; the Great Canadian Mine Show; three short courses; luncheons; a student careers forum; and a full roster of evening social events, including a super guest program.

Thanks and congratulations!
The success of the PDAC Convention depends so much on the contributions and efforts of many people or organizations. To our speakers; exhibitors; sponsors; volunteers; staff; and suppliers – thank you for making PDAC Convention 2001 interesting, stimulating, informative, and memorable.

An exquisite hourglass filled with 2,000 fine diamonds in suspension created much fascination and admiration among this year's delegates. Thanks to De Beers for donating this lovely draw prize and congratulations to Gala Drolet of Drolet Investment Group who was the lucky winner.

Delegates comments about PDAC Convention 2001

This convention has established itself as one of the few 'must attend' events for a wide cross section of the international mining industry, Mining Journal Supplement, March 9, 2001. Note: This supplement gives an excellent overview of the PDAC convention. It also contains lists of exploration and mining companies, financial institutions, consulting groups, etc. Well worth a look!

The PDAC has gathered momentum over the years and is now clearly the world's premier exploration and mining conference, Gary Ralfe, Managing Director, De Beers, March 2001.

The crown jewel of mining conventions, Northern Ontario Business, February 2001

It's really a jamboree for the industry...and it really brings together all the major and junior mining companies, the explorers, the real small prospectors, and they're all getting together to try and sell each other perhaps mining leases or the prospect for new projects, so it's really one of those get-togethers where everyone in the industry gets a chance to shake hands, Tim Wood, Mining Web, March 2001

The PDAC Convention uniquely brings together entrepreneurial prospectors and exploration companies, finance houses, developers, and government bodies involved in mineral development and administration, Australian Geological Survey Organisation

Este evento anual es un lugar de privilegio para evaluar la situación sectorial y sus perspectivas ya que año tras año aumenta su importancia a nivel mundial. Todos los países mineros estuvieron representados, Noticias SEGEMAR, Mayo 2000

The United Nations of mining, SME Journal, August 1999

Attendance at PDAC is essential for countries blessed with some of the world's greatest resources, National Post, March 1999

The foremost meeting place for global miners, Northern Miner, March 1999

(The convention) has become the largest and one of the most important international meetings of mineral exploration professionals...this success results from a long evolution that has developed the right mix of technical sessions, commercial trade exhibitions and social events, as well as the snowballing reputation that the PDAC is the best minerals industry event to meet people and do business, New Zealand Mining, October 1998

This annual convention is the leading world forum on mineral exploration, New South Wales, Australia Minerals Update, June 1998

Toronto is the home of the world's mining industry – this is the only place in the world where you can hold a mining conference and attract over 5,000 people, Robert Champion de Crespigny, Chairman, Normandy Mining, March 1998

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