PDAC Convention 2004

PDAC’s 2004 convention broke all records
The PDAC’s 2004 convention will go down in the association’s history as the biggest and most successful yet, surpassing even the halcyon days of 1996. A record 9,200 delegates, exhibitors, and guests gathered at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre for the four-day meeting.

Many came from outside Canada, representing 85 countries in all. The international flavour of the event was reflected in the technical program which included sessions on China and India, and technical papers from Australia, Mexico, New Zealand, South Africa and Argentina.

The technical program also highlighted developments in China with a full session covering the country’s geology and regulatory environment and the experiences of explorationists and producers working there. Copies of those papers and presentations in the technical program that have been made available by their authors can be accessed here.

Rising commodity prices and a booming junior mining sector ensured a busy and exuberant atmosphere in the Investors Exchange where 331 companies occupied 352 booths.

The Trade Show received special emphasis this year. On Tuesday afternoon, the convention program was suspended so delegates could have time to visit the 297 companies and organizations exhibiting there. And, for the first time, a daily Innovation Forum allowed exhibitors to demonstrate a wide range of new technologies from airborne gravity gradiometry to web site content.
The 32 companies exhibiting in the Core Shack, located just outside the halls where the technical sessions took place, enjoyed a steady flow of visitors throughout the four days.

Keynote speakers included Thomas Homer-Dixon, director of the Centre for the Study of Peace and Conflict and associate professor in the University of Toronto’s Department of Political Science. Homer-Dixon spoke about the difficulties that our society is encountering because our social ingenuity is lagging behind our technical ingenuity. This is the thesis of his award-winning book, The Ingenuity Gap.

Sir Sam Jonah, CEO of Ashanti Goldfields Company Ltd., gave the keynote address at the Wednesday PDAC-CIM joint luncheon. Sir Sam refuted the image of Africa as one of unrest, disease and corruption and cited statistics to show that mining in Africa compares well to the record of other continents. For example, in the past eight years six new mines have been developed and opened across Africa, compared to four in Australia and two in South America.

For the first time, a mayor of Toronto came to extend the city’s greetings to PDAC delegates. Mayor David Miller called attention to Toronto’s place as the mine finance capital of the world, and welcomed the $12 million impact the four-day convention has on the city’s economy. He noted that all delegates should feel at home in Toronto, whose diverse population represents virtually every country in the world.

The convention was given good press coverage by the 75 media representatives covering the event.

As always, social events were a significant part of the program, starting with an opening reception on Sunday evening, March 7. The following evening, the PDAC’s annual awards were presented at the Awards Banquet. On Tuesday evening delegates kicked up their heels at the traditional Mining Night, a party with beer and a band, and the convention wrapped up with a Wrap Party, Moroccan style, on Wednesday night.

Many thanks to sponsors, exhibitors, volunteers, delegates, suppliers, and staff for their contributions to the great success of PDAC Convention 2004.

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