News Release

PDAC Convention 2009

Convention by numbers
18,000 attendees 
600 exhibitors in the Investors Exchange  
350 exhibitors in the Trade Show
60 exhibitors in the Core Shack
64 papers presented in the Technical and Open Session
7 short courses
826 students from across Canada
65 sponsors

A steady stream of people descending the double escalators for the opening of the Investors Exchange on the morning of March 1 was a strong sign that interest in the exploration business was still front and centre in investors’ minds. Inside the exchange, there were 600 exhibitors to visit, and the Exchange Forum, where a long list of presenters discussed the prospects for uranium, copper, gold, lead, zinc and other commodities.
 
The economy was on everyone’s lips as the world faced the worst recession since the Great Depression of 1929. In his opening address, PDAC President Jon Baird reminded convention attendees that “what goes down does go up,” and urged them to take this time, while capital markets are on pause, to prepare for the future.
 
He pointed out that organizers had designed this convention with the economic times in mind. Workshops, technical sessions and seminars offered opportunities for attendees to build the skills gain the knowledge and make the connections that will be needed once the mineral industry recovers.
 
In tough times, networks are important, and the convention housed many networking events, including an opening reception, a reception hosted by Women in Mining, and a Trade Show networking reception on Monday and Tuesday afternoons.
 
Social events after business hours extend the networking opportunities. These included the Awards Evening on Monday and a wrap-up gala on the final night of the convention, along with the many receptions, hospitality suites, and informal meetings that are held around the convention.
 
As Teck Vice President of Exploration Ted Daly told delegates, “The PDAC Convention is recognized globally as the best networking event in the world.”
 
Here are some of the highlights
 
More than 100 countries had delegates at the convention, including 40 countries with booths in the Trade Show and 13 with presentation rooms. Countries with presentation rooms in the Trade Show included Australia, Indonesia, Peru, Russia and the West African Economic and Monetary Union, comprising Mali and seven other French-speaking countries in West Africa. Almost one in four of the 18,000 visitors to the convention were from outside Canada.
 
Anthony Hodge of the International Council on Mining and Metals voiced concern about the number of people losing their jobs in the industry, many of them young with relatively little experience. “We have to be sensitive to the fact that in a year or two, we’ll desperately need these people,” he said. “We need to think strategically about this.”

This was a “green” convention. Delegate bags were made of 100 per cent post-consumer recycled materials and delegates were encouraged to recycle them by donating them to Frontier College, a national literacy organization, for distribution to aboriginal literacy summer camps. All delegates received a stainless steel water bottle, which could be refilled at water trailers provided by the City of Toronto.
 
A rousing cheer went up from 400 students attending the Student-Industry Networking Luncheon. The reason? A federal government official had just announced that the government had 150 mapping jobs for students.

At this year’s Women in Mining (WIM) reception, the winners of the Meet the Mining Mogul contest were announced.  Karen Sutherland, Virginia Heffernan and Guy Saucier will each have a chance to tap into the wisdom of Rob McEwen of U.S. Gold, Eric Sprott of Sprott Asset Management and Frank Giustra of Fiore Financial, respectively, during a one-hour face-to-face meeting.  The contest was in support of WIM’s latest charitable initiative, The Townships Project, which provides micro-financing in South Africa’s townships. Entries came from donors, and from individuals submitting a short essay on why they wanted to meet a financier.
 
Federal Minister of Natural Resources Lisa Raitt attended the opening ceremonies. In her remarks, she paid tribute to the mining industry, which in 2007 employed 363,000 people and added $42 billion to Canada’s Gross Domestic Product.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT), in collaboration with the PDAC and the Canadian Association of Mining Equipment and Services for Export, organized a two-day international mining café for delegates. DFAIT had about 60 representatives at the convention. Over 150 Canadian companies took part in more than 1,000 meetings with trade commissioners and other officials from embassies and consulates in North America, Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa, Asia and Europe. DFAIT also prepared and distributed copies of a CD-ROM called Global Mining Opportunities for Canadian Companies.
 
PDAC Mining Matters hosted a special event for younger students and their teachers. Teachers participated in an earth science instructional development workshop, while junior and senior students, along with their teachers, took part in a variety of activities designed to promote earth science careers.

PDAC Mining Matters also ran a silent auction. It featured nine items a day, primarily jewelry provided by one of Mining Matters’ suppliers. In all, the auction raised just over $6000.00.
 
The aboriginal presence was noticeable right from the opening of the convention on Monday, March 2, when Waasaanese, Alex Jacobs, an elder and member of the Ojibwe First Nation of Whitefish Lake, carried out a smudging ceremony and offered a prayer for the success of the event.

Later the same day, Calvin Helin, president and CEO of Eagle Group of Companies, Orca Spirit Publishing and Communications and author of Dances with Dependency: Out of Poverty through Self-Reliance, gave the keynote address at the Mineral Outlook Luncheon.
 
Toronto Mayor David Miller welcomed convention delegates at the Mineral Outlook Luncheon, describing Toronto as the meeting place for industry between seasons to drum up financing for the remainder of the year. Toronto is not only the business and finance capital of Canada, he said, but it is also “home to the world’s soundest banking system.”

René Droter of Cameco left the convention a happy man. He was the winner of a 1.10 carat Canada Goose diamond donated by Diaco Inc. The diamond is valued at $16,300.

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