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PDAC e-News and Activities,
April 29, 2002 -
No. 1
Page Index
Canada’s
complex securities regulators and regulations gain attention
PDAC
responds to MMSD report
PDAC
Convention 2002: Another success story
Recent
presentations
Membership
survey
Manitoba
calls for papers
Mining
finance conference, Toronto, May 30-31, 2002
Conference
on disclosure rules for mining companies, Toronto, June 4-6, 2002
Canada’s
complex securities regulators and regulations gain attention
A major concern expressed by our members is
the difficulties that junior companies have in raising capital and
the onerous multiple listing and reporting requirements and fees in
Canada. The mining sector is only one of a number affected by these
hurdles which are threatening Canada’s competitiveness in the
global economy, and this issue has started to capture headlines. On
March 8, a number of PDAC representatives and junior company
presidents attended a meeting in Toronto to debate and discuss
securities regulations in Canada and the pros and cons of
harmonization versus a national approach. The meeting was organized
by the TSE-CDNX in partnership with the University of Toronto.
Participating in the meeting were directors Donald McInnes, Steve
Vaughan, John Steele, and Anne Slivitzky, director of issues David
Comba, and members George Duguay, John Clarke, and Ian Brodie-Brown.
PDAC responds to MMSD report
The Mining, Minerals and Sustainable
Development (MMSD) program, under the auspices of the Global Mining
Initiative, has been a two-year process of consultation and research
whose objective is to understand how to maximize the contribution of
the mining and minerals sector to sustainable development at the
global, national, regional and local levels. The MMSD draft report
was released for comment in March 2002. The PDAC formed an ad hoc
committee to develop its response to the draft report.
Clicking
here will take you to: a summary of MMSD; the draft report in
its entirety and the comments received to date; and the PDAC’s
response to the report.
PDAC Convention
2002: Another success story
The PDAC convention continues to be one of the
world’s premier meetings for the mineral exploration community.
Click
here for a summary of the 2002 convention. Along with the
publicized program are numerous private meetings, courses, and other
activities, many of which involve the PDAC. Here are just a few:
-
On March 9, president John
Steele welcomed a gathering of about 30 Canadian trade
commissioners and counsellors from around the world, who were
participating in a workshop organized by the federal Department
of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT) and attending
the convention. One of the chief objectives of the workshop was
to inform the participants about Canada’s mineral industry.
-
On March 9, John Steele and
first vice-president Bill Mercer met with members of a
delegation from Finland to discuss possible cooperative ventures
between the PDAC and its counterpart in Finland.
-
· On
March 11, following the official opening of the convention, John
Steele accompanied Natural Resources Minister Herb Dhaliwal and
some of his staff on a tour of the trade show.
-
On March 11, director Ian
Thomson and executive director Tony Andrews represented the PDAC
at a meeting with a delegation from Peru to discuss a number of
matters, including the objectives of the delegation and the
state of the industry in general. The delegation was headed by
the Minister of Energy and Mines and included senior ministry
officials from Lima and staff from the Peruvian Embassy in
Canada including the ambassador.
-
On March 11, director Steve
Vaughan chaired a special meeting involving Mineral Outlook
luncheon speaker Hernando de Soto, and a group of about 25
special invitees of the two luncheon sponsors, Newmont Mining
Corporation and Export Development Canada. Participants were
given the opportunity to continue discussions with Mr.de Soto on
the subject of his luncheon address. Attending were senior
representatives from both government and industry; PDAC
participants included director Bob Parsons, Tony Andrews and
David Comba.
-
On March 11, Tony Andrews
attended a meeting to discuss the format of the next Mines
Ministers Conference. Meeting participants included
representatives from the Manitoba Department of Energy and Mines
(the next hosts), Natural Resources Canada, the Mining
Association of Canada and the Ontario Mining Association.
-
On March 11, PDAC met with
the British Columbia Minister of Energy and Mines Richard
Neufeld and some of his senior staff, at their request, to
discuss geological survey issues. Representing the PDAC were
Bill Mercer, David Comba, director Mary-Claire Ward who chairs
the PDAC’s Geoscience Committee and Richard Sutcliffe, a
member of the committee.
-
On March 12, David Comba
attended a breakfast hosted by the Canada-South Africa Chamber
of Business, and featuring the South African Deputy Minister of
Energy and Mines as special guest and speaker.
-
On March 12, David Comba
attended a meeting with Ontario Minister of Mines Dan Newman and
his senior staff. Participants, who included representatives of
the Ontario Prospectors Association, Ontario Mining Association,
and northern Ontario prospector groups, discussed exploration
and mining issues in Ontario.
-
On March 13, Tony Andrews
represented the PDAC at a meeting of the Canadian Mineral
Industry Federation (CMIF), an umbrella organization for all
mineral industry associations across Canada. Discussions focused
on industry issues of common concern and subjects to be
presented at the next Mines Ministers Conference.
-
On March 13, Tony Andrews
and David Comba attended a meeting of the Board of Directors of
the Mining Association of Canada.
Recent presentations
In mid-April David Comba was invited to talk
at both the Northwest and Northeast Ontario Mines & Minerals
Symposia in Thunder Bay and Timmins respectively. Both
presentations dealt with the performance to date of the temporary
tax credit enhancement of flow-through share financings, including
current efforts to make the program more attractive to potential
investors and suggestions on how the program might be concluded.
Past president Gerald Harper attended the
Calgary Mining Forum and Alberta Geological Survey Minerals
Section Open House, held in Calgary on April 24 and 25. Gerald
spoke on the topic: The future of exploration and mining in
Canada.
These and other presentations are part of
the PDAC’s Speakers Bureau, a series of presentations on topics
of interest to the exploration industry.
Click
here for more information about this service.
Membership survey
Thanks to all members who responded to our
recent membership survey. The results will be used to develop
plans for the association over the next few years. The draw for
the gold wafer will be made in May and the winner announced at
that time.
Manitoba calls for papers
The Manitoba Mining and Minerals Convention
will be held from November 14-16, 2002, in Winnipeg. A call for
papers on exploration, investment, financial, land tenure,
aboriginal and labour relations, environmental and regulatory
issues has been issued. Full details at www.mineralsconvention.com.
Mining finance
conference, Toronto, May
30-31, 2002
PDAC members have been offered a 15%
discount on registration fees for a conference on mining finance,
to be held at the Four Seasons Hotel, Toronto, May 30-31. Speakers
include David Comba who will be speaking on the topic: Tax
sheltered Canadian mine exploration investments: Necessary jump
start or crutch? Full details at www.insightinfo.com.
Conference on disclosure rules for mining
companies, June 4-6, 2002
The Conference Board of Canada is organizing
a conference on National Instrument 43-101, to be held at the
Arcadian Court, 401 Bay Street, Toronto, from June 4-6. Topics
include: scope of the responsibilities of a QP; new liabilities
related to mining disclosure; corporate governance and disclosure;
and what the exchanges are looking for in mining disclosure. For a
full list of topics, speakers, and registration information, click
here.
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