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PDAC e-News and Activities, March 29, No. 24
Page Index
Record
attendance at PDAC Convention 2005
Human
resources survey – PDAC members’ views sought
Metals Economics Group produces report on exploration trends for
PDAC members
Cooperative
Geological Mapping Strategy
Mining Works for Canada
Mary-Claire Ward Geoscience Award winner is Michelle DeWolfe
Mining Studies
Summer Institute at UBC
Industry
members invited to mentor students
UBC student needs members’ help in research on social licence to
operate
CIM Geological
Society to meet in Toronto
Record attendance at
PDAC Convention 2005
Attendance at this year’s convention reached an all-time high of
12,000. This figure included delegates, exhibitors, guests and over
2,000 people who registered for the investors exchange. The attendance
figure also included 35 official delegations. In all, 85 countries were
represented. Convention summary.
Human
resources survey – PDAC members’ views sought
At the end of last year, we informed members about a study of the
human resource needs of Canada’s minerals and metals sector which is
being undertaken by the Mining Industry Training and Adjustment Council
of Canada (MITAC). The study is looking at a wide range of human
resources issues, e.g., employment and retirement trends, training and
skills development requirements, innovative and emerging technologies,
and the recruitment of the next generation of minerals and metals
professionals. Research for the study included a questionnaire. Response
to the questionnaire was not as enthusiastic as was hoped. PDAC director
Karen Sutherland, who represents the PDAC on the steering committee, is
urging members to respond to the questionnaire. Please send in your
responses by April 8.
Here’s Mrs.
Sutherland’s message and
questionnaire.
Metals Economics Group produces report on exploration trends for PDAC
members
A special report on global exploration trends has been produced for
PDAC members by the Metals Economics Group. The report, which was
released at PDAC Convention 2005, paints a rosy picture of recent
exploration activity, particularly in the junior sector. “Junior
exploration budgets,” it says, “rose 103% to $1.58 billion in 2004.”
Click here for the report.
Cooperative
Geological Mapping Strategy
Following the tabling of the federal government’s budget on February
23, 2005, the PDAC issued a
news release
expressing the association’s surprise and disappointment that no
provision had been made in the budget to fund the Cooperative Geological
Mapping Strategy (CGMS). The aim of the strategy, which was approved by
all of Canada’s mines ministers in 2000, is to improve the quality and
extent of geological mapping in Canada, particularly in the North.
In his opening remarks at PDAC Convention 2005, president Peter Dimmell
appealed to Natural Resources Canada Minister John Efford to re-consider
funding for this important program. “A commitment by the federal
government for funding for this program would trigger similar
commitments from the provincial governments,” he said. In a
subsequent letter to Finance Minister Ralph Goodale, Dimmell points
out that implementation of the CGMS would involve a total investment of
$25 million per year over ten years. The PDAC is seeking a meeting with
the finance minister to discuss the funding for CGMS.
Mining Works for Canada
Mining Works for Canada is a national public affairs program. Its
goal is to promote the profitable growth and development of Canada’s
mining industry by enhancing the mining industry’s reputation among key
federal government decision-makers. The PDAC is one of the largest
contributors to this initiative. The program is perhaps best known for
Mining Day on the Hill, an event which brings industry leaders, MPs and
government officials together to discuss issues of concern to the mining
industry. Members might be interested in reading the
Mining Works for
Canada newsletter. The latest issue
contains an article on the Cooperative Geological Mapping Strategies
(see story above). If you would like to be on the distribution list for
the newsletter, please send an email to Maggie Papoulias,
mpapoulias@mining.ca.
Mary-Claire Ward Geoscience Award winner is Michelle DeWolfe
The winner of the first Mary-Claire Ward Geoscience Award is
Michelle DeWolfe. Michelle is a Ph.D. student at Laurentian University,
Sudbury. The topic of her award winning thesis is Volcanic
Reconstruction of the Paleoproterozoic Hidden and Louis Formations,
Manitoba, Canada. David Ward, son of the late Mary-Claire Ward,
presented Ms. DeWolfe with a $3,000 cash award and certificate at the
PDAC’s annual awards banquet on March 7. Twenty-seven students from
universities across the country applied for the award.
Click here for further details.
Mining Studies
Summer Institute at UBC
This year the Mining Studies Summer Institute, a component of the
Certificate of Mining Studies, will be held during the month of June on
the University of British Columbia campus and at two mine sites in
British Columbia. The 14 courses will be taught by experts and will be
offered in the following five streams: mining methods and planning;
mineral processing; geotechnical and rock mechanics; mine management:
risk assessment, financial analysis; and environment, social issues,
health & safety.
More details.
Industry
members invited to mentor students
Industry members are invited to attend Mentoring, Marketing and
Lunch (free!) during the CIM's annual conference and exhibition in
Toronto. The event, which is part of the CIM’s industry-student mentor
program, will be held from noon until 2 p.m. on Monday, April 25 in room
104A at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. Industry members are
encouraged to register as mentors and to invest some of their time at
the conference with interested students - sharing their experiences,
providing advice and encouragement. For more information, contact
Laurelle LeVert, Lassonde Institute, University of Toronto, email
laurelle.levert@utoronto.ca;
telephone 416 946 4095.
UBC student needs members’ help in research on social licence to operate
Jacqueline Nelsen, a UBC mining engineering graduate student, is
currently researching how mining companies define and acquire a social
licence to operate. She invites PDAC members to participate in her
research by answering a questionnaire on this topic. The responses to
the questionnaire will help her determine the industry’s current
understanding of what constitutes a social licence to operate and to
provide data for her thesis, Modeling social license in a mining
engineering context. Click
here
to read her invitation and information about her thesis, to access the
questionnaire, or to contact her about her research.
CIM Geological
Society to meet in Toronto
The CIM Geological Society is offering a range of special sessions
during the CIM’s AGM in Toronto (April 24-27). The eleven sessions will
be complemented by field trips and a pre-conference workshop on
practical approaches to exploration geochemistry for mineral deposits.
Click
CIM Exploration Geochemistry Workshop or
Toronto 2005 Mining Rocks for further details.
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