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PDAC e-News and Activities, June 6, No. 35
Page Index
Scott
Jobin-Bevans elected second vice president
Professional liability insurance rates under investigation
Preparations under way for roundtables on corporate social
responsibility
PDAC
presents to Standing Committee on Natural Resources
Thank you to companies responding to our health and safety survey
Mining in Society attracted large audience of youngsters
Powerpoint
on careers in mining is a useful tool
Scott
Jobin-Bevans elected second vice president
Congratulations to Scott Jobin-Bevans who has been elected second vice
president of the association. Scott is managing director of Caracle
Creek International Consulting Inc., a Canadian based international
geological and mining services company headquartered in Sudbury. He has
been a PDAC director for three years, and is a director of the Ontario
Prospectors Association. Currently he is co-chair of the Student Affairs
Committee and a member of the International Affairs and Membership
committees. Scott represents the PDAC on the Canadian Geoscience Council
Liability Insurance Committee and also chairs the PDAC’s Ad Hoc
Insurance Committee [see
item below].
Professional liability insurance rates under investigation
The Ad Hoc Insurance Committee, chaired by Scott Jobin-Bevans, is
spearheading an initiative that aims to reduce professional liability
insurance rates for professionals working in mineral exploration. The
group is hoping to implement a group insurance plan for the industry,
including geoscientists and geological engineers, by this coming fall.
The committee is also investigating Workers’ Safety and Insurance Board
requirements across Canada to see whether the mineral exploration
industry could have its own rate group. The group is also looking to
have provincial rates, which are now widely disparate, harmonized. For
more information, please contact Mr. Jobin-Bevans at
scott.jb@cciconline.com.
Preparations under way for roundtables on corporate social
responsibility
Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada is organizing four
two-day roundtables over the next six months to discuss issues related
to corporate social responsibility [CSR] and the extractive industries
in developing countries. The roundtables, which will include all
interested parties, will be held in Vancouver, Toronto, Calgary and
Montreal. Holding the roundtables was one of the recommendations
contained in the government's response to a 2005 report prepared by the
federal Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade on
CSR and the extractive sector [including mining and oil and gas] in
developing countries. The PDAC will be represented at each of the
roundtables, which will discuss the following topics: CSR standards and
best practices; positive and negative incentives supporting the
implementation of CSR standards and best practices; verification of CSR
performance and a dispute resolution mechanism; support for implementing
CSR standards [for government officials working in developing
countries]; and building capacity for the governance of CSR issues in
host countries. The PDAC considers these roundtables to be of great
significance to mining and exploration companies working in developing
countries and feels that it is important that the mining and exploration
sector is well represented at the roundtables. For more information
about how you or your company might participate, contact Tony Andrews at
aandrews@pdac.ca.
PDAC presents to Standing Committee on Natural Resources
Executive Director Tony Andrews spoke on the opportunities and
challenges facing Canada’s mineral exploration industry during his
presentation to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Natural
Resources on June 1. Pointing out that Canada is well positioned to
benefit from the global commodity boom, Mr. Andrews said that on the
other side of the equation is this country’s decline in commodity
reserves. The discovery of new mineral deposits in Canada is, therefore,
vital and requires a sustained and high level of investment in
exploration. A strategy, aimed at achieving these two objectives, was
developed by the PDAC in 2005 and endorsed by Canada’s mines ministers
in the same year. The strategy is two-pronged and includes
recommendations for exploration incentives and renewed attention to
geoscience.
Click here for a copy of the presentation.
Thank you to companies responding to our health and safety survey
Thanks to those companies responding to the health and safety survey
which we recently conducted with the Association for Mineral Exploration
BC. The response rate was 20%. The results are now being tabulated and
will be incorporated into a health and safety publication to be released
later this year. The winner of the draw will be announced shortly.
Mining in Society attracted large audience of youngsters
Vancouver was host recently to Mining in Society, an event designed to
raise the public’s awareness about the mining industry and its
contributions to our daily lives. There was a definite emphasis on
attracting young people, and this it did very successfully. Over 800
elementary and high school students visited the show. It is no small
feat to keep 800 energetic youngsters occupied and maintain their
attention. Congratulations to Laura Clinton of PDAC Mining Matters and
Sheila Stenzel of the Mineral Resources Education Program of British
Columbia and their team of university and college helpers who
accomplished this, offering a wide range of activities under the heading
‘the amazing mine challenge.’ The British Columbian education curriculum
includes mineral resources and mining in its Grade 5 science and social
studies program, and teachers attending remarked that the show
reinforced much of what students had learned.
Mining in Society was held in conjunction with the
annual meeting of the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and
Petroleum. The show was divided into six pavilions, each of which
represented stages in the mining cycle from exploration, through
production, to mineral products. The PDAC sponsored the exploration
pavilion.
Powerpoint
on careers in mining is a useful tool
A complete Powerpoint presentation on careers in the mining industry is
available
here. The presentation has been put together by the Mining Industry
Human Resources Council. The file is large and will take some minutes to
download. However, the wait is worthwhile. This presentation has been
carefully and thoughtfully created. Instead of simply focusing on ‘jobs
in the mining industry,’ the presentation identifies the range of jobs
within each part of the industry. In the exploration sector, for
example, jobs include: geologist, geological technician, diamond
driller, prospector, geophysicist, GIS specialist, financial consultant,
bush or helicopter pilot, government programs administrator, and more.
There is also an attempt to match a person’s interests with the jobs
available. Jobs in exploration, for example, will appeal to people who
like adventure and travel, exploring the outdoors, investigating for
clues, and geology and sciences and so on. If you are asked or volunteer
to talk to high-school students about careers in the industry, then your
work is done for you. This is an excellent tool. |
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