Diamonds sparkle at Cordilleran Roundup (February 11, 2002)

Vancouver — If high attendance and enthusiasm at a conference are any indication of an industry’s strength, then the recent Cordilleran Exploration Roundup in Vancouver showed that mining is finally getting back on its feet.

Diamonds took centre-stage at the 19th annual conference, held at the Vancouver Hotel. The British Columbia and Yukon Chamber of Mines estimates that about 2,500 delegates attended the 5-day event. About 150 exhibitors were featured, as were 60 core shacks, and the number of technical papers and poster displays exceeded 115 — all significantly higher than in the previous year.

Diamonds continued to catch the attention of delegates. One well-attended session, titled “Diamonds — the Next 10 Years,” focused on the Otish Mountains discovery and the Wemindji project, both of which are in Quebec, as well as the Fort la Corne kimberlites in Saskatchewan. The talks also touched on the emerging diamond exploration district in the North Slave Craton of Nunavut.

Also well-attended were the “Back to Canada” talks, which focused on new developments in the Thompson nickel belt of Manitoba and the Quesnel Terrane in British Columbia. Singled out for discussion were the Raglan nickel/copper/platinum-group-element operation in Quebec, the Red Lake gold mine in Ontario, and the Kemess gold-copper mine in British Columbia.

New discoveries and developments at the Hope Bay project in Nunavut were also discussed, as was the Assean Lake project in Manitoba.

At the “Emerging Trends in Mineral Exploration in B.C.” session, delegates learned that low levels of exploration spending continued to plague the industry in 2001. It is estimated that $7.2 million was spent on exploration in the province last year, compared with $27 million in 2000.

Other statistics were no less revealing: it takes an average of $75 million to find one new mine, and the value of mineral production in the province is estimated at $2.94 billion. Of that total, coal represents 34.8%, followed by copper at 21%. This is higher than the $2.8 billion reported for 2000, when coal accounted 29% and copper, 25%.

Platinum group metals were showcased at a breakaway session. Aspects of reef-type and alkaline intrusive-style platinum-group-element mineralization were discussed, as were methods for analysis.

At the awards ceremony, the keynote address was given by Barbara Stymiest, president of the Toronto Stock Exchange.

The H.H. “Spud” Huestis Award for excellence in prospecting and mineral exploration went to Lorne Warren of Smithers, B.C. He discovered gold at Mt. Bodine and Dome Mountain, copper at Huckleberry Mines, and silver at Tommy Jack Creek.

The E.A. Scholz Award for excellence in mine development went to Northgate Exploration, in recognition of its accomplishments at the Kemess South mine in north-central British Columbia. Among the executives cited for their leadership were: Chairman Terry Lyons, President Ken Stowe, Mine Manager Maurice Ethier, and Kemess South Chief Gelogist Michael Hibbitts.

The Murray Pezim Award for perseverance and persistence in financing mineral exploration was given to Robert Hunter, prominent mineral financier and co-founder of the Hunter-Dickinson group of companies.

Three persons received the Frank Woodside Past President’s award for outstanding service to the British Columbia and Yukon Chamber of Mines, namely: Robert Boyd, president of Ashton Mining of Canada; Sheila Holmes, office administrator with the Chamber of Mines; and Thomas Schroeter, senior geologist with the province’s mines ministry.