EDITORIAL PAGE — PDAC takes the world stage

In early March, the Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) hosted what has become the foremost mining conference and exhibition in the world.

This is no small accomplishment for an organization that was formed by a handful of mining men in 1932, at the height of the Great Depression, to fight a government bill that threatened the livelihood of prospectors in Ontario.

A year or so later, the Toronto-based organization had grown to include not only prospectors but anyone whose livelihood depended on mining. By all accounts, the first conferences, held at the King Edward Hotel, were lively affairs where, somehow or other, serious business was conducted between rounds of parties.

In the ensuing years, the PDAC evolved into a truly national organization, with representatives from all over Canada meeting to share information and discuss the issues of the day. In the past decade, it has grown in size and stature to become an international event. The PDAC deserves much of the credit for having put Toronto on the map as the mining venture capital of the world.

The PDAC’s reputation for being at the forefront of exploration and development trends worldwide has helped draw delegates from almost every continent to its annual conventions in Toronto. This year, well over 7,000 delegates came to the Convention Centre and the Royal York Hotel to meet old friends and make new contacts, and to hear about the latest discoveries and developments in North America and elsewhere. So much was going on that delegates complained of not having enough time to see and hear it all.

Government and industry delegations from countries in Africa, South America, Asia and Europe were on hand, as was a sizable contingent from Down Under.

For them, the PDAC convention was an opportunity to meet with the movers and shakers of the mining industry, and with those who raise capital for exploration and new mines.

More importantly, the PDAC’s success in drawing an international audience has made Ottawa sit up and take notice that Canada’s mining industry has matured into a major world player. Not only is the industry a star performer in bringing in export dollars from mined commodities; it is also a leader in the sale of services and technology that are used to find, develop and operate mines.

This year, Canadian Mines Minister Anne McLellan was on to hand to offer words of support to the industry and to stress her commitment to working with the provinces to streamline the regulatory process for new mine development.

She also reminded delegates of the potential the country still offers for new discoveries similar to those made in recent years at Voisey’s Bay and at Lac de Gras.

The underlying theme in the minister’s message was that politicians in Ottawa, as well as in the provinces, appear to have realized they must now work harder in order to compete for the investment capital required to foster Canada’s mining industry. It also appears they recognize that the immediate priority should be the re-creation of an efficient regulatory regime.

All this bodes well for the domestic mining industry which, for too many years, has been afforded little public recognition for its many achievements and accomplishments. It is ironic that the achievements of Canadian companies abroad — such as Arequipa Resources in Peru and Bre-X Minerals in Indonesia — have done much to emphasize to Canadians that finding and developing mines are something we do well as a nation.