Rising commodity prices were expected to be one of the hotter topics as more than 17,000 members of the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) gathered in Toronto this week for their 76th annual convention.
"Canada is a huge player in the mineral exploration and development business," said convention planning chair Rod Thomas. "In fact, I would have to say we are the leader, especially in the way we excel in having vital capital markets to secure funding for these projects.
"The convention is an annual event that's a huge networking opportunity for everyone. Last year we had 17,600 people and this year we should have that and more."
Delegates were registered at the convention from more than 100 different countries, including China, Australia and South Africa, said Thomas.
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| Rod Thomas |
He explained the event used to be held at Toronto's Royal York Hotel until it grew too large and moved in 1976 to the nearby Metro Convention Centre.
Thomas said one of the biggest concerns in the industry was commodity prices. Some analysts were concerned about the effect on the North American economy in February after oil started inching past US$100 a barrel.
Most of the concern was that higher oil rates would send the price of gasoline at the pumps soaring. That would then have a domino effect on other industries from the retail sector to travel and tourism.
The annual convention has seen its share of controversy over the years and there are many stories.
More than 20 years ago, an angry creditor was arrested by police after murdering a mining promoter during the event. In 1997, Bre-X Minerals chief geologist John Felderhof was presented with the Prospector of the Year award after telling everyone about his discovery of an Indonesian gold deposit. Felderhof had to give the award back later after questions started surfacing about his "find."
But the event is also a time for everyone in the mining industry to come together, look at where they have been the past year and what trends are developing for the months ahead.
This year's four-day convention was heavily scheduled with sessions on topics including Canadian securities law, exploration geochemistry and community engagement strategies with First Nations people.
One of the most popular events at the convention was expected to be a lunch on March 5 with Tom Albanese, CEO of mining conglomerate Rio Tinto. Rio Tinto made headlines last November when it acquired Canadian aluminum company Alcan Inc. in a deal worth $38.1 billion. The move created the world's biggest aluminum company, headed by Albanese, almost overnight.
PDAC executive director Tony Andrews said another one of the major issues facing members is the changing face of the industry as older members - mostly part of the Baby Boom generation - will be starting to retire during the next decade.
They are being replaced by an increasing number of women in the traditionally male-dominated industry.
"Half or more of the geology students in Canadian universities we looked at right now are women. We are slowly seeing this participation from not just women, but extremely well-qualified women. They are articulate, intelligent and becoming real leaders in this field."
Andrews said looking back over PDAC history, the organization's longest-serving president was a woman - Viola MacMillan, known affectionately as the "Queen Bee.”
She stepped down in 1964 after two decades as president and remains a member of the Canadian Mining Hall of Fame and Order of Canada.
He adds the current president - Patricia Dillon of Vancouver-based Teck Cominco - has tried to encourage more women in the industry during her term. Networking sessions for women and students were prominently featured on this week's agenda.
"Our members are looking for more information abut human-resources issues. You have this global phenomenon with the Baby Boomers about to retire and that represents a huge part of our professional workforce," Andrews said in an interview.
"We have to make sure there are enough qualified people in place to replace them when they retire."
Another industry issue delegates were expected to discuss at the convention was health and safety, says Bill Mercer, chair of PDAC's health and safety committee.
In an e-mail to Business Edge before the convention, Mercer says he deals with the exploration side of the business, rather than mining issues.
"And this really excludes underground exploration, though we would be concerned about people entering old mine workings - which geologists are often tempted to do but can be very hazardous because of loose rock and medical hazards," such as fumes from bat droppings.
PDAC is working on "exhaustive" industry health and safety guidelines that are scheduled to cover all types of field procedures under many different conditions, he said. The document is due out later this year.
Mercer said the guidelines would try to cover the many different types of mining industry roles.
He explained the senior person on a site - often a geologist - is responsible for health and safety. But what happens if that person isn't knowledgeable about health and safety for flying an aircraft or doing actual drilling?
As the mining industry has grown the past few years, the number of fatalities has also increased, Mercer says. "Some suggest that it is inexperienced people in the business, but my general observation is that I can name many cases where the person who died was an experienced worker."
(David Hatton can be reached at hatton@businessedge.ca)
