Mar, 2019 – I attended the PDAC in Toronto, Canada, to meet with existing clients and keep abreast of latest developments in the global exploration and mining business. The conference was attended by almost 26,000 delegates, including 2,510 investors and over 1,100 exhibitors. I found `sentiment` to be generally positive, although funding within Canada remains challenging.
My principal aim was to interact with existing clients and provide real-time support as exploration Technical Advisor in their meetings with potential investors in up-coming private placement funding. Other client interactions included specific technical guidance on individual exploration programmes.
It was very pleasing to see progress in several innovations which have the potential to change decision-making in our industry, such as Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) technology. A hand-held device was demonstrated at the SciApsInc. booth (https://www.sciaps.com/#) and a lab-scale instrument was presented by François Doucet of Elemission(https://www.elemission.ca/en/). The Elemissiontechnology now has the capability of generating element tomography in a sample to 1mm depth, allowing much improved lithological characterization.
Other talks I found informative were presented by Stephen Busuttil, BHP (machine learning applied to regional exploration: a case study), Hamish Martin, Rio Tinto (geology of the Resolution Cu-Mo deposit, Superior, Arizona) and Kevin Creel, Barrick (Cortez district: geology and development of a world-class mining camp). The full technical programme can be viewed at https://www.pdac.ca/convention/programming/technical-program.
The conference also provided an excellent networking opportunity through multiple hospitality events, for example those organized by analytical laboratories. These events bring together in-house and independent geochemists and other technical specialists, researchers and investors in an informal environment. Such interactions result in open discussion of current challenges facing the industry and can lead to long-lasting collaborative relationships.
For further discussion, assistance or advice on any of these topics, or more, please don`t hesitate to contact me at [email protected]
