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NEWS RELEASE: PDAC names Lisa McDonald new Executive Director (December 10, 2018)

TORONTO, Dec. 10, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada’s (PDAC) Board of Directors is pleased to announce the hiring of Lisa McDonald as its new Executive Director.

Ms. McDonald has played a vital role in PDAC’s success for more than 20 years. Over the past year she has acted as the Executive Director (Interim), and previously served as the association’s Chief Operations Officer (COO) for 10 years where she delivered the strategic goals of the association and oversaw all aspects of operational performance.

Lisa is considered one of the key drivers behind the expansion of the annual PDAC Convention in Toronto. As the Director of Convention from 2001 to 2008, Ms. McDonald played an integral role in growing the event into what is now considered the world’s premier mineral exploration and mining event, attracting more than 25,000 attendees from 135 countries.

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Sentiment muted at PDAC conference despite signs of life in mining industry – by Peter Koven (Financial Post – March 7, 2016)

http://business.financialpost.com/

Some optimism is starting to creep back into the mining sector — but not much. Sentiment is fairly muted so far at the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) conference, which kicked off Sunday in Toronto. The conference, which is the world’s biggest gathering of mining professionals, serves as a good barometer for the state of the industry, and this year’s show is a reminder that things are pretty grim.

he commodity boom is long over, and metal prices as a whole remain extremely weak due to oversupply and concerns about China’s economy. Most junior miners can’t raise a penny of capital, and share prices are, in many cases, lower than they were before metal prices started to rise in the early 2000s.

“We, as an industry, wasted the opportunity offered by the largest and biggest boom in commodity prices,” Mark Bristow, the chief executive of Randgold Resources Ltd., told the audience, citing the industry’s very poor spending decisions and billions of dollars of writedowns.

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2016 PDAC Award Recipients

Award recipients will be honored at the 2016 PDAC Awards Evening on Monday, March 7, 2016, at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel, Toronto, during the PDAC’s annual convention.

Awards recipients are selected by the association’s Board of Directors, based on the recommendations of the PDAC’s awards committee.

Bill Dennis Award

This award, named for a former president of the association, honours individuals who have accomplished one or both of the following: made a significant mineral discovery; made an important contribution to the prospecting and/or exploration industry.

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NEWS RELEASE: PDAC Honours Industry Leaders with 2016 Awards

Toronto, December 8, 2015 – Industry leaders in seven categories will be honoured for their outstanding contributions to the mineral exploration and mining sector at the Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada’s (PDAC) 2016 Convention. The annual awards showcase the best domestic and international mineral discovery, mine development, Aboriginal achievement, exceptional environment or social responsibility effort, distinguished service, and special achievement.

Recipients will be celebrated at the Awards Evening at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel in Toronto on March 7, 2016, during the 84th PDAC Convention.

The PDAC’s Board of Directors select recipients based on recommendations of the association’s Awards Committee. A summary of the awards and their recipients are listed below.

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NEWS RELEASE: The Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada’s 2015 Convention exceeds 23,500 attendees

Toronto, March 4, 2014 – The Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada (PAC) welcomed 23,578 attendees from over 100 countries to its annual convention. The crowd included investors, analysts, mining executives, geologists, government officials and students who made the annual pilgrimage to the Metro Toronto Convention Centre (MTCC) for the largest exploration and mining event in the world.

“We consider this a very successful year, attendee feedback has been extremely positive and the number of attendees is similar to last year,” says PDAC President Rod Thomas. “The quality of networking and learning opportunities continues to be a prime attractor for attendees.”

The PDAC 2015 Convention started with a series of positive announcements supporting Canada’s mineral exploration and mining industry, including the federal government’s renewal of the Mineral Exploration Tax Credit (METC) and the appointment of Jeffrey Davidson as Canada’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Counsellor for the extractive sector. The federal government, in partnership with the Ontario government, jointly announced the study of an all-weather transportation corridor in the Ring of Fire region. In addition, the Government of Canada signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Republic of South Africa during PDAC 2015.

“The provincial and federal governments in Canada are important partners in creating conditions that allow the mineral industry to flourish nationally and internationally,” says PDAC Executive Director Andrew Cheatle. “We look forward to further building upon the constructive activities that occurred at PDAC 2015.”

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Mining looks to First Nations for future manpower – by Len Gillis (Timmins Daily Press – January 29, 2015)

The Daily Press is the city of Timmins broadsheet newspaper.

TIMMINS – Back in the day, spring was the time of year when many Northern prospectors would take some time off and get out of the bush before the snow melted and the creeks and rivers were opened up. Soon enough, they would be heading back in, with fresh supplies, a new tent, a canoe and a packsack full of hope for a new season.

And all across Northern Ontario, the brief spring break found hundreds of prospectors and mining executives heading to Toronto to take part in the annual convention of the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) which was formed 83 years ago.

The convention continues to be Canada’s largest mining and mining exploration event that brings together people from every level of the industry to discuss common concerns. One of those concerns is how to deal with growing shortage of trained workers, especially in more remote areas of the country — usually where the mines are developed.

Convention organizers say the Toronto event will be attracting hundreds of First Nations representatives who will be networking with mining companies, not only to explore business partnerships, but also to discuss job opportunities. More than 500 Aboriginal representatives took part in last year’s event and the association expects the same level of interest this year.

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NEWS RELEASE: PDAC Honours Six Industry Leaders With 2015 PDAC Awards

TORONTO, ON–(Marketwired – December 09, 2014) – The Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) is set to honour six industry leaders at the PDAC 2015 Convention in Toronto. The annual PDAC awards showcase the achievements of companies, individuals and groups in the mineral exploration and mining sector by highlighting the best in domestic and international mineral discovery, mine development, Aboriginal achievement, environmental and social responsibility, and distinguished service.

Recipients of the 2015 annual awards will be celebrated at the association’s Awards Evening on Monday, March 2 at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel during the PDAC 2015 Convention.

Award recipients are selected by the PDAC’s Board of Directors based on the recommendations of the association’s awards committee. A summary of the awards and recipients are listed below.

Bill Dennis Award for a Canadian mineral discovery or prospecting success

David Palmer, President and Chief Executive Officer of Probe Mines Limited, is the recipient of this year’s Bill Dennis Award for a Canadian mineral discovery or prospecting success. David Palmer is receiving the award for the Borden Gold Project, a discovery located near Chapleau, Ontario. The Borden Gold Project is an exciting and important new gold discovery that continues to evolve, grow and improve with continued exploration.

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[Northern Manitoba] Students drill down into minerals and mining – by Ian Graham (Thompson Citizen – February 19, 2014)

The Thompson Citizen, which was established in June 1960, covers the City of Thompson and Nickel Belt Region of Northern Manitoba. The city has a population of about 13,500 residents while the regional population is more than 40,000.

Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada brings its Mining Matters to Thompson and Nelson House

Students and teachers in Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation (NCN) and Thompson learned about minerals and mining from Feb. 10-14 as Mining Matters, in partnership with Vale’s Manitoba Operations, swept through Northern Manitoba to present its Mining Rocks Earth Science program, sponsored by the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada in Toronto.

“This is incredible,” said Barbara Green Parker, the aboriginal education and outreach programs manager for Mining Matters, a charitable organization in existence since April 30, 1997 that seeks to spread knowledge about Canada’s geology and the careers available in the country’s minerals industry. “This is the largest Mining Matters program that we have ever done. We are maximizing our exposure in Northern Manitoba. It’s a phenomenal amount. We’re very pleased to be in such high demand.”

Parker was in NCN at Nelson House on Feb. 10-11, presenting the Mining Rocks program to students from Grades 4 to 8 at Otetiskwin Kiskinwamahtowekamik Elementary School on Monday and to high school students at Nisichawayasihk Neyo Ohtinwak Collegiate on the morning of Feb. 11, with the afternoon dedicated to a teacher training workshop.

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Aboriginal sessions popular at PDAC convention – by Glenn Nolan (Onotassiniik Magazine – Summer 2013)

Onotassiniik, Wawatay’s Mining Quarterly, sets out to provide knowledge and information about the mining industry in northern Ontario to First Nations communities, individuals and leaders throughout the region.

Glenn Nolan is the President of the Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada

In the last decade, positive relationships have grown between Aboriginal communities and the mineral exploration and development industry. I am a member of the Missanabie Cree First Nation in northern Ontario. My father worked at a nearby mine. I saw first-hand the benefits of this important industry, not only in my own life, but in the lives of my community members.

Since that time, the awareness by industry about what should be done to engage communities in a proactive and respectful way has grown tremendously, and that is very encouraging. We have made progress; more than 200 agreements have been signed between mining companies and Aboriginal communities in Canada. These projects range from grassroots exploration activities to producing mines across the country, with many resulting in employment and business opportunities for local Aboriginal communities. This is an exciting time for our communities, and for this sector.

As president of the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC), I am pleased to be in this role at such a dynamic time for our industry. I believe there is tremendous opportunity for Aboriginal communities and companies to work together in a respectful and collaborative manner.

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NEWS RELEASE PDAC APPLAUDS THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT’S SUPPORT FOR REVENUE TRANSPARENCY

 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – Wednesday, June 12, 2013

TORONTO (June 12, 2013) – The Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) applauds Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s announcement today that the Government of Canada will be establishing new mandatory reporting standards for Canadian extractive companies with a view to enhance transparency on payments that they make to governments. The announcement confirms the Government’s support for a made-in-Canada framework developed by the PDAC, Mining Association of Canada (MAC), Publish What You Pay – Canada (PWYP), and Revenue Watch Institute (RWI) through industry and civil society consultation since September 2012.

“We believe our efforts on transparency provided the groundwork for the Prime Minister’s announcement today,” says Ross Gallinger, Executive Director, PDAC. “PDAC now looks forward to building on the success of its activities through collaboration with the Government of Canada to establish new mandatory reporting standards.”

In September 2012, the PDAC, MAC, PWYP and RWI established the Resource Revenue Transparency Working Group to create a made-in-Canada framework for mandatory reporting of payments to governments. The Working Group undertook months of cross-sector collaboration and consultation with companies, industry experts, investors, government officials, and civil society groups across Canada. The Working Group’s draft framework received broad support from Canadian mining companies, along with investors and civil society, and can now serve as a roadmap for the Government of Canada’s action on revenue transparency.

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Canada’s 2013 Budget a ‘mixed bag’ for miners – MAC – by Henry Lazenby (MiningWeekly.com – March 22, 2013)

http://www.miningweekly.com/page/americas-home

TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Mining Association of Canada (MAC) on Friday said the new federal Budget for 2013 is a mixed bag when it came to its impacts on the Canadian mining industry.

MAC said it was encouraged by the significant new measures announced to address skills shortages, including the establishment of a Canada Job Grant, support for more paid internships, the reduction of barriers in apprenticeship accreditation, the reallocation of funds to promote education in high-demand fields, and funding for Yukon College’s Centre for Northern Innovation in Mining.

The association added the Canadian mining sector appreciated government’s enhanced Aboriginal training-to-employment programmes and a boost in scholarships and bursaries, which is proportionally the largest private sector employer of Aboriginal peoples in Canada.

MAC also welcomed the government’s proposal to provide $37-million over the next two years to support research partnerships with industry through the granting councils.

“As an industry that will require an estimated 145 000 new workers over the next ten years, we are pleased that skills and labour training emerged as a key theme of the federal budget.

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NEWS RELEASE: PDAC Applauds Federal Budget’s Support of the Mineral Exploration Sector

March 22, 2013 09:02 ET

TORONTO, ONTARIO–(Marketwire – March 22, 2013) – The Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada applauds the Harper government’s budget announcement of a renewed commitment to the Mineral Exploration Tax Credit (METC), as well as key investments in skills training and aboriginal communities.

“The mineral exploration industry is a key driver for our economic recovery and provides critical economic stimulus to some of Canada’s most remote communities,” said Ross Gallinger, PDAC executive director. “The Government of Canada’s support for industry is recognized and appreciated.”

Exploration and mining remain a strategically important sector to the Canadian economy. The industry generates revenue and stimulates growth across the length and breadth of the country, from Vancouver Island to Newfoundland, from Southern Ontario’s salt mines to the metal and diamond mines of the Far North. The sector has a substantial economic impact on our nation’s north and on Aboriginal communities.

“We are pleased that the federal government has demonstrated their support for our sector by renewing the METC. This program has a proven track record of keeping jobs and investment in Canada and will continue to encourage investment in Canadian exploration projects,” said Gallinger. “This is a positive step on behalf of the government to ensure that Canadian companies have access to the financial instruments necessary to remain competitive, particularly given the capital-raising challenges many exploration companies are currently facing.”

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Editorial: The PDAC-saw – by John Cumming (Northern Miner – March 13, 2013)

The Northern Miner, first published in 1915, during the Cobalt Silver Rush, is considered Canada’s leading authority on the mining industry. Editor John Cumming MSc (Geol) is one of the country’s most well respected mining journalists.jcumming@northernminer.com

The first week of March was dominated by the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada’s mega-convention in Toronto, with 30,147 investors, analysts, mining executives, geologists, government officials, students and international delegations converging in downtown Toronto, just slightly off last year’s record numbers.

The floor was again overwhelming, with more than 10 interesting things going on at any given time for four days straight, and so many people circulating that you could no longer count on just bumping into someone you wanted to meet.

Not bad at all, considering the sharp downturn for junior miners over the past year. Still, the mood was much more sombre than during the giddiest peaks of 2006 and 2011, and a few juniors couldn’t scratch enough money together to buy an airplane ticket and occupy their hard-to-come-by booths.

Lack of funding for juniors was the number-one topic for speakers and delegates. Number two was the dismal share price performances of so many juniors over the last years, as the term “penny stock” has once again become an accurate description of many companies’ shares, rather than a quaint phrase from another era.

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When the world’s miners descend on Toronto, prospects for a party are solid – by Tim Kiladze (Globe and Mail – March 9, 2013)

The Globe and Mail is Canada’s national newspaper with the second largest broadsheet circulation in the country. It has enormous influence on Canada’s political and business elite.

Barely two hours after sundown on Tuesday, security at Toronto’s swanky new Shangri-La Hotel rushed to the lobby to control the size of a fast-growing crowd. Upstairs, the party was bustling under the chandeliers in the third-floor ballroom, and masses of people were flocking from across the downtown core, creating a capacity problem.

The attraction: PricewaterhouseCoopers’ “crystal cocktail party,” put on for the annual mining conference run by the Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada. While Dee Dee and the Dirty Martinis performed live cover songs, swarms of men and a sprinkling of women – a 5-to-1 ratio, at least – treated themselves to oysters, sushi and free drinks. By 8 p.m., they were on the dance floor, doing their very best to find the beat.

The crowd was full of people from different countries, especially the mining hotbeds of Australia, Britain, China and Peru. Despite the chill felt across the global mining sector, they drank and danced like they didn’t care – at least not for the four days they were in town.

It was a spectacle led by the people who lead a troubled industry. Plagued by billions in recent writeoffs from ill-conceived acquisitions and an uncertain outlook for metals prices, mining stocks are in the dumps. Yet it’s hard to subdue PDAC, as the conference is universally called.

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Minister of Natural Resources – The Honourable Joe Oliver 2013 PDAC Speech (March 4, 2013)

Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) International Convention 2013

March 4, 2013
Toronto, Ontario

Joe Oliver is the Canadian Minister of Natural Resources

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Introduction

Thank you very much Mr. Nolan. [Glenn Nolan, President of the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada] I want to congratulate the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada for putting together yet another outstanding conference and trade show.

It’s a pleasure to be here to welcome all of you, especially those coming from other countries from around the world, to the largest event of its kind in the world.

Strength and Stability

From the change in your pocket to the airplane that brought you here today, the evidence of the necessity for minerals and metals is all around. Mining, in fact, has been driving Canada’s economic development for years. In 2011, the sector contributed $63 billion in nominal GDP or 3.9 percent to the total Canadian economy — that’s almost $2,000 for every man, woman and child in the country.

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