Peter Kennedy, Stockhouse

Shrugging off a frigid Toronto winter, mining types are feeling a glow of optimism heading into this year’s Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada conference, said PDAC Executive Director Ross Gallinger.

Only a year ago, conference organizers were hearing dire predictions about the possible disappearance of up to 600 junior companies from the TSX Venture Exchange, a development that could have put a severe dent in PDAC’s attendance and revenues.

But in an interview with Stockhouse, Gallinger said those fears have yet to materialize and he is now looking ahead to another near record attendance.

“Companies are starting to feel that they have more access to capital, so maybe we are turning a corner,’’ he said.

Traditionally the biggest conference in the mining industry calendar, PDAC is a forum for people, companies and countries with an interest in mineral exploration. It kicks off on Friday (Feb. 28) and runs until next Wednesday evening.

Last year, the conference attracted 30,147 people, including 1,000 exhibitors from 126 countries, making it both a huge networking opportunity and a bonanza for the Toronto hotel and hospitality sector.

It has become such a global event that the PDAC twitter page features a tongue-in-cheek message from Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird.

It said he hopes Canada’s 3-0 victory over Sweden in the Olympic Games ice hockey final will not impact bilateral relations between the two countries.


For the first time in its history, PDAC has lined up a country sponsor in the shape of Peru, a development that comes as no surprise to regular conference attendees like Strait Minerals Inc. (TSX: V.SRD, Stock Forum) President Jim Borland.

“Peru is a microcosm of what is going on everywhere [in the global mining sector]. All the majors are there,” he said.

Among the Peruvian attendees will be Francis Stenning, General Manager of the Bolsa de Valores de Lima. He will be on hand to discuss plans for a new stock exchange in Peru.

Also travelling to Toronto will be Fernando Elias Ganoza, who heads up a Peruvian mining family that runs Atico Mining Corp. (TSX: V.ATY, Stock Forum) and its sister company  Fortuna Silver Mines Inc. (TSX: T.FVI, Stock Forum).

Speaking of the more buoyant mood, industry officials said a number of catalysts are supporting renewed activity in the resource sector, including a higher gold price and some high profile discoveries.

Gallinger has too much political savvy to name his favourite exploration project.

But given that Fission Uranium Corp. (TSX: V.FCU, Stock Forum) President Ross McElroy will be named prospector of the year, at the PDAC awards ceremony on Monday evening, it is clear that Fission’s Saskatchewan uranium find has not gone unnoticed.

The Fission discovery has rejuvenated the entire exploration industry in the Athabasca Basin, PDAC noted in a press release.

As usual this year, the conference will feature presentations on everything from commodity prices to developments in key mining regions like South Africa and Chile. In light of the challenges that junior companies continue to face in raising money, this year’s program includes a discussion about successes in alternative financing.

In keeping with that theme, Dundee Corp. (TSX: T.DC.A, Stock Forum) President and CEO Ned Goodman will give a luncheon speech on Monday entitled “Capital re-bound – how, where and when it will come back.’’

On Tuesday, PDAC President Glenn Nolan will moderate a luncheon panel discussion about exploration in northern Ontario’s Ring of Fire region. The panel promises to examine the future of the region, its complexities and barriers to development.

On Wednesday evening the conference wraps up with a “Magical Mystery Gala,” that will give attendees the opportunity to “dust off your bell bottoms, throw on your love beads, and turn up the music!”

The event is themed and sponsored by Toronto financial advisory firm IBK Capital Corp.

“This is going to be a very successful event, with a good attendance,’’ said Gallinger. The betting is that with registration still ongoing (at the time of writing) just under 30,000 will show up for this year’s PDAC, putting it in the top three [attendance-wise] in PDAC’s 81-year history.