From Nov. 20-22, mining people from around the province, and from across the land, gathered in Winnipeg for the 45th Annual Manitoba Mining and Minerals Convention.
Included among them were mining experts, geoscientists, educators, community and Aboriginal leaders, as well as resource and industry specialists – a number of them with a connection to this area.
The convention highlights the value of minerals and petroleum to Manitoba’s economy and provides insight into the latest developments and challenges facing the exploration and mining sector.
The convention also features a trade show, property showcase and presentations on recent geological findings from around the province.
Having a number of people with a local connection attending the show allowed the opportunity to canvass many for their opinion of the affair.
Town of Snow Lake Chief Administrative Officer Jeff Precourt said the overall turnout seemed smaller this year, but he suspected this might have been due to a general slowdown in the industry’s financial markets.
“I was pleased that Snow Lake established their own presence at the convention, with a stand-alone trade show booth,” said Precourt. “This allowed Snow Lake to be more active and independent – beyond the traditionally shared booth with every other town.”
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The town’s representatives also had the opportunity to meet with Mines Minister Dave Chomiak to discuss Snow Lake’s core storage, residential subdivision plans and the planned mining remediation centre.
Precourt said he was optimistic about some preliminary discussions the group had with a mineral sector business interested in relocating to Snow Lake.
As well the town’s delegation attended the Women in Mining reception, where Snow Lake and the induction of Kate Rice into the Canadian Mining Hall of Fame were the main topics.
“An actor played Kate Rice during a monologue, explaining her life and adventures in the Snow Lake area,” said Precourt. “It was fantastic and well received. It opened my eyes to the broader picture surrounding Kate Rice’s story, her Hall of Fame induction and how it may benefit Snow Lake, with promotion and tourism.”
Snow Lake town councillor, Chris Samborski concurred.
“The mining conference is a great place to meet, promote and discuss Snow Lake with government, mining and potential businesses looking to grow into our area,” said the first-term councillor of the convention. “One common theme concerning everyone is the growth of Snow Lake in conjunction with the development of Hudbay’s new flagship mine at Lalor Lake.
“Although we were unable to meet with Hudbay at the conference due to scheduling, we are meeting with them in the near future and I look forward to sharing the outcome of those discussions with the community.”
MaryAnn Mihychuk, who spearheaded Kate Rice’s induction into the Hall of Fame, was no doubt also suitably impressed with the advancement of Rice’s legend.
But Mihychuk was focused on promoting Snow Lake at this year’s conference.
“By breaking the norm and having the stand-alone Snow Lake booth, it allowed for more in-depth and productive discussions,” she said. “We may have been the busiest booth at the show.”
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Doug Lauvstad, executive director of the Northern Manitoba Sector Council, said he found there are still a lot of people within the industry looking for exploration and project financing.
“Having said that, there was a good feeling of optimism at this year’s conference,” he added.
Dave Koop, president of Flin Flon-based Koop Geotechnical, made a point of attending the conference.
“It was a pretty low-key conference this year, as most companies are fighting to survive the major slump the industry is currently in,” said the upbeat and amiable mine finder. “The showroom floor was not nearly as full with prospectors, financial people, or regular industry professionals.”
Koop said that despite the overall sense of hard times, there appears to be some current jewels and a bright horizon.
He points to Hudbay and the presentation it gave on their current mining operations going full speed ahead.
“Of course this was in regards to the Reed and Lalor properties, which are both near full production,” Koop said. “But they did note in their presentation that the biggest problem they have at the current time is where they are going to put all the men they hope to hire in the next two years. There is nowhere to put them up in Snow Lake… they even talked of the possibility of having to bus them from Flin Flon.”
Koop also highlighted nickel giant Vale’s presentation on its mining outlook, citing new ore that will extend the Thompson mine life to over 50 years.
“It seems the North has been holding its own and there was still excitement in the air over the potential of a lot more to be found where these mines were found. The true hard-core explorationists that have managed to scrape some money together will continue exploring hard in all the neighborhoods up north.”
Koop cited one other change in the Manitoba industry over the past number of months – the fact that there were fewer anti-mining demonstrations from First Nations groups and others.
This, he believes, has a lot to do with the formation of a new ministerial Mining Advisory Council, which includes First Nations representation.
“It was great to hear that something was being done in a productive format instead of needless blockades,” said Koop. “In the last few years, Manitoba had been on the list as one of the worst places to find a mine based on these demonstrations, so hopefully this is a step toward changing that status.”
Finally, Brad Lantz, vice-president, Manitoba Business Unit for Hudbay, agreed the convention was much quieter than he’d seen in the past.
“With the absence of many junior explorers and prospectors due to the difficult times being experienced by some companies,” Lantz said, “Hudbay was one of the few positive stories at this year’s convention. We need more.”
My Take on Snow Lake runs Fridays.
Kate Rice (played by Dorothy Carrol) poses with Snow Lake councillor Rupert Klyne after her performance in a monologue explaining the life and adventures of Kathleen (Kate) Rice. The performance took place at the 45th Annual Manitoba Mining Convention.
PHOTO COURTESY OF RAY ESKRITT
