Ontario Mining Week launched to raise public awareness

Ontario’s first ever Ontario Mining Week, Oct. 15-19, has been launched with proclamations by the Minister of Mines and by the mayors of 36 mining municipalities. Events during the week, sponsored by the Ontario Mining Association in co-operation with the Ministry of Northern Development and Mines and other mining organizations, will include mine tours, educational open houses, conferences and a “meet the miners” reception in Toronto. The OMA wants to focus public attention on the importance of mining both in Ontario’s social and economic development and as an investment opportunity. Other objectives of the special week: to demonstrate the link between minerals and the products we use in our daily lives; to heighten public awareness of significant developments in environmental protection, worker safety and improved technology; to encourage young Ontarians to pursue careers in mining, and to pay tribute to people, firms and communities in the mining industry and promote special recognition for outstanding contributions.

In a departure from tradition, the usual November “meet the miners” reception has been moved up by the OMA to coincide with Mining Week, taking place on Oct. 16 at Toronto’s Sutton Place Hotel Kempinski.

Also in Toronto, the Bristol Place Hotel will be site of Industrial Minerals ’90, the second annual Canadian conference on markets for industrial minerals. Conference sponsor Blendon Information Services, publisher of Industrial Specialties News, says attendants will learn more about new market opportunities, gain a better understanding of existing markets, make valuable new contacts and improve their profit-making potential. Urged to attend are producers, distributors and consumers in the industrial minerals sector.

The Financial Post-sponsored Gold and the Metals Marketplace conference will be held, Oct. 16-17, at the Sutton Place Hotel Kempinski. Attendants are expected to be senior mining company and lending institution executives, financial and resource analysts, consultants, investment and pension fund managers, currency brokers, investors and representatives from federal and provincial government. Luncheon speakers at the 2-day event will be Peter Monk, president and chief executive officer of American Barrick Resources and Warren Myers, vice-president and senior international equity specialist with Merrill Lynch of New York. Other conference speakers include Roy Aitken of Inco Ltd., Ned Goodman of Dynamic Capital Corp., OMA’s Patrick Reid and James Borland, editor of The Northern Miner.

Sponsored by Lexium Education Services, in co-operation with the OMA, a conference titled Environmental Regulation and Liability in the Mining Industry will take place at L’Hotel in Toronto. Highlights will be an overview of current and proposed legislation governing Ontario mining operations, an outline of the duties and liabilities of corporate directors and officers, an update on the Municipal Industrial Strategy for Abatement and the Clean Air Program. Other topics will include risk management and options for financing environmental risks and the federal environmental assessment review process and its implications for mine development.

Among speakers at the conference will be Gerald Gauthier, senior vice-president of operations for LAC Minerals; Hennie Veldhuizen, director of environmental services for Noranda and Paul Fitzgerald, senior consultant of risk management for Sobeco Group Inc. In other areas of the province, several mines will be conducting tours, while open houses will be held at regional geologist offices.

Offered for more than 15 years, the “meet the miners” reception provides an opportunity for an informal exchange of ideas and information between mining company personnel, the investment community, media, provincial and federal politicians and bureaucrats. Based upon its successful history, the event would draw about 250, but with attendants of the Gold and the Metals Marketplace being invited this year, attendance could well top the 300 mark.