Canadian Mine Show a hit at PDAC

“It was pretty fun.”

Those were the words of 9-year-old Angela Reid of Scarborough, Ont., after touring the Great Canadian Mine Show, which made its debut at the recent convention of the Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada.

The show is designed to teach children about the ins and outs of mining exploration, financing, development, extraction, processing, closure and rehabilitation.

Visitors enter the exhibit through a mine cage that simulates travelling thousands of metres below the surface. The cage eventually opens into a room containing some products made with mined materials. Visitors then travel throughout the exhibit and explore six arcade-like modules, including: a demonstration of how zinc ingots are produced; a three-dimensional helicopter search for diamonds in the Northwest Territories; a drill simulator that allows the user to remove core samples; a live-action video on mine closure; and a film on how Sudbury, Ont., was transformed from a barren landscape into a plush green mining city.

The exhibit was created with help from Mississauga, Ont.-based Silicon Graphics. Housed in an 18-wheel, 53-ft. transport truck trailer, the whole package is portable and will appear next in the Yukon.

“Everybody loves it,” says project director Lisa Murray. “We show people exactly how the [mining] process works. . . . Most people have a vision of mining that is years out of date, especially when it comes to environmental technology, environmental responsibility, rehabilitation, consultation with native groups, and so on.”

The concept of the mine show originated in 1996 as an interactive mall display. As the idea gained support, it evolved into the current self-contained, 15,000-kg transport design.

The project is funded the through the Elliot Lake Centre, a non-profit organization created by the federal government in 1965 as a home for the performing arts.

So far, the federal government and all the provincial governments (except Quebec) have helped fund the exhibit. Watts Griffis & McOuat donated office space, and another $600,000 in goods and services was donated from other sources toward the $1.4-million venture.

Donations can be made to the Elliot Lake Centre. For more information, call (416) 364-6244 or (705) 848-0205.