MM2000 opening day to be a family affair

The organizers of Mining Millennium 2000 are inviting delegates to bring their families and friends to take part in the special events planned for “Opening Sunday,” March 5, on the floor of the Toronto Convention Centre.

The Sunday events will serve as the official start of Mining Millennium 2000 (MM2000), a mining convention and trade show organized by the Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) and the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM).

“The idea is to have a festive, fun and relaxing day that offers interesting choices,” says Tony Andrews, executive director of PDAC.

Among the highlights is the first showing in the Toronto area of the new Imax film Gold Fever, at nearby Ontario Place.

Imax technology combines a variety of technological innovations: special cameras, special projectors, wide screens, specially designed theatres with steeply raked seating, and films shot on 65 mm negative stock. The Imax film format is three times the size of regular 70 mm, and ten times the size of conventional 35 mm. The film is projected on giant screens that extend beyond peripheral vision. A mine shaft, for example, or even a whale, can appear life-size.

After the screening, everyone will be bused back to the Convention Centre to meet the two subjects of the film, Al Doherty, a Yukon prospector, and his dog, Blue.

Elementary students from several Toronto schools have been invited to take part in the afternoon’s entertainment. All will have taken the Mining Matters program, a collaborative educational package designed to provide information about the mining industry. A treasure hunt, panning for gold and high-tech demonstrations are just a few of the events designed to welcome these students and their families, as well as the children of delegates.

“We’ll also have two popular lectures,” Andrews adds, “One on climate change and the other on the weather.”

Paul Egginton, the Geological Survey of Canada’s senior scientist for climate change, will discuss the geological record over the past 15,000 years and what the future may hold. David Phillips, Canada’s leading meteorologist, will look at climate trends and natural catastrophes over the past 100 years.

Delegates wanting to ease themselves into the technical program will have the choice of taking part in either of two sessions — one looking at ore deposits and another, at the price of commodities. The trade show and investors exchange will both be open for the afternoon, and roving bands will contribute to the celebratory mood on the convention floor. About a dozen universities will have posts throughout the convention floor, so their alumni can network and touch base with old friends.

The opening ceremony, to begin at 4 p.m., will feature the Millennium Kids bearing the flags of the more than 56 countries represented at the convention. Dignitaries will also be on hand, and Toronto Mayor Mel Lastman will officially declare the week of the convention “Mining Week.”

Spouses and children of delegates must pre-register for Opening Sunday. Tickets cost $5 per person and are available by calling the PDAC office at 416-362-1969.