The international mineral exploration and mining industry is once again gearing up for the annual Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada’s (PDAC) Convention in Toronto, following its first virtual convention in 2021.

This year signifies the return of the in person event from June 13-15, as well as an online portion from June 28-29. This is the first time in the PDAC Convention’s 90 years that it will be offered as a hybrid event, and a fitting way to honour the milestone, event organisers say.

“The pandemic has had us on a rollercoaster over the past couple of years and the feedback we are consistently hearing from our stakeholders is that they want to get back to doing business in person, and for anyone connected to the mineral exploration and mining industry, that means getting together face to face for the PDAC 2022 Convention,” Alex Christopher (pictured), PDAC President, said. “While the pandemic created challenges, it also demonstrated the resilience of the sector as it navigated health and safety, accessibility and supply chain obstacles, while conversations turned to the security of precious metals and the industry’s role in the transition to a low carbon future.

“We have watched precious metals and gold prices soar to record highs, applaud conversations recognising the industry’s critical role in the clean energy transition and, throughout the pandemic, have watched companies offer support to Indigenous and remote communities where it may otherwise have not existed.”

He added: “This is just a small glimpse into the importance of the minerals industry and, as the world reopens, professionals – including analysts, executives, geologists, prospectors, investors, students and government officials – need timely and relevant programming and short courses that can be tailored to their needs, and the PDAC 2022 Convention offers exactly that.”

The PDAC Convention provides a platform for experts to connect and talk, learn and collaborate about the opportunities and challenges faced by the industry, event organisers say.

Topics such as Capital Markets, Indigenous, Student & Early Career, Sustainability and Technical will return to in-person and online programming, along with Short Courses, the seventh annual International Mines Ministers’ Summit, Events & Networking, and a newly expanded Keynote Program for experts to present on commodities, the mineral outlook, innovation and new discoveries.

More than 800 exhibitors will display their expertise and latest core samples in Core Shack, Investors Exchange, Prospectors Tent and Trade Show, they said.

It is not limited to the in-person only event though, with a line-up of programming scheduled for the online portion.

“It is important that we can offer the online portion of PDAC 2022 for a very important group of stakeholders across the world who want access to information directly from their home or office, and we are excited to be able to give them that,” Lisa McDonald, PDAC Executive Director, said. “But it is the in-person element that is being craved this year and we can’t wait to welcome the world’s mineral exploration and mining industry to PDAC 2022 after all this time, we’ve certainly missed everyone.”

For the latest information on #PDAC2022 head to www.pdac.ca/convention

International Mining is a media sponsor of the PDAC 2022 Convention