Purple Rock Editing

About 6,000 people attended the 26th Annual Mineral Exploration Roundup of the Association for Mineral Exploration British Columbia (AMEBC) at the Westin Bayshore Hotel in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, on January 26–29, with a theme of “The New Era of Exploration.”

Well-attended short courses were held before and after the main event, with such topics as “Aboriginal Engagement, Consultation and Sustainability in Mineral Exploration” and “Data Management Best Practices: Extracting Information and Value from Your Data.” Most attendees, however, spent their time at Roundup in the trade show, the poster session, and the technical sessions. Yukon, British Columbia, and Alaska sponsored well-attended social events in the evenings, allowing delegates to catch up with colleagues and make new connections.

The conference began on January 26 with major releases from the British Columbia Geological Survey, including its annual Geological Fieldwork volume, a summary of government fieldwork and current research, and releases outlining the discovery of two new mineralized areas in the Murphy Lake and Chilanko River regions of British Columbia. Claims were staked within a day after the latter releases.

Also on January 26, Geoscience BC released new geochemical and geophysical results from the QUEST and QUEST-West areas, which also resulted in staking. In an attempt to aid the economy in areas affected by the mountain pine beetle, Geoscience BC and the British Columbia Geological Survey have focused resources on enhancing the mining industry in affected areas, in the hope that forestry workers can use their skills to “cross over” to the mining industry.

The release on January 28 of Geoscience BC’s Summary of Activities volume also garnered significant attention.

In the poster session, members of the BC Geological Survey, Geoscience BC, and the Geological Survey of Canada, as well as students from local universities and others presented technical posters outlining their research and discoveries from the past year. The BC Geological Survey posters were also available for viewing throughout the rest of the week in the Seymour Room, where staff members demonstrated their databases, such as MINFILE, MapPlace, and ARIS. The staff of Mineral Titles was also available for demonstrations of the Mineral Titles Online application.

The core shack and map tent were venues where delegates could talk with prospectors and grassroots exploration companies about their most recent finds. Almost every Canadian province and territory was represented by a booth or room where delegates could speak with members of the provincial/territorial geological surveys, pick up pamphlets, and see the most recent maps, technical posters, and core samples.

The consensus throughout the conference was a cautious but optimistic outlook on the future of the industry. Many companies are reducing spending, targeting smaller projects, or focusing on more established projects, but many companies represented at Roundup are still moving forward with exploration and development. British Columbia’s mineral-exploration expenditure this year —$367 million for 388 projects — is still only slightly behind last year’s record. Coupled with the near-record attendance at the Mineral Exploration Roundup, the mineral industry in British Columbia is showing tenacity in hard economic times.

For more information on the BC Geological Survey’s releases at Roundup, visit http://www.empr.gov.bc.ca/Mining/Geoscience/WhatsNew/Pages/default.aspx, For Geoscience BC’s releases at Roundup, visit http://www.geosciencebc.com/s/NewsReleases.asp. For an overview of the entire event, visit the AMEBC’s official Roundup Blog at http://blog.amebc.ca/.