MIREU at PDAC 2019

The PDAC (Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada) 2019 convention was held in Toronto, Canada, this March with over 25,800 attendees from some 132 countries. The four-day convention has over 1,100 exhibitors, 2,500 investors and consists of technical sessions, trade show, investors exchange, investor short courses and networking events. The EU was again strongly represented with its booth very prominent in the North Building and through the hosting of a morning session to highlight the opportunities in the EU mineral and mining sector. The MIREU project was also present to inform the convention participants of our network of EU mining and metallurgy regions and the work that the network will carry out.

MIREU contributed to the EU booth by showcasing our new leaflet, which has been developed together with the Interreg project REMIX, and our project video which was played on the screens in the booth. If you are curious to have a look at the leaflet, you can find it here. MIREU was also invited to the Government and Stakeholder Session of the 2nd meeting of the EU-Canada Bilateral Dialogue on Raw Materials, held on the 6th of March in Toronto. The EU Commission and Natural Resources Canada (NRCAN) agreed to invite 2 stakeholders from the EU and 2 stakeholders from Canada to do short presentations, which were followed by discussions. 

Paul Mc Dermott from the Exploration and Mining Division in the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment, Ireland, represented the MIREU project and gave a presentation with the topic ‘MIREU - establishing a network of mining and metallurgy regions across Europe’. The presentation gave an outline of the project as well as the objectives and deliverables and highlighted the ongoing cooperation with the OECD.

The second invited EU stakeholder, Massimo Gasparon, Innovation Director of EIT Raw Materials, presented ‘A European initiative strengthening innovation and education in the raw materials sector’.  On the Canadian side, presentations were delivered by Max Skudra, Director, Research and Government Relations, Canadian Council of Aboriginal Business on ‘Research on Indigenous Businesses’ and by Ryan McEachern, Managing Director, Mining Suppliers Trade Association on ‘Overview of the Canadian Mining Supply and Services (MSS) Sector and the Canadian Mining Ecosystem’.