As the regional mining sector continues to grow, so has the group of people in central and northern B.C. region who propel it.
The north-central B.C. branch of the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum is set to meet this week with an introductory social event tonight, a golf tournament, information sessions, banquet and a set of charitable announcements all during the following two days. Their annual conference has gone from nonexistent (the chapter was dormant for about five years) to bursting at the seams since it revamped in 2007.
"This is our biggest year yet for attendance. Last year was a record and even when we were still a few days away from this year's event we had already surpassed that registration number, with more still signing up," said Starwest Petroleum's Trent Bilodeau, the group's treasurer.
The group has hopes of other breakthroughs this year on the financial side. They expect to surpass the $8400 raised by last year's golf tournament, all of which gets donated to the Northern BC Friends of Children Society to help families with kids in extraordinary medical need.
The AGM and banquet are also fundraising windows with the money going to support the education of local students entering the mining industry. Last year, $15,000 was donated CNC's mining certification program and more funding went to programs like Heavy Metal Rocks, the School District 57 and CNC jointly-operated Career Technical Centre, the Yes2It Program and the BC Aboriginal Mentoring and Training Association.
"We are spreading it out and supporting what educational aspects we can," Bilodeau said, even if it means money goes to students whose training leads them away from mining.
"We are aware that a lot of those kids will end up in construction, forestry, all kinds of industries that will benefit the north," he said. "It benefits us all to train these young people from our own communities so they can replace the job openings we know are happening in those key industries. If the mining program trains someone who moves over to the LNG side, well, that's still a benefit to the north."
These annual events bring experts, stakeholders, delegates and special guests into Prince George for the benefit of the loca economy, Bilodeau added, but the coming together has outflow benefits to those who take part.
"It's not as much a public event like a trade show. It is strictly mining companies and suppliers coming together to talk about what's going on in the industries we work in. We talk about new projects, the progress of projects we've had on the go, new technologies, new policies... There's a social aspect but there are invaluable exchanges of information as well."
Much of B.C.'s resurgence in the mineral and metal business has been in the upper half of the province. This is evident in new mines started or nearly begun like Mount Milligan and Red Chris; expansions like Endako, Gibraltar and Huckleberry; major exploration projects like New Gold-Blackwater and Cardero-Carbon Creek Coal, plus the related work going on in the liquified natural gas cousin industry.
Anyone still wanting to take part can register today. Send a message of intent to Bilodeau at [email protected] or CIM's local chair Jerome LaMarre at [email protected].
