Posted by Sudbury Northern Life 
What a difference a year makes at the Prospectors and
Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) annual convention, the
largest on the planet. The PDAC is where the world's mining
analysts, investors, prospectors, exploration managers,
government representatives and anyone else connected to this
industry come to meet, do business, attend lectures and, of
course, party. There is also a large Investor's Exchange that
the general public can attend to find out about the newest
exploration plays or interrogate company presidents about 
stock performance.
Needless to say, the mood was somewhat sombre as everyone is
trying to cope with commodity prices and metal demand that,
over the past six months, has fallen off the proverbial cliff.
The rapidness of the crash, alongside the unprecedented turmoil
in credit and capital markets that has dried up funding for
most exploration and development work, has sent a legitimate
fear throughout the entire junior mining sector.
A PricewaterhouseCoopers survey found that the market
capitalization of the top 100 TSX-V junior mining companies
plummeted from $20.2 billion on June 30, 2007 to $4.1 billion
by November 2008. Investors are shunning higher risk
exploration companies like the plague.
In a very bleak presentation during the investors forum, Micky
Fulp of the Mercenary Geologist, predicted that 50 per cent of
the 1,750 juniors on TSX and Venture exchanges would be culled.
But much of this bad news has already been felt in Sudbury with
the massive layoffs of the past few months at Xstrata Nickel,
Vale Inco, FNX and the supply and service sector.
However, there are a few glimmers of hope in all this carnage.
Gold is doing well, helping some of the juniors with promising
projects. And most analysts insist that, once we get through
this recession, the first sector "out of the gate" will be the
minerals industry. Considering the dire state of Ontario's auto
and manufacturing sectors, the importance of the mining sector
to the provincial economy will significantly increase in the
next decade.
As Minister of Northern Development and Mines Michael Gravelle
said at the opening of the Ontario pavilion, "Despite the
recent economic downturn, Ontario clearly remains a leading
mining jurisdiction in Canada and a major player in the world.
… Mineral exploration in Ontario pays off. More new mines were
opened here than anywhere else in Canada over the last decade."
More to dig
Regardless of the current metals bust, business still goes on -
including Greater Sudbury's marketing efforts at the PDAC.
"More to Dig" was the new catchy slogan on the city's marketing
display booth that was designed by TTC Advertising. The
striking display featured a profile of a saxophone player
against a bright yellow background with a row of images at the
top representing different aspects of the local economy.
Business Development Officer, Paul Reid said, "the new slogan
may be based on mining, however, it links to the many other
facets of the community, including education, research, the
supply and service sector and the great quality of life."
He said he feels that, while the attendance is down this year,
the serious players are still visiting the exhibitor's area. A
visit to the Investor Exchange, which has free admission for
the general public saw a much busier crowd. Surprisingly,
overall attendance figures for the convention were about
18,000, only down about 10 per cent from last year's 20,000
visitors.
Optimistic prospects
Sudbury-based, clean-cut Gordon Salo is far from the sterotype
of the old grizzled prospector of the past. He has been
attending the PDAC convention for almost 20 years and this is
the first time he has noticed a significant number of empty
booths at the Investor Exchange, clear evidence of the
financial problems most juniors are facing.
However, he was quite optimistic about many of the 400 claim
units he holds in the Sudbury basin. Mr. Salo explained there
are three major types of deposits in the basin: contact,
footwall and offset dykes. The offset dykes intersect the oval
shaped basin in many locations, like spokes on a wheel, as well
as running parallel to it in some areas. Two of the richest ore
deposits have been located on the Copper Cliff and Frood Stobie
offset dykes. Mr. Salo said, "Historically, companies have
focused on offset dykes in close proximity to the traditional
Sudbury basin boundaries. One of the geological mysteries is:
how far do these mineral-rich offset dykes extend from the
traditional boundaries?"
Salo said he feels he has discovered that the mineral rich
Copper Cliff offset dyke extends at least another eight
kilometres further from the Sudbury basin boundary than
previously thought. Two previous junior miners have done some
work on his claim units, however they let their options expire
due to financial reasons.
"That is the main reason I have a booth at the Investor
Exchange," says Salo, "trying to find another company who will
option these properties and conduct further exploration work.
My prospecting and follow-up geo-physical work has confirmed
some very promising drill targets."
Positive results
In another booth at the Investor Exchange, local junior
explorer Wallbridge Mining Company Limited announced some
positive drilling results from their Parkin offset dyke
properties, located on the northeast side of the Sudbury basin.
Unlike many juniors, Wallbridge has established strong joint
venture partnerships with major mining companies, such as
Impala Platinum Limited and Lonmin PLC, the second and third
largest platinum producers in the world, respectively. In
addition, Wallbridge, the third largest land holder in the
Sudbury Basin (712-square kilometers), has also formed joint
ventures with Xstrata Nickel, Vale Inco, Crowflight Minerals,
Pele Mountain Resources and Champion Bear Resources.
The Parkin offset dyke was a joint venture with Impala Platinum
Limited. Commenting on the drill results, Wallbridge President
Alar Soever said, "In addition to intersecting nickel, copper
and precious metals mineralization, these latest results, along
with previous drilling, confirmed that the mineralization
occurs in portions of the dyke with complex structures. In this
respect, the Parkin offset dyke is similar to highly
mineralized environments on the Copper Cliff and Worthington
offset dykes, which have been historical producers of copper
and nickel for nearly 100 years."
Promising partnerhips
During a session about aboriginal participation in mining, it
was clearly shown that First Nations communities saw great
potential with this sector. However, as Mitch Diabo from the
Webiquie First Nation - which is only 60 kilometers from the
highly prospective Ring of Fire exploration region in northern
Ontario - explained that the provincial and federal governments
have to do much more to help build the capacity in small,
impoverished communities to fully benefit from mineral
development.
At that same session, Assembly of First Nations Chief Phil
Fontaine said, "Our objective in partnering with your
association [PDAC] and others has been the alleviation of First
Nations' poverty and the building of hope in our peoples.
…First Nations are strong allies when treated with respect and
understanding. Let us build on our common bonds during this
period of duress, so when the global economy rebounds, which it
will, First Nations also rise economically with the next
commodities tide."
A terrifying interruption
Internationally respected financial adviser Donald Coxe - who
originally predicted the commodity boom way back in February
2002 - was unable to attend the convention but forwarded his
commentary on the state of the industry.
Donald Coxe said, "Although we've had a tremendous setback, it
will still prove to be, from the sweep of history, the greatest
commodity boom of all time. But we've had a big - terrifying -
interruption. … All major governments and all major central
banks are reflating their economies, so base metal demand will
come roaring back. In fact, the financial crisis has put off so
many projects, that when the global economy comes out of this
mess (as it will) what we know is that prices for the metals
will be much higher than they would have been otherwise."
Mr. Coxe also noted that the Chinese are coming back into the
market to buy metal assets, giving further proof that this
current downturn may be shorter than many think.
Hope, optimism and stubborn determination to survive would
certainly sum up the 2009 PDAC convention.
Canadians are a global powerhouse in the mineral sector. We
will survive this economic downturn and come roaring back. The
same can also be said for the Sudbury Basin.
Stan Sudol is a Toronto-based executive speech writer and communications consultant. Donald Coxe's entire speech is posted on:www.republicofmining.com.
