With interest in mining reaching a high, Timmins hosted an industry expo last spring. Known as “The Big Event: Northern Mines & Exploration Expo”, it was hosted at the McIntyre Arena complex and was organized by Timmins-based Canadian Trade-Ex. “We’re excited, because Timmins lies in the centre of all sorts of mining activity,” says Glenn Dredhart, president of Canadian Trade-Ex, which organizes trade shows for the mining and forestry industries.

Up to 10,000 people attended the event, which was labeled as the showcase for the industry in Northern Ontario and Quebec. Numerous partners become involved with the project, including the Porcupine Prospectors and Developers Association, the Ministry of Northern Development and Mines, and various local area mining companies. Much of the event’s schedule was developed through feedback from mining companies and local communities.

The expo featured a career fair in response to the rampant demand for skilled trades people. Companies that attended the show encouraged visitors to bring their resumes to the show so that human resource representatives could meet with members of the general public and discuss job opportunities and current openings. This portion of the event was a banging success and will be hosted once again as part of the venue for 2010.

A number of schools also committed to featuring displays at the event, including Northern College, the Haileybury School of Mines, and Collège Boréal. “It didn’t matter where you lived, there’s a lack of skilled trades people in the industry. It’s something that companies need quite severely right now, and we’re trying to help deliver that component as best we can".

The Big Event also featured an investment fair where publicly traded junior mining companies had the opportunity to showcase their properties in a series of exhibits. In the 2009 event there were investment forums and conferences where these juniors had the opportunity of addressing potential investors and showcasing their properties and explaining why they should invest in the future of their mining properties. These companies made a 20-minute presentation to potential investors in a special session, for which Dredhart is worked to attract 420 people. Attendees also took in a trade show, where up to 250 exhibitors from a variety of industry-related sectors were able to put their services on display.

Ensuring everyone involved in the event would benefit in some way, was accomplished and exhibitors were invited to a closed-door gala dinner with senior management and purchasing staff from several major and junior mining operations. “This allowed management the opportunity to outline their problems and seek solutions from those who attended,” Dredhart said. “It’s was a great opportunity for networking.”

Having partnered with the expo, the Porcupine Prospectors and Developers Association held a one-day prospector’s course at the event which saw a full house of registered guests. “Part of our mandate was to bring mining to the public, and we looked at any opportunity to promote that aspect,” said Bill MacRae, with the Porcupine Prospectors and Developers Association. The single-day course targeted those who knew little about prospecting and taught them various rudimentary skills, such as recognizing geological structures on one’s property.

The 2009 event was a sold out one and 2010 being a new decade of mining and the second year of the 100th year celebration to the City Of Timmins and the Porcupine Mining Camp will be once again an event that will draw large crowds and organizers say they will have no problem filling the venue.