CEO users are invited to meet our CEO.CA field team at GoldSpot’s Booth #2646 on Monday June 13th at 12pm for FREE ICE CREAM courtesy of our CEO.CA advertisers.

The World’s Premier Convention for Mineral Exploration and Mining, also known as PDAC, kicks off in person for the first time in two years, next week. The in-person event will be held in Toronto from June 13th to 15th of 2022, with a second online event from June 28th and 29th.

PDAC’s in-person event will offer attendees all of the attributes of a traditional convention; exhibits, networking opportunities, and other special events; an abundant selection of networking and programming for anyone in the sector. Once the in-person event has been completed, PDAC will be holding its online component, which will take place virtually over a two-day period and will provide the attendees with additional programming and networking opportunities. The PDAC 2022 online two-day event includes over 40 hours of presentations to entertain and expand your professional knowledge.

Attendees will have the ability to add any events to a personal agenda, be it online or in-person, through their attendee portal platform so that they don’t miss anything.

A full schedule for the events can be found HERE

Extra Courses

Though the official schedule for the conference is the three in-person and two online days, there are, in fact, nine days of activities that include in-person short courses on Saturday the 11th and 12th; and on-demand online courses that are available on the 21st . These courses will cover topics such as digital exploration tools, community engagement, geophysics for geologists, QAQC methods for mineral exploration and mining among others.

Highlight on Sustainability

This year’s PDAC event will certainly have a focus on a topic of growing importance for the mining and exploration industry; ESG. PDAC has recognized that Environmental, Social and Governance or ESG issues have become ever more important in our industry and will need to be a focus for all of us in the space going forward. The mining industry has played a central role in global development for millennia. As we move into our world’s next phase, we must recognize the role we play in responsibly interacting with the communities in which we do business while also saving our planet for future generations. Our industry will be the providers of rare earth minerals that will power the batteries that are so important for the future of the human race, yet we must also account for their sourcing in a safe, clean and equitable way, so as not to cause environmental and social damage that negates the benefit these important elements can provide.

PDAC has had a long-standing tradition of an environmental focus. It was the first world industry association to develop detailed guidance for companies to explore responsibly. This guidance grew into its flagship e3 (environmental excellence in exploration) program and is now embodied in its revised e3 Plus form. E3 Plus has evolved to include the integration of community engagement and social responsibility issues, making up the fundamentals of ESG.

This year’s PDAC convention will directly focus on these ESG issues with the Short Courses, Sustainability Program, and the Indigenous Program.

PDAC and its History

The Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada, or PDAC, is a global leader and voice in the mineral exploration and development community. The mining and exploration industry supports nearly three-quarters of a million Canadians in direct and indirect employment and contributes over $100 billion to the Canadian GDP each year. PDAC’s global network of over 5,500 members is supported by PDAC’s work centers that prioritize a responsible, sustainable, and competitive mineral sector.

Being the global center of finance for the mining sector, Toronto’s PDAC convention is the mining and exploration event of the year, attracting attendees from around the world. These attendees include investors, financiers, banking executives, fund managers, brokers, analysts, prospectors, lawyers, mining developers, exploration managers, geoscientists, students, and government officials from across the globe.

The PDAC convention began in 1932 as a meeting called by a mining engineer and eventual organization head Walter Segsworth at Toronto’s King Edward Hotel. 

Segsworth wanted to lobby the government for a bill that would require prospectors to have a report signed by a mining engineer when filing a work assessment. Though the group raised $168.45 for lobbying, they were unsuccessful in getting the bill passed.

In 1933, the association’s name is changed to the Ontario Prospectors and Developers Association (OPDA), and the King Edward hotel remained the location of the event.

By 1942 the event is now a full-day affair with speakers and a banquet. A $1 membership administration fee is introduced.

In 1959 the convention was held jointly with the Geological Association of Canada (GAC) and the Mineralogical Association of Canada (MAC), two organizations the OPDA helped to form in 1947 and 1955.

The first annual hockey game was held in 1966 at Maple Leaf Gardens between the Prospectors No-Stars and the Keevil team, the Teck Terrifics. Funds raised at the event went to fund scholarships.

In 1987 Tony Andrews became the PDAC Managing Director, and the association’s name was changed to the Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada

In 1992 the convention was open to international attendance, and the first 37 international attendees joined the 2,300 total delegates.

In 1997 the convention moved to its current location of the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.

In 2021 the convention was held entirely online for the first time due to the Covid pandemic restrictions.

With its 2021 virtual component’s success, the 2022 PDAC convention has chosen to have both an in-person and an online element to serve all its attendees with live and on-demand sessions.

PDAC Registration

Those wishing to attend the 90th PDAC convention can register for the conference HERE.

CEO.CA is an official media partner at PDAC and will be attending the conference. Our media team will be on the ground interviewing CEO’s from around the industry and our marketing team will be at the GoldSpot Booth #2646 handing out free ice cream for CEO.CA users. Make sure to drop by on Monday at 12pm to meet the team.

We will be attending and covering the PDAC conference giving you insights and feedback on the trends that matter coming out of the conference.