PDAC Offers Comprehensive Investors Exchange Area During Upcoming Toronto-Based Event

By Allen Alper Jr.
on 2/10/2016

Each year investors, professionals in the mining community and mining industry exhibitors take time out from developing projects to visit one of the best known events in North America, the PDAC International Convention, Trade Show and Investors Exchange. This yearly gathering is currently scheduled to be held March 6-9, 2016 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.

The PDAC offers many opportunities for mining professionals to connect and learn. The programs that are held at the PDAC feature experts that are well known in the mining industry with topics that are pertinent to the needs of mining professionals working in today’s challenging environment. The topics for this year’s event include presentations on Aboriginal community relations, capital markets and open sessions where companies can answer questions about their current operations and strategies.

For investors who have specific questions about a particular company, there are hundreds of booths set up by individual companies. They feature charts and graphs and photos and detailed information on the company’s operations. These are staffed with, geologists, IR people, mining engineers, upper management, and the vast majority have their CEOs available on and off during the day.

There are corporate presentation forums, throughout the day, that highlight an individual company, their current activities as well as their exploration and development plans. These presentations give investors an opportunity to hear important information about many companies from top management.

Professionals who are attending the PDAC will have the benefit of courses offered by experts in specific areas of mining technology. Topics for this year include “Best practices in mineral exploration projects and how to avoid common errors encountered in technical reports and other disclosures made by Issuers,” as well as “Structured excel modeling, financial and risk analysis for mining.” These short courses can be used as part of the PD hour requirements and for continuing professional development.

In addition to the information presented on the technical end of mining for attendees of PDAC, there are also a wealth of opportunities for investors who focus on the mining sector. The Corporate Presentation Forum for Investors is designed to meet the needs of those individuals. According to the PDAC website, “The Corporate Presentation Forum for Investors is a popular series that features up-to-the-minute information on select exploration and development companies’ current activities and investment potential.”

During these financial presentations, investors are exposed to a wide variety of topics, including royalty companies and prospect generation, gold in the Americas, nickel and PGM, uranium, base metals and electric metals and rare earth elements. Well known presenters include Rob McEwen of McEwen Mining, Ernest Mas of Primero Mining, Ross McElroy of Fission Uranium Corporation and Roger Lemaitre of UEX Corporation.

Open during the entirety of the event is the Investors Exchange. The investment show portion of the PDAC gathering highlights more than 350 companies that offer a wide range of products and services. These include everything from the metals themselves to associated services used in mining. The Investment Exchange is attended by more than 23,000 industry representatives that come from companies such as junior exploration companies, major mining companies, stock exchanges, mid-sized producers and prospectors. Investors are able to talk directly with representatives of the companies they would like to invest in. This is a priceless opportunity.

As part of the Investors Exchange, Tesla will be bringing their newest electric car, the Tesla Model S. Tesla is an important part of PDAC this year as their vehicle features many mined products that are used during the production of each environmentally-friendly model.

Special guests at the Investors Exchange include Gianni Kovacevic. Mr. Kovacevic is the well-known author of My Electrician Drives a Porche? Mr. Kovacevic will start his tour, titled The Realistic Environmentalist North America Tesla Tour, right from PDAC 2016. His tour includes sites between Toronto, Canada and the North American Tesla headquarters located in Palo Alto, California.

There are additional aspects to the Investors Exchange that many individuals find helpful during their visit to the convention. The Mining Marketplace is an area dedicated to exhibitors who are showing off the newest products, services, technology and mining jurisdictions that are the most cutting edge in the industry. For investors who are technically minded, the Barrick sponsored Core Shack offers plenty of great information. New displays on the latest geological discoveries will be presented along with technical information such as maps and charts.

The exhibitors included in the Core Shack will include ATAC Resources with the newest information on their Rackla Gold Project located in Keno City, Yukon, Canada. Barrick Gold will feature the Alturas gold discovery from the El Indio Belt of Chile and Denison Mines will share the Bayan Khundii gold discovery located in Bayan Undur, Bayankhongor, Mongolia. Many of these discoveries have downloadable information that is located on the PDAC website.

Independent prospectors have a prominent part at the PDAC Investors Exchange as well. A dedicated area for prospectors is included for self-employed or independent prospectors who wish to share their information, progress and discoveries. Many of these displays include maps, samples of the minerals that have been recovered, as well as claim results. The independent prospectors that are scheduled to attend the 2016 PDAC include John Shurko, Tom Drivas and Karl Bjorkman. Many of these exhibitors are part of the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada.

As an added highlight to the PDAC events held in the Investors Exchange, the Toronto Stock Exchange and the TSX will be opening and closing the market right from the Investors Exchange floor. As one of the largest supporters of public mining companies, hosting more than fifty percent of all of mining companies who are publicly traded, the Toronto Stock Exchange and TSX will be representing mines from across the globe. A variety of delegations from across the world will be opening and closing the market activity during the PDAC convention.

The PDAC offers mining investors and professionals the opportunity to learn from experts in the field and identify the best investment options for their portfolio. For more information on the PDAC International Convention, Trade Show and Investors Exchange, you can visit www.pdac.ca where you can find registration information, a full program of events and ticket information.