The technical sessions at Mineral Exploration Roundup are the foundation of the conference. All sessions will take place in the Stanley Park Ballroom on the second level of the Westin Bayshore. The AM sessions will begin at 8:30am and conclude at 11:30am; the PM sessions will begin at 2:30pm and conclude at 5:00pm (with the exception of the Monday afternoon session that will start at 1:30pm). The session schedules will be posted to this page as they are confirmed.

Interested in presenting in a session? The Roundup Organizing Committee Technical Session Chairs are responsible for determining the speakers in their session. Email roundup@amebc.ca to obtain contact information for the Chairs of the session you are interested in participating in. 

2012 Technical Sessions

Monday Morning - Official Opening and 2011 BC, Alaska, Yukon, Quebec and Newfoundland Exploration Overviews
Sponsored by: Macquarie

In addition to the Opening Ceremonies, this session will provide British Columbia, Alaska, Yukon, Quebec and Newfoundland exploration reviews.

Click here for Session Schedule

Monday Afternoon - British Columbia's First 100 Years of Global Discovery
Sponsored by: Teck Resources Limited

Over the past 100 years, BC geologists, scientists, promoters and financiers have established a mineral exploration and mining industry that is now a globally respected powerhouse. The development and integration of knowledge from industry, universities, government surveys, assay labs and brokerage houses has resulted in BC leading the way on many fronts. In particular, BC has played a critical role in the development of terrane tectonics and metallogenic concepts, and has led in the development of exploration geochemistry as a discipline, which in turn has produced some of the world’s best analytical laboratories. BC hosts world class mineral deposits such as Sullivan and Highland Valley which provided an economic backbone for the province over much of the past century, and provided foundations for the maturation of sedex and porphyry mineral deposit models. In addition, the porphyry copper model took on a golden flavour with the recognition of the BC specialty alkalic porphyry Cu-Au type, and VMS deposit models evolved in response to discoveries at Eskay Creek, Windy Craggy and Myra Falls. All of this could not have happened without a supply of venture capital and the Vancouver Stock Exchange which together provided the funding required to support global exploration programs in a resource-hungry world. These “Made in BC” features changed the way the world explores; and BC companies now explore farther, better and smarter than the rest of the world. This session explores the historical and future directions of these advances.

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Tuesday Morning – Public Geoscience: Preparing for the Next 100 Years
Sponsored by: Teck Resources Limited

Public geoscience programs provide an important foundation for developing new concepts and knowledge of geology and mineral potential. This work, conducted by dedicated and experienced professionals, encourages new mineral exploration activity and helps in the successful targeting of minerals related investments. Geoscientists from the British Columbia Geological Survey, the Yukon Geological Survey, Geoscience BC and the Geological Survey of Canada present recent successes from the field and research programs throughout the Canadian Cordillera. Talks will highlight results from current Cordilleran bedrock and surficial mapping initiatives, interpretations of geophysical and geochemical datasets, and compilation projects, and will present new insights into economic geology and mineral deposits of the Canadian Cordillera. Upgrades to digital information services are constantly being made by these organizations to ensure easy, efficient access to new geoscience data. 

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Tuesday, January 24 PM: British Columbia, Yukon, and Alaska: Mineral Exploration and Mining Highlights
Sponsored by: Foundex Exploration Ltd., Monster Mining Corp. and Northern Freegold Resources Ltd.

The Cordillera of British Columbia, Yukon, and Alaska is host to a number of world-class ore bodies. It continues to attract significant mineral investment, particularly in exploration for gold (epithermal, shear zone and intrusion-related); porphyries (alkali and calc-alkalic Cu-Au and Cu-Mo); and base and precious metal-enriched VMS deposits. Presentations in this session will showcase some of the highlights of recent mineral exploration and development activities. 

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Wednesday, January 25 AM: Advancing Your Exploration Project: Considerations for Environmental Assessment and Aboriginal Participation

Sponsored by: HDI

This session will focus on some of the key considerations for companies planning to successfully advance their exploration project through to mine development. Major studies, such as environmental impact assessments, require consideration of First Nations traditional use of land potentially affected by projects. Information on traditional use is usually collected in a Traditional Knowledge Study, which is undertaken in collaboration with local First Nations. Both the environmental impact assessment and the traditional use or knowledge study can be time consuming and being prepared is essential for project success. While it is expected that relationship development with local First Nations will have started early, it is common practice to formalize the relationship in order to ensure their participation in, and support for, the environmental assessment, traditional use studies, permitting and project development. Needless to say these have to be factored into timelines and budgets. The session will outline important aspects, timelines and budget considerations and provide examples of Aboriginal Traditional Use Studies, Aboriginal Participation Agreements and environmental impact assessments as required by law in Canada.

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Wednesday, January 25 PM: Canadian Exploration Highlights

Sponsored by: Imperial Metals Corporation

Ongoing investment in Canadian mining reflects continued demand from emerging economies and concerns around Western fiscal policies. Canada has led exploration and mining financing in 2011, and many Canadian companies are well-positioned for further discovery and exploration. This popular session will highlight some of the Canadian projects that have generated interest in the market and investors in 2011.

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Thursday, January 26 AM: International Exploration Successes

Sponsored by: Endeavour Silver Corp.

Buoyant commodity prices through 2011, plus strong balance sheets built through equity market financings for explorers and operating cash flow for miners, translated into another very busy year for exploration teams. Several significant new mineral discoveries from around the world are showcased in this session. Presenters will provide accounts of the regional and deposit geology, history of exploration, key elements in the discovery process, plus the plan for 2012 and beyond. As always with the International Session there should be many insightful takeaway points for the exploration community.

Click here for Session Schedule

Thursday, January 26 PM: Commodity Review: Balancing Demand Growth and Resurgent Recovery

Sponsored by: Goldcorp Inc.

Advancing economies (e.g. China, and India) have been driving new demand growth as the advanced economies have shown variable rates of consumption recovery, the question for the sector, is how and whether growth and recovery continue, and whether they can sustain the current commodity price paradigm.

Click here for Session Schedule - updated Wednesday, January 26!