The following statement was given today in the House of Assembly by the Honourable Siobhan Coady, Minister of Natural Resources:
Mr. Speaker, I rise in this Honourable House today to feature Newfoundland and Labrador’s presence at the Prospectors and Development Association of Canada (PDAC) conference in Toronto this week where I heard it exclaimed on the floor of our province’s pavilion that “discussions were being had and deals were being made.”
It was an exciting time at PDAC with in excess of 25,000 participants representing over 100 countries. An example of a project with good news was Minfocus Exploration which extended its zinc portfolio on the Great Northern Peninsula with an agreement to earn 100 per cent interest in Round Pond Zinc.
I, along with the Parliamentary Secretary for Natural Resources and MHA for Labrador West, met with over a dozen exploration and mining companies as well as international leaders interested in learning more about Newfoundland and Labrador’s mining industry and opportunity.
We were happy to celebrate Newfoundlanders and Labradorians who received awards during the PDAC conference. Acoustic Zoom Inc. was the winner of Disrupt Mining 2018 after they impressed judges with their ultra high-frequency 3D drill hole seismic imaging. Heather Bruce-Veitch of IOC won the Women in Mining Canada Trailblazer Award – the first of its kind to recognize the achievements of women who have made a significant contribution to Canadian mining.
I also joined the federal Minister of Natural Resources to announce the development of a national framework for a Canadian Minerals and Metals Plan.
Mining is a major contributor to the Newfoundland and Labrador economy, with a forecast in 2018 of 6,000 people employed in the industry and $3.4 billion in mineral shipments. Just recently the Fraser Institute ranked Newfoundland and Labrador 11th worldwide in its 2017 International Mining Survey as one of the most attractive jurisdictions for investment – quite an improvement from the ranking of 25th just a couple of years ago.
We will continue to work with industry for responsible development of the mining in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker