September 20, 1999
(Mines and Energy)

First-ever North Atlantic Mineral Symposium is slated for this week in Dublin, Ireland

Mines and Energy Minister, Roger Grimes, will lead a delegation of 30 Newfoundland and Labrador representatives to the first North Atlantic Minerals Symposium in Dublin, Ireland, September 19 to 22.

The symposium, which will alternate between Ireland and Newfoundland every two years, stems from a Memorandum of Understanding between the Irish Government and the Newfoundland Government signed in November 1996.

This initiative is designed to highlight the attractions, opportunities and benefits the North Atlantic Region has to offer for investors and entrepreneurs in the minerals and related sectors.

"We see this event primarily as a business opportunity for Newfoundland companies as well as a geological and mining conference," said Mr. Grimes. "The two largest trading blocks in the world are on either side of the North Atlantic and both have enormous appetites for minerals, both metallic and industrial minerals."

Included in the Newfoundland delegation are: Althius Resources, Vulcan Minerals, Buchans River Ltd., Richmont Mines, Iron Ore Company of Canada, Krinor Resources, Meyer Industrial Mineral Consulting, Labrador Inuit Development Corporation, and the Newfoundland and Labrador Chamber of Mineral Resources.

The specific objectives of the symposium are to: facilitate the interaction between entrepreneurs and investors; provide entrepreneurs with a platform to present their projects; facilitate interaction between producers and end users; and to facilitate the development of the regions' mineral resources.

"One of the cornerstones of economic development today is the natural resource industry and our lifestyle is dependent upon the discovery of new sources of minerals and new ways of economically processing them," said Mr. Grimes. "This symposium and others in the future will lead to new approaches to developing business partnerships, new means of project development and innovative ways of project financing to meet the demands of society."

The North Atlantic region includes the Atlantic Provinces, the northeastern United States, Ireland, Britain, Denmark, Finland, France, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, Portugal, Spain and Sweden, with primary interest on Ireland and Newfoundland and Labrador.

Mr. Grimes will address the conference at a luncheon on Tuesday.

The next North Atlantic Minerals Symposium will take place in St. John's in 2001.

Further information is available on the NAMS website at /NAMS

Media contact: Jennifer Lilly, Communications, (709) 729-2183

1999 09 20 11:00 a.m.