The Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada Conference (PDAC) is beingheld in Toronto from March 6-9. It is not only the most important event in the world of mining exploration, bringing together
attendees from all over the globe. It is also like fishing with dynamite for companies ready to release impressive drill results.
PDAC manufactures a consolidated, focused, and excited crowd eagerly looking to get in on "the next big thing." Last year's
PDAC attracted roughly 22,000 delegates from 118 countries, it was a new attendance record, surpassing 2008 levels of 20,168.
We expect the 2011 conference to be once again an overcrowded classroom. The Investor Exchange floor is often shoulder to
shoulder, busy with industry types and investors battling for the presenters’ time. The conference is an opportunity to meet and
encounter new ideas and opportunities and to refresh news on active advancing projects. New exploration discoveries or
companies with recent higher-profile drill intercepts always attract interest. At every PDAC a few companies attract a greater
than average level of interest. While PDAC presents a smorgasbord of potential mining investment opportunities for retail and
institutional investors, it is also an excellent opportunity for companies to get together to discuss, negotiate and feel out potential
M&A targets. We believe sentiment in the market is solidly in favour of precious metals, most notably gold. Close seconds, in
our opinion, are iron ore and copper, which continue to have proponents based on the metals’ strong fundamentals. Be on the
lookout for junior explorers releasing positive results over the next couple of days leading up to the PDAC.