The Northwestern Ontario Prospectors Association Showcase, held in Thunder Bay this week, marked 30 years of highlighting exploration in Northwestern Ontario.
The Thunder Bay Community Economic Development Commission (CEDC) partnered with the Prospectors Association to host numerous prospectors, junior and major mining companies, suppliers, contractors, investors and government partners from across the province.
Jamie Taylor, chief executive officer of the CEDC, said they connected with attendees throughout the two-day event to showcase the business supports available in Thunder Bay, including investment attraction, business development resources, and partnerships that help drive growth across the mining sector.
“Thunder Bay continues to be the service and supply hub that powers mining and exploration across Northwestern Ontario,” Taylor said. “Events like the (Northwestern Ontario Prospectors Association) Showcase are an important opportunity to connect with industry leaders, highlight the strengths of our local businesses, and demonstrate how CEDC is helping drive long-term economic growth in our city and region.”
Garry Clark, who organized the event with his son, Percy Clark, president of the Northwestern Ontario Prospectors Association, said more than 300 people attended the conference.
“This has always been a very important event to bring together the prospectors with the junior companies and some of the bigger companies that are producing, as well as all the suppliers and the different companies that provide things like consultants and, and the assay companies,” Clark said. “It’s been a really big networking event.”
He added that for Northwestern Ontario, the conference plays an important role in bringing people to Thunder Bay from all over the province, and remote areas from Red Lake to Wawa.
Robert Chataway, a retired prospector and former Northwestern Ontario Prospectors Association president, said it has been tremendous to see the conference at the Valhalla Inn back up and running.
“There’s lots of activity in the Northwest, and this is the show to be at for the future of mining in the province,” Chataway said.
“There are many new exhibitors, which means potential new mines and properties that are coming on stream. Everybody’s chasing the critical minerals, and lithium is one of them. Many good lithium properties could be worked out of the Thunder Bay area right up to the Red Lake area.”
He added, “When the electric car business gets everything straightened out, we’ll be able to supply them with the lithium for their batteries and other companies. The gold is always exciting, especially with close to $5,000 an ounce.”
Matthew Trenkler, chief geologist with Critical One Energy, travelled from Toronto to attend the conference.
“It’s a diverse crowd, from investors, prospectors, fellow junior miners and some producers, and it’s good to talk to everyone from this area,” Trenkler said.
“As a geologist, it’s great to hear from people who have worked in this area, and from an economic side of things, there are like-minded companies to hear from investors. So this has been a great event and I’m glad to see it’s really popular this year.”
Nathan Sims, vice-president of operations and exploration with Green Metals Tech, called the Northwestern Ontario Prospectors Association conference an excellent event.
“I’ve been coming here for almost 20 years,” Sims said. “It’s well timed. It’s in the springtime before everybody hits the field. We’ve talked to many geologists who have worked on our projects or other lithium-focused projects. It’s just a great place to connect and see who’s doing what and how we can all collaborate together.”
“I’ve been coming here for almost 20 years,” Sims said. “It’s well timed. It’s in the springtime before everybody hits the field. We’ve talked to many geologists
who have worked on our projects or other lithium-focused projects. It’s just a great place to connect and see who’s doing what and how we can all collaborate together.”
