Mood of optimism pervades 27th annual Kamloops Exploration Group’s conference

NEWS — There’s a mood of optimism at this year’s Kamloops Exploration Group Conference and Trade Show that wasn’t there last year, says the man who heads up the event.

More than 500 people are at the 27th annual conference, which winds up today at the Kamloops Coast Hotel and Conference Centre. The event is held in Kamloops every year, drawing delegates from around the province.

KEG president Colin Russell said today there’s a lot of activity in the mining sector right now, although some major projects such as Taseko and Morrison Lake have run into barriers. In general, though, those in the industry are feeling positive.

“The mood here is fairly optimistic,” he said. “There’s going to be some work going on.”

Russell, a geologist, said the KEG conference is one of the smaller ones in the Pacific Northwest but it’s a barometer for how the exploration industry is doing. “Everybody comes here to see what the mood is like. They’re really happy with what they’re seeing.”

He pointed to projects such as Red Chris, an open-pit copper-gold mine under development by Imperial Metals south of Dease Lake. Commissioning is expected to begin this summer.

Another is the Mt. Milligan copper and gold mine owned by Thompson Creek Metals 90 miles northwest of Prince George, a conventional truck-shovel open pit. It produced its first concentrate last September and went into commercial product in February.

As for Ajax, Russell said it “obviously has a long way to go. I’m not for or against Ajax. I prefer to let the process work through.”

Russell said that while KEG focuses entirely on B.C., Kamloops exploration suppliers and services work around the world in such places as Africa. The positive outlook developing in the industry should continue for the next several years, he said, though occasional downturns are typical.

“It’s a cyclic industry.”

Delegates attended presentations ranging from specific exploration and mine projects to environmental permits and new technologies.