Roundup 2015 moves to new, roomier Vancouver venue

People from 37 countries attend Mineral Exploration Roundup, which in 2015 will move to its new home at Vancouver Convention Centre East. — Photo courtesy Mark Kinskofer/Vision Event Photography

The Association for Mineral Exploration British Columbia’s Roundup 2015 is on the move. The annual conference, which brings together a colourful mixture of provincial, national and international mineral explorers, suppliers, government officials and investors, will be located for the first time at the Vancouver Convention Centre East. For many years, Roundup has been held at the Westin Bayshore on Coal Harbour. The convention centre is located much closer to downtown Vancouver.

Roundup 2015 will take place January 26 to 29. The exhibit area of the new venue is 25 per cent greater than it was at the Bayshore, said Roundup 2015 chairwoman Kendra Johnston.

“The industry has changed over the years,” said Johnston. “There’s a lot more information involved in mineral exploration now, and therefore we need more room to hold the growing number of presentations. In 2015 we will have an expanded footprint, instead of the overlapping footprints we’ve had in the past.”

Roundup 2015 will also cover more jurisdictions than just B.C., Yukon and Alaska.

“Mineral exploration has become more national and international in orientation,” said Johnston. “Mineral explorers in B.C. are part of a global industry, and we need to know what's going on in other parts of the world.”

A new feature of Roundup 2015 is the best-practice showcase sessions, which focus on the growing importance to the mineral exploration industry of such subjects as aboriginal engagement, corporate social responsibility, health and safety, land access and use, human resources and government relations.

Also new in 2015 is Discovery Day, which will feature talks and activities for the whole family about the mineral exploration industry.

Confirmed speakers at Roundup 2015 include Clive Johnson, CEO and director of B2Gold Corp; Stephen McIntosh, global head of exploration for Rio Tinto; Mike Ashar, chairman of the safety and sustainability committee of Teck Resources Ltd.; and Chuck Jeannes, CEO and president of Goldcorp Inc.

The theme of Roundup 2015 is intelligent exploration, Johnston said.

“Roundup 2015 will be looking at best practices in every aspect of exploration and not just prospecting and geology,” she said. “The industry has become bigger and more integrated, and explorers need a wider variety of skills and expertise in order to be successful. Today we need to know about such subjects as corporate social responsibility, aboriginal and community engagement, and land use.”

Rob McLeod, president and CEO of IDM Mining Ltd. in Vancouver and a long-time Roundup supporter, said intelligent exploration “integrates strong geological work with a good data set” to maximize the chances of success.

“Usually, almost all of our time and dollars are spent gathering and storing data,” McLeod said. “Very little time is spent compiling and interpreting the information.”

This process starts at the data gathering point, such as smaller geological features that are reflective of what is happening on the property scale.

“Most exploration projects involve exploring for mineralization that is located under overburden cover or at depth,” McLeod said. “Integrating all possible geochemical, lithological, alteration, structural and geophysical data increases the odds of exploration success. When you have all that information, you can then drill your biggest or highest-grade-looking target.”

McLeod said intelligent exploration techniques are particularly useful as projects become more advanced.

“Some mineral exploration is often more of a sequential exercise of stepping out from known zones of mineralization to build resources,” he said. “This is often at the transition from the exploration stage to the delineation and project development stage.”

McLeod said such work requires robust and detailed data, rather than subjective and interpretive data that earlier stage exploration is often based on.

“Unintelligent exploration will often involve repeatedly drilling the highest-grade area of a known economic deposit, but with the expectation of a different outcome,” he said.

More B.C. mineral explorers should be practicing intelligent exploration, McLeod said.

“There is a saying among many successful B.C. explorers that you should use less IQ and more HQ (HQ is a standard-diameter drill core),” he said. “Many of B.C.’s ore deposits are unique variations of conventional deposit models seen elsewhere. So exploring for a specific type of deposit here usually results in failure.”

McLeod said this failure is often the result of explorers trying to be too clever.

“Because the earth isn’t uniform in composition, there is no one-size-fits-all magic bullet to discovery,” he said. “I suggest incorporating all the data you can, getting a really good map together, and drilling the biggest and highest-grade targets you can on the property. It may not involve the highest-priced geological experts or the fanciest new geophysical method, but I believe this approach results in the most discoveries.”

Roundup and Vancouver Resource Investment Conference to be held closer together starting in 2015

Beginning in 2015, the Association for Mineral Exploration British Columbia’s Roundup and Cambridge House’s Vancouver Resource Investment Conference (VRIC) will be held closer to each other in time and in place.

The events, which are two of the high points of B.C.’s mineral exploration industry’s business and social season, have been held within a week of each other in mid- to late January for several years.

In 2015, VRIC is scheduled for January 18 and 19 at the Vancouver Convention Centre West; Roundup has been booked for January 26-29 at the adjacent Vancouver Convention Centre East at Canada Place. A “bridge program”—details still pending—will link both conferences.

In 2016, VRIC takes place January 24 and 25 and Roundup January 25 to 28, each one at its respective 2015 venue. Roundup pre-conference events have been scheduled for the first day of VRIC.

Beginning in 2015, the Association for Mineral Exploration British Columbia’s Roundup and Cambridge House’s Vancouver Resource Investment Conference (VRIC) will be held closer to each other in time and in place.

The events, which are two of the high points of B.C.’s mineral exploration industry’s business and social season, have been held within a week of each other in mid- to late January for several years.

In 2015, VRIC is scheduled for January 18 and 19 at the Vancouver Convention Centre West; Roundup has been booked for January 26-29 at the adjacent Vancouver Convention Centre East at Canada Place. A “bridge program”—details still pending—will link both conferences.

In 2016, VRIC takes place January 24 and 25 and Roundup January 25 to 28, each one at its respective 2015 venue. Roundup pre-conference events have been scheduled for the first day of VRIC.