Showcasing natural resources, opportunitities

Inaugural MinEx expo offers an educational, networking event in Gander

The inaugural MinEx mining expo was an opportunity to bring everyone together from a variety of backgrounds.

From April 26 to 28, the Gander Area Chamber of Commerce hosted the expo at the Steele Community Centre. Across the three-day program, the focus was on providing a platform to incubate partnerships between the mineral resources sector and the local business and service supply sector.

Ignite Education Inc., a consultancy company specializing in science communications, geoscience education and outreached, was hired by the chamber to co-ordinate the event.

“The significant mineral exploration activity, which is happening in central Newfoundland, that was really the catalyst for putting together an event like this,” Amanda McCallum, Ignite Education president and principal consultant, tells Central Wire.

The expo made for a busy three days at the Steele Community Centre. There were trade shows with more than 70 exhibitors, a tech program featuring over 40 different speakers, a panel discussion, various sessions, gold panning demonstrations, various community engagement efforts and much more.

McCallum feels it’s important local businesses simply have an opportunity to get a sense of just how much mineral exploration is occurring in the province.

“You can’t take advantage of opportunities if you’re not aware of what’s happening in the resources sector,” she says.

“That was really the biggest goal of the conference, was to help raise that awareness about the industry and the value that industry provides potential business opportunities and potential employment opportunities.”

She felt the expo allowed people to see the bigger picture of what’s happening.

Community engagement, McCallum notes, was something they really wanted to emphasize as well. There were opportunities for the public, including multiple school groups, to engage with exhibitors and participate in hands-on demonstrations. Two hundred students from five school groups, from Appleton, Buchans, Bishop’s Falls, Conne River and Gander, visited the expo. They had the opportunity to complete a scavenger hunt through the trade show floor with an iPad for first prize and a mountain bike for second.

“By having the school groups come through, that opens their eyes to the industry but also potential career opportunities they might want to pursue,” says McCallum.

She highlights two of the groups who attended were also with STEM for Girls.

Another exciting highlight was getting to participate in a gold panning demonstration with, according to McCallum, some of the most legendary prospectors in the province, Allan Keats and Peter Dimmell.

She felt the expo provided attendees an opportunity to learn about the materials our day-to-day items are made of.

“Every single thing that we use in our day-to-day lives has come from an earth resource,” she notes. “If we didn’t grow it, it had to have come from a mined material.”

They also focused on engaging the Indigenous community. Qalipu chief Brendan Mitchell attended and shared opening remarks and conducted an opening prayer. A demonstration by local Mi’kmaq artist Clyde Drew was also held during the expo.

The expo’s sponsorships and registration numbers so exceeded expectations that they have already gone ahead with plans to host the expo again next year. It’s scheduled to be held from April 23 to 25, 2024.