President's Blog
January 14, 2025
President Office

PDAC President's 2025 New Year's Message

Raymond Goldie reflects on 2024's achievements and looks ahead to upcoming opportunities and challenges
Encouraging and nurturing those who will shape our sector’s future
 
2024 was my “back-to-school year.” In October, I delighted in sharing, with my fellow family alumnae, the centennial celebrations of our primary school. Then, in November, I attended a career fair for high school students at a booth that PDAC had set up with our sister organization, Mining Matters.
 
At the primary school, I saw the success of a school principal who is devoted to working with the local community to integrate and educate new immigrants, and to build consensus on key issues such as the importance of math and handwriting, the role of phones in classrooms and the inclusion of indigenous traditions.
 
At the career fair, I was impressed by the techniques that Mining Matters had devised to interest high school students in seeking careers in the minerals industry. Students left the booth carrying Polaroid photos of themselves attired in mining gear, or with fond memories of operating an open pit shovel or an underground scooptram using Virtual Reality. They were impressed with taglines such as “exploration geologists get to fly in helicopters and go places Instagram has never been.”
 
 
Students were photographed in mining gear provided by Covergalls at the Level Up! Career Fair. 
PDAC staff member Curtis Byron and I got in on the fun.

 

PDAC is proud to work alongside organizations like Mining Matters and the Mining Industry Human Resources Council (MiHR) to spark and sustain interest in the minerals industry among students from elementary through post-secondary levels.

At the PDAC Convention in March 2024, we continued our commitment to supporting students through the Student & Early Career Program, as well as the Dr. Donald M. Leishman Convention Experience, which provides five students with financial assistance to pursue valuable networking and learning opportunities. To broaden participation further, we continued to offer travel funding, allowing promising minds from across the country to attend. Building on this success, we’re adding accommodation funding for PDAC 2025 to enable even more young people to benefit from the Convention.
 
Additionally, in May 2024, we proudly celebrated the 15th anniversary of the PDAC’s Student-Industry Mineral Exploration Workshop (S-IMEW), reaffirming our dedication to fostering rich learning opportunities for the next generation of mineral exploration professionals.
 
Advocating for policies that ensure that our Members have stable access to talent, capital and land
 
As I just pointed out, our activities in ensuring access to talent mostly take the long-term point of view. Access to capital is a much more urgent consideration. PDAC’s top priority is the long-term renewal of the Federal Government’s Mineral Exploration Tax Credit (METC), a proven incentive that boosts investment, drives discovery, and strengthens economic resilience across the country.
 
In seeking to ensure that Canada’s mineral sector remains resilient, globally competitive, and poised to deliver lasting economic and social benefits for all Canadians, we advocate for strategic investments that bolster supply chains, stimulate innovation, and spur the exploration of critical minerals essential to emerging technologies. In particular, we support measures that enhance baseline geoscience data, streamline regulatory processes, and foster collaboration with Indigenous communities.
 
One of the keys to ensuring and sustaining access to land is for exploration companies to maintain environmental stewardship, uphold social responsibility, and keep the highest standards of health and safety. In 2024, we launched Driving Responsible Exploration (DRE) – an evolution of our long-established e3 Plus program – and introduced a free, interactive Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Calculator.
 
Our successes, and what you can do to participate in them
 
In 2024, our membership expanded beyond 8,000, and our Convention delivered a remarkable turnout: 26,926 participants from 138 countries, as well as 1,105 exhibitors and 693 presenters. This exceptional engagement solidified the Convention’s standing as the world’s premier mineral exploration and mining event – an unrivalled forum that brings together industry leaders, innovative companies, and key government representatives. To learn more, see our redesigned website, pdac.ca, which offers an accessible and intuitive user experience.
 
Looking ahead, we are eager to meet you at the PDAC 2025 Convention, this March in Toronto. As always, PDAC Members enjoy special pricing on passes, and early registration will provide even greater savings. This year’s Convention will not only build on our longstanding traditions but also mark a milestone for me. After serving as President for two years, my term will be up at the March 2025 Annual General Meeting. It has been a privilege to serve you, and I look forward to remaining active within PDAC as a member of committees. I am pleased to welcome Karen Rees as our incoming President – her wealth of experience and dedication to our shared objectives, supported by the Association’s healthy balance sheet (for which, Karen and I both applaud PDAC’s staff) will guide PDAC into an exciting future.
 
As we approach the upcoming PDAC Board elections, this is your chance to help shape our organization’s future by voting for Directors who will sit on that Board. To be eligible to vote, Members must renew their membership for 2025. Ballots will be distributed by email in late January 2025, and election results will be announced at the AGM on March 2, 2025.
 
Thank you for being part of the PDAC community. Your engagement, ideas, and passion for responsible mineral exploration and development continue to shape our collective success. Here’s to a productive and rewarding 2025, and to seeing you in Toronto this March.
 
Warm regards,
Raymond Goldie
PDAC President