PDAC welcomed 26 geoscience students from post-secondary institutions across Canada to participate in an all-expenses paid, two-week Student-Industry Mineral Exploration Workshop (S-IMEW) in Sudbury, Ontario. Designed for upper-year geoscience students aspiring towards a future in mineral exploration and mining, S-IMEW provides a rare opportunity to acquire both technical and business perspectives of mineral exploration that compliments their academics.

The Workshop was held at Collège Boréal in Sudbury from May 1 to 16. The students were in the field to participate in regional geology tours, geophysical survey demonstrations, geochemical sampling exercises, regional and exploration mapping and a drill site visit.  The field days were complimented by in class presentations on important subjects such as mineral economics, ESG, capital markets, resource modelling and interpretation of data. This year’s field trip took the students to Val-d’Or, Quebec where they explored VMS deposits in the Abitibi Greenstone belt. They had exclusive access to core shacks at Winsome Resources where they saw pegmatites and at Wesdome Gold Mines where they saw some incredible visible gold. A highlight of the field trip was the opportunity for the students to go underground at Agnico Eagle Goldex and Eldorado Gold Lamaque mines. Aside from the practical skills the students gained throughout the workshop they also had the invaluable opportunity to network with more than 90 industry experts and leaders from the mineral exploration and mining sector at events such as the Welcome Reception and the S-IMEW Finale Dinner.

We were excited to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the Workshop and extend our sincere appreciation to our dedicated sponsors, whose unwavering support has made this workshop a longstanding success. Sponsors gain exclusive access to the top geoscience students from across the country, together with an opportunity to contribute to the industry’s talent pipeline. 

We thank all our sponsors and speakers for their support of this important workshop. Many thanks to Osisko Mining Inc. for their continued support as the Premier Sponsor of S-IMEW. View the 2024 Sponsors.   


To view photos from this year’s workshop visit S-IMEW 2024 Photos

For more information contact Krishana Michaud, [email protected]


Meet the 2024 S-IMEW Students

Meet the 2024 Sponsors

S-IMEW 2024 Itinerary

S-IMEW 2024 Photos

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S-IMEW 2023 Photos

Exp mapping 2019

S-IMEW 2023 students with Natalie Maclean, Wallbridge Mining, on Exploration Mapping Day.