Another record year for Roundup

摘要

The 23rd annual Mineral Exploration Roundup, hosted by the newly dubbed Association of Mineral Exploration BC (previously the British Columbia & Yukon Chamber of Mines), once again set a record in attendance with about 5,400 registered delegates. As evidenced by the strong turnout over the Jan. 23-26 conference, a booming metals cycle continues to drive the buoyant junior mining market. TSX-Venture board trading volumes have seen an impressive surge since the beginning of the year, to a more than 4-year high, with many juniors touching 52-week highs. In British Columbia, home to about 60 percent of Canada's mining and exploration companies, 2005 exploration spending soared to 220 million dollars, the highest figure in more than a decade. "We've come a long way from four years ago, when exploration spending in B.C. was only 29 million dollars" said B.C. Minister of State for Mining, Bill Bennett. The number of exploration projects grew to 650 last year, up 38 percnet from the 470 recorded in 2004.