Innovation is a cornerstone of the mining industry, and this year, that reaches down to how the annual Timmins mining expo can be held, despite COVID-19.
Glen Dredhart is president of Timmins-based Canadian Trade-Ex. It has developed what it calls the Virtex virtual trade show platform. It makes its debut June 2nd and 3rd during Mining Week. The theme is “Mining the Abitibi Greenstone Belt”.
“We felt traditionally the majority of our attendees when it came to the mining companies would participate from around Northern Ontario and Northwestern Quebec,” Dredhart states.
The Abitibi Greenstone Belt covers the area from Chibougamau, Québec to Chapleau.
Virtex moves most of the features of the mining expo into the online realm. It features a mining conference; procurement exhibition; and a job fair. Plus it has “The Prospector” – an online scavenger hunt for schools.
“The mines are participating,” says Dredhart. “They’re offering different videos and different content. We’ll utilize that content for the education systems to engage their students in mining within the Abitibi-Greenstone Belt.”