Dust flux, Vostok ice core

Dust flux, Vostok ice core
Two dimensional phase space reconstruction of dust flux from the Vostok core over the period 186-4 ka using the time derivative method. Dust flux on the x-axis, rate of change is on the y-axis. From Gipp (2001).

Monday, March 2, 2015

PDAC 2015 part 1

The investors exchange was pretty dead in the morning.


No worries about broken toes here! But things picked up somewhat in the afternoon.

There is a lot more space than usual in the investors exchange, due to all the missing booths. There are a few more breaks in the rows to allow traffic as well as a little snack bar, which I never recall seeing before. There were a lot of booths which would normally have been in the trade show section, which is full to overflowing.


There was even a large contingent of trade show booths in the north building (where it used to be years ago), as well as the usual large area on the 800 level. And as I mentioned above, it almost took over a complete row of the investors' exchange. I haven't quite wrapped my head around what this means. I remember working an investors exchange booth back in 2002 and 2003 when the conference was so full that not only were there many additional conference rooms filled with mining company booths, but quite a few of us were put in the trade show, which really cut down on the number of questions I had to answer that year.

So raising money for mining projects is still pretty hard, why are there so many more service companies than usual? Is it a sign of desperation? Or is it a sign that there is a lot of innovation in the sector (because I am seeing a lot of new processing/interpretation services being offered)?

Once again there seems to be a lot of interest in uranium (at least in the company presentations).


Standing room only in the afternoon uranium sessions. I mean I went in there to take a nap, and not only couldn't get a seat but it was so stuffy I was ready to completely pass out by the end of the Denison presentation. I managed to make it to the precious metals room, where Silver Standard was presenting. The room was mostly empty.

Wandering the Investors Exchange did give me a line on some work and a potential financing for an African project (from different booths).


6 comments:

  1. I guess you have a paid registration? They don't let us "investor suckers" into the trade show area. Really sucks cos I would have loved to pick up some booklets on awesome mining toys.

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    1. You can't expect me to tell you all my secrets.

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  2. Yeah nothing for us individual investor. At least Sedar is free :)

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    1. Don't underestimate the value of Sedar. There was a project I worked on in Sierra Leone a few years ago, and the local government had only limited information about two boreholes done by previous companies. But I went through every press release by the two previous companies that held the properties and eventually found data from 26 boreholes plus the reasons they dropped the project. My client was amazed.

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  3. Did you see the 5 booths in the Tues-Weds "B" section devoted to free prostrate cancer screening?

    Right on the convention floor they had little curtained compartments with docs inside!

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