Andrew Cheatle of PDAC: "There's Certainly a Wonderful Mood of Optimism"

This year’s Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) conference was no doubt a success. Optimism was running high, and a statement released after the conference ended shows that 24,161 people attended compared to 22,000 last year. By those numbers alone, it’s clear that some hope has returned to the resource sector.
During the show, the Investing News Network (INN) had the chance to speak with Andrew Cheatle, executive director of PDAC. In the interview, Cheatle said that when he joined as executive director in 2015, he came on “towards the bottom of the market,” although it’s now making a return.
Other highlights of our conversation include:

• what Cheatle looks forward to at PDAC every year
• how this year’s attendance compares to the previous year’s
• his take is the market moving forward
• if there’s anything he would change about the conference next year
• other initiatives he’s involved in

Below is a transcript of our conversation. To listen to the interview, please scroll to the top of this page.

INN: This is your third PDAC as executive director. How has the conference progressed since you joined? 
AC: As you can see from this year, there’s certainly a wonderful mood of optimism. I joined towards the bottom of the market, [and it] is no doubt returning. A lot more people, we’ve sold out on our booth space, there’s 1,094 individual exhibitors in the Investors Exchange and the Trade Show. I think also important to your listeners is we’ve brought in and partnered with the Precious Metals Summit. This is a matchmaking team that links investors and issuers together.
INN: What about the conference do you most look forward to every year? 
AC: It’s the whole show. It really is everything. It’s the Trade Show through to the Investors Exchange, the CSR Advisory Program, the Aboriginal Program. We have over 1,000 self-identified Aboriginal people here. The Student Program. There’s much to enjoy. And, if I may, you always do catch up with old friends and colleagues.
INN: Last year’s conference had roughly 22,000 attendees. How does this year’s attendance compare to last year’s?
AC: This is only just after lunchtime on Tuesday, so we don’t have a final number yet. But certainly, all the indicators that we’ve had, and some of them I just went through with you, are that we should be exceeding that number. I would like to say it would be somewhere in the mid-20,000s.
INN: I get the sense that many are feeling optimistic about the resource sector. What is your take on the market going forward? 
AC: I think we’re seeing a very cautious optimism. We are only just coming out of one of the longest downturns in the sector in living memory. So people are a little cautious. What we’re also seeing though is the advance of going into clean technology and addressing issues of climate change. We are seeing, for example, a lot more lithium companies. Cobalt is no doubt very popular this year, but traditionally gold is also very strong.

INN: Is there anything about the conference you would change for next year?
AC: I think we’re in a very good position at the moment. We have a clear investor focus with the one-on-one meetings, we’ve got very good set ups with our Trade Show and Investors Exchange.
We continue to build on the international flavor of PDAC. We have delegates from 125 different countries. We’ve just held a very, very successful International Mines Minister Summit in conjunction with the World Economic Forum and Bank of Montreal and the government of Canada, where we had just under 30 mines ministers from around the world attending. I’d like to see us continue to grow that aspect of PDAC. The reason that’s important is that over half of the world’s exploration projects and mining projects are Canadian managed. Over half of the world’s mining finance comes out of Canada, and principally out of Toronto. So we can bring the world here, and we can go to the world.
INN: Finally, outside of PDAC, is there anything else that you’re working on?
AC: I am involved in a number of other things. I particularly work with … an initiative to help nations develop their mineral resources, mining codes and geological programs. I also do have a life. I do quite enjoy eating out and culinary things.

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Securities Disclosure: I, Jocelyn Aspa, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
Editorial Disclosure: The Investing News Network does not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the information reported in contributed article. The opinions expressed in these interviews do not reflect the opinions of the Investing News Network and do not constitute investment advice. All readers are encouraged to perform their own due diligence.
Related reading: 
PDAC 2017, Day 1: Notes from the Floor
PDAC 2017, Day 2: Notes from the Floor
PDAC 2017, Day 3: Notes from the Floor