Trudeau and Ford Visit, Batteries Shine and More: PDAC 2020, Day 2

The second day of this year’s Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) is over, and the Investing News Network (INN) took to the floor again to make connections. 

Notable events from day two included visits from Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Ontario Premier Doug Ford, while offsite Miller Thomson and G&W hosted an event focused on lithium-ion batteries and electric vehicles.

If you didn’t make it to the show or just weren’t able to take everything in, read on for a brief overview. You can also click here for day one details and here for coverage of days three and four.

Trudeau and Ford visit PDAC, drop news

As mentioned, day two of PDAC was punctuated by separate visits from Trudeau and Ford. Ford was also accompanied by Greg Rickford, Ontario’s minister of energy, northern development and mines, and minister of indigenous affairs.

Among other things, Trudeau spoke about the role of mining as Canada works to meet its long-term emissions targets and transition to a low-carbon economy.

Mining has long been a building block of the Canadian economy. And now more than ever, it has an important role to play in our transition to a cleaner future. Today at #PDAC2020, we spoke about the opportunity Canada has to be the world’s cleanest supplier of metals & minerals. pic.twitter.com/cs27PXMMmD

— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) March 2, 2020

Trudeau also paid a visit to PDAC last year, when he announced that the Mineral Exploration Tax Credit would be renewed for five years. In a conversation with then-PDAC President Glenn Mullan, Trudeau also highlighted collaboration, reconciliation and innovation as key themes for the country’s resource sector.

For his part, Ford revealed an agreement to move forward with planning for a proposed road in Ontario’s Ring of Fire region. The road will link First Nations communities in the north to the provincial road network and is also expected to benefit mining companies with assets in the area.

I am proud to announce today at @the_PDAC @gregrickford and I signed an agreement to move forward with the Northern Road Link. Together, alongside First Nations partners, we are creating a path to unlock unprecedented growth, jobs and economic prosperity in the North. pic.twitter.com/rHJVFm2S50

— Doug Ford (@fordnation) March 2, 2020

The arrangement was made between the Ontario government, the Marten Falls First Nation and the Webequie First Nation. While they have all spoken positively about the move, the Fort Albany First Nation has expressed concerns.

Fort Albany First Nations alarmed at Ontario’s Announcement of the Northern road Link pic.twitter.com/98WNv8Felf

— Nishnawbe Aski Nation ᐊᓂᔑᓇᐯ ᐊᔅᑭ ᐅᑭᒪᐎᓐ (@NANComms) March 3, 2020

Miller Thomson event highlights battery metals

Like last year, Miller Thomson, together with G&W, hosted the “Lithium-Ion & Battery Materials & Electric-Vehicle Supply Chains” seminar on the sidelines of PDAC. The event included a presentation by guest of honor Dr. Stanley Whittingham, winner of last year’s Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work in developing lithium-ion batteries. 

Dr. Whittingham talked about the evolution of lithium-ion batteries and the challenges that are ahead as new technologies emerge and battery manufacturing increases massively. Benchmark Mineral Intelligence Product Director Andrew Miller also gave a keynote presentation in which he discussed responses to the expected increase in demand from both the anode and cathode sides of the market. 

In addition, Canada’s Critical Metals Task Force Director Hilary Morgan was present at the event to share what the country is doing to secure North American and global supply chains.  

Attendees also heard company presentations from top lithium producerAlbemarle (NYSE:ALB), Conic Metals (TSXV:NKL), E3 Metals (TSXV:ETMC,OTC Pink:EEMMF), Talon Metals (TSX:TLO,OTC Pink:TLOFF), Nouveau Monde Graphite (TSXV:NOU,OTCQX:NMGRF), First Cobalt (TSXV:FCC,OTCQX:FTSSF) and Li-Cycle.

Attendees optimistic on gold’s prospects

The team took to Twitter (NYSE:TWTR) again on day two to ask followers another question. Gold was trading at US$1,600 per ounce at the time, and INN asked whether that price was sustainable.

Those who said they expected the yellow metal to go up have so far been proven correct — as of this writing, gold was changing hands at about US$1,640, around US$40 more than when the poll went up.

It’s day two of #PDAC2020, and we’re ready for our second poll question! #Gold has faced recent volatility — is the current price (~US$1,600) sustainable? We’ll share the answers in a video later today! #INNatPDAC

— Charlotte McLeod (@Charlotte_McL) March 2, 2020

We’ll be asking another question on Twitter on the third day of PDAC, so make sure to follow us @INN_Resource or @Charlotte_McL to share your thoughts. You can also watch the video above to see responses to similar questions from companies on the floor of PDAC.

To learn more about what happened at PDAC, click here for our coverage of day one and here for our notes on days three and four. PDAC will be held next year from March 7 to 10. We’ll see you there!

Image courtesy of www.pdac.ca. 

Don’t forget to follow us @INN_Resource for real-time updates!

Securities Disclosure: I, Charlotte McLeod, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article. 

Editorial Disclosure: E3 Metals and First Cobalt are clients of the Investing News Network. This article is not paid-for content. 

The Investing News Network does not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the information reported in the interviews it conducts. 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