International mining conference underway in Sudbury

An annual international mining conference is underway in Greater Sudbury, Ont., marking the first time the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Conference of Mining Regions and Cities has been held in North America.

Hundreds of delegates from all over the world have gathered at the Holiday Inn hotel in Sudbury for the 5th annual conference.

Officials said the northern Ontario event has been years in the making after the city was first approached to host the conference in 2017.

"We knew that Sudbury is the place to have this conversation," said Meredith Armstrong, the director of economic development with the City of Greater Sudbury.

"In fact, it was meant to be held here in Sudbury a few years ago but because of COVID, it was delayed and in fact, the timing couldn't be better."

Armstrong said conversations in the region have evolved along with the leadership.

"So we're really pleased to bring this here to mix up the international conversation with the local conversation, because it's always good to get that perspective from other parts of the world," she said.

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Conference organizers said the main goal is to improve well-being standards.

"We look at the economic, the social and the environmental dimension. In a nutshell, places that are hosting or specialized on mining, they produce a lot of wealth, for national governments, for multinationals," said Jose Enrique Garcilazo, OECD deputy head of division.

"And a lot of the negative externalities fall in the places that are hosting these mines, for example, pollution and, how high levels of inequality, housing prices. So our job is to think about how to make things better."

The two key pillars of this year's conference are partnering for meaningful development in mining regions and future-proofing regional mineral supply for the energy transition.

"We have a big focus here in Sudbury with Indigenous communities, so that's the first panel that we have," Garcilazo said.

"The second main theme is on climate change and the green economy and thinking about how to position better some of the smaller players to also take advantage of the opportunities that will be there for them."

He added while mining is not necessarily a "green" activity," it is needed for the green transition.

On Thursday, the conference will continue with several panels and remarks from Greg Rickford the Ontario minister of northern development, Indigenous affairs and First Nations economic reconciliation.

The conference will wrap up Friday with optional field trips to visit Sudbury re-greening efforts, the NORCAT Underground Centre and Wahnapitae First Nation.