IQALUIT - Officials from the mining industry had what they were looking for last Wednesday, a captive audience of high school students.

Teenagers listening to presentations in the theatre and those who passed through the trade show at the Nunavut Mining Symposium represent a coveted portion of the territory's future workforce.

Mining companies, which now routinely sign impact benefits agreements with Inuit organizations, strive to recruit employees from Nunavut.

For Miramar, one of the burgeoning businesses in the territory with its promising Hope Bay gold project, the number one risk isn't raising capital or overcoming regulatory hurdles, it's the workforce, according to John Wakeford, vice-president of exploration.

There is a shortage of geologists, geo-technicians and drillers, he said.

"You have to get people, that's what it boils down to," said Wakeford. "As for the local labour force, we rely on it very heavily."

At the Astro theatre, students heard that interest in Nunavut's rich mineral potential is only growing. Approximately $200 million was spent on exploration in the territory last year, and this year's Nunavut Mining Symposium attracted close to 300 delegates.

Jericho diamond mine opened last year and three or four more mines could open in within the next five years, said Linda Ham, district geologist with Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC). Most of those projects will only be in production for eight to 10 years, but Baffinland's enormous iron deposit known as Mary River is expected to be in operation for 35 years or more, she said.

Mary Ann Mihychuk, director of regulatory affairs for the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada, enthusiastically told the students of how her job takes her all over the world.

Glenn Zelinski, manager of community projects for Diavik Diamond Mines, which has more than 600 employees at its diamond mine 300 kilometres north of Yellowknife, showed a graph of mining jobs by salary, some of which commanded $100,000 a year or more. After most students raised their hands to indicate their desire to travel south after graduation, Zelinski said mining is a means to ultimately spend life in a land of palm trees, somewhere tropical.

But Nunavut is also in need of professionals in many other fields such as medicine, trades and education. Although some of the mining promotion sounded enticing, there's more to consider than just the money, said students Emmanuel Morakinyo and Eric Blair. The Grade 9 students said they don't care for the idea of working in remote locations, regularly away from family for weeks at a time.

Chad Nukiwuak, a Grade 10 student, initially said he was interested in a labour position in the mining industry - but then he quickly rethought that.

"Or management, it's more money, but I'd have to go to university," he said.

When asked about his career plans, Adamie Ikkidluak, a Grade 10 student, gave a common response: "I'm not sure right now. There's a lot of choice."