IQALUIT - Close to 300 people will descend on Iqaluit for the start of tomorrow's Nunavut Mining Symposium. It is the 10th time the Symposium has taken place, and the third time it will be held in Iqaluit.

The theme of this year's event is "Let's Get Ready."

"What we're saying is 'let's get ready,' to hamlets, let's get ready,' to industry, let's get ready,' to government," said symposium co-ordinator Brenda Mercer. "We need to be prepared for this economic engine that can drive Nunavut."

The majority of participants will come from mining companies based in Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Yellowknife, Toronto, and North Bay.

There will also be representatives from service companies, Natural Resources Canada, the Government of Nunavut, Indian and Northern Affairs, Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated, and several other Inuit-run organizations.

"It will be the largest Mining Symposium to date," Mercer said. There were 225 participants at last year's symposium in Cambridge Bay.

A highlight of the event will be a town hall meeting, moderated by Globe and Mail National Affairs columnist Jeffrey Simpson. The panel will be discussing three themes: mining industry perceptions of Nunavut, Inuit perspectives on mining, and issues concerning education and training skills.

Wednesday is a day for the community of Iqaluit, particularly students, to attend the trade show and public talks.

There is a focus on youth at this year's event.

"The numbers that mining could potentially employ is astounding. We want the youth to understand that there is huge job and career potential in the industry," Mercer said. The goal of the event is to bring awareness and exposure to the industry.

Miramar Mining Corporation, whose Hope Bay Project is located in the Kitikmeot Region, is sending a delegation of seven people. Included is Alex Buchan, Manager of Community Relations, based in Kugluktuk.

"It's the main opportunity to speak to a lot of government officials in Iqaluit," Buchan said of the event. Miramar will be having talks with the Government of Nunavut about their recently released Mining Strategy.

While Miramar has consultations with communities around their project area on a regular basis, government officials in the capital often aren't familiar with the project.

"It gives them an opportunity to understand what we're doing."

Exploration and mining is booming in the territory, and is only set to increase.

"The biggest negative for Nunavut is the high cost of doing business up North, but in the last couple of years that's been offset by high commodity prices," Buchan said.

Areas of the territory that were previously too expensive to explore are now being investigated.