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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWNIFE
The largest conference in the North is getting larger.

Cheryl Wourms, office manager of the NWT and Nunavut Chamber of Mines, said Tuesday that registration is up for the 2012 Yellowknife Geoscience Forum, scheduled to take place Nov. 13 to 15, with about half of the expected 800-plus delegates to come from outside Yellowknife. - Thandiwe Vela/NNSL photo

Registration is up for the Yellowknife Geoscience Forum, taking place Nov. 13 to 15, as organizers anticipate up to 825 delegates, including about half of the registrants expected to descend on the city from out of town.

The forum, now in its 40th year, drew 800 delegates to the city last year, and this year's attendance is already poised to surpass that, according to the NWT and Nunavut Chamber of Mines, which is hosting the event along with the NWT Geoscience Office.

"It just reminds us how important the industry is to the North," said Tom Hoefer, executive director of the chamber of mines. "I think it reflects the importance of the mining industry in our economy and with all of its direct and indirect benefits, we're probably pushing 50 per cent of the NWT economy. When you're a big machine like that it's deserving of big conferences and big interest."

In addition to industry updates on projects from companies including Canadian Zinc, Diavik Diamond Mines Inc., Tyhee Gold Corp. on its Yellowknife Gold Project, and Fortune Minerals Ltd. on its NICO project, the forum will also include a number of talks on oil and gas and the shale gas resources that are currently garnering excitement across the North.

"We've got a pretty good mixed bag of talks this year," Hoefer said. "We sort of cover the waterfront on all kinds of things that are happening in both minerals and oil and gas.

"There's also the rubbing shoulders with people there," Hoefer added, noting the networking component of the forum. "It's a bit of a community, too. Folks haven't seen each other in a number of months. There's a lot of people that don't have a trade show booth and aren't speaking, but they're there to learn and trade information. Who knows, there might be good business made there as well."

The 108 booths that are to be set up as part of the tradeshow at the Weledeh gym ran out early this year, according to Cheryl Wourms, office manager of the chamber, who had to turn away more than a half-dozen exhibitors who wanted to set up booths.

"It's building," Wourms said about the growth of the annual event. "I think the fact that I wasn't able to accommodate all the exhibitors speaks to that."

The gym was the biggest facility the chamber could get, Hoefer said, with plans to try asking the city for permission to use the Multiplex in the future.

"It's a good reminder that we're the largest conference in the North," he said.

Exhibitors for the trade show, which will be open to the public on the last day of the three-day conference, include government agencies, regulatory authorities, geoscience laboratories, medical service providers, airlines, land claims groups, engineering consultants, environmental consultants, artisans, catering, expediting, mining, communications, and aboriginal companies.

Industry delegates are coming from across Canada and as far as Houston, Texas, according to early registrations.

The chamber estimates the Yellowknife Geoscience Forum will bring in between a half-million and a million dollars, including delegate hotel bookings, food, entertainment, and shopping spending.

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