Immediately preceding the PDAC Convention in March, the World Economic Forum and the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) held a global conference themed “Maximizing the Value of Extractives for Development” the day before the world’s largest mining convention officially kicked off. The forum attracted about 200 leaders from government, industry and civil society to discuss the role of the extractive sector in sustainable development and included a keynote address from the Honourable Julian Fantino, Minister of International Cooperation, who hosted the event. MAC’s President and CEO, Pierre Gratton, was a panelist for a discussion centred on maximizing the development value of mining. Gratton appeared alongside Rafael Benke of Vale, Chris Eaton of the World University Service of Canada, Alexander Medina of the Dominican Republic’s Mining Management Office and Anthony Hodge of the International Council on Mining and Metals.

Throughout the one-day conference, participants discussed the role that mining investments can play in developing local, regional and national economies and compared extractive resource management approaches in various countries.