Mining Groups Will Be Converging On Spokane

About 2,500 delegates will be in Spokane this week for the 106th annual meeting of the Northwest Mining Association.

The conference attracts engineers, geologists and other mining officials from the Western U.S., Canada, Asia, Africa and Latin America.

Despite the downturn in metals prices, registration is running ahead of last year’s 2,200 delegates, said Laura Skaer, NWMA’s executive director. In more prosperous years for the industry, the meeting has drawn more than 3,000 attendees.

This year’s group will spend an estimated $1.7 million on food, lodging and gifts in the Spokane area, according to the Spokane Visitor and Convention Bureau.

Richard DeVoto will speak at a Thursday luncheon about an anti-cyanide initiative that Montana voters passed two years ago.

DeVoto is president of Canyon Resources Corp. The company is suing the state of Montana over it’s inability to build a mine as a result of the initiative.

Other topics at the conference include: sustainable mining, mine finance, abandoned mines and mineral exploration.

For more information on the conference, call (509)-624-1158.