Only a few people can remember the Annual General Meeting of AME BC held in January of 1984. However, many of those who were present will definitely recall the incident that probably marked the end of Bob Cathro’s promising political career. As the outgoing AME BC President, Bob was introducing the guest speaker at the Awards Luncheon, who was supposed to be Erik Nielsen, MP for the Yukon and the new Deputy Prime Minister in the first Mulroney Cabinet. Erik had phoned at the last minute to advise that an urgent conflict had come up but that he had arranged to send a “cabinet heavyweight” as his replacement (his words). Bob innocently repeated this phrase while introducing stand-in Pat Carney. While it may have been a poor choice of words, the audience seemed to find it quite amusing.
There is, however, one very important reason to remember that 1984 meeting, which was held at the Holiday Inn Harbourside (now the Renaissance Vancouver Hotel Harbourside) between January 25 and 27. It was the first Cordilleran Geology and Exploration Roundup, billed as a “joint venture of the British Columbia Ministry of Energy Mines and Petroleum Resources; Geological Survey of Canada; Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (Yukon) and The Association for Mineral Exploration British Columbia (then the British Columbia and Yukon Chamber of Mines)”. The new three-day format combined the Open Houses of the geological surveys of Canada, BC and Yukon with the usual AME BC exploration and policy sessions, and marked the introduction of the Core Shack.
It would be nice to relate that the new format was also envisioned as a venture that would assist in ensuring the financial future of AME BC, but that would not be entirely true. In actual fact, the previous one-day format for the AME BC Annual General Meeting, which had been held for a number of years at the Hotel Vancouver and more recently at the Holiday Inn Harbourside, had become stale and tired and declining attendances had made it clear to the AME BC executive that a change was needed. The following is a short account of how that change came about.
Nobody seems to remember exactly when the light bulb came on and whose head it was hanging over, but Nick Carter recalls a discussion of the concept with Jack Patterson, AME BC Managing Director, and Bob Cathro, then AME BC President, while en route by ferry to Victoria to attend the BC Geological Branch Review of Activities in early February of 1982. Nothing happened immediately, perhaps because the BC Review of Activities was a bi-annual, rather than an annual, event. The 1983 AME BC AGM continued as a one-day meeting with only a change of venue, for financial reasons, to the Holiday Inn Harbourside.
The idea of an expanded AME BC meeting turned into an action plan at a luncheon meeting held on June 8, 1983 at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre restaurant in Vancouver. Those present were Jack, Bob, Nick and Geoff Whiton representing AME BC, Gib McArthur of the BC Geological Branch, and Dick Campbell of the GSC. It was agreed that Bob would contact Ray Price to obtain the formal support of the GSC, Gib would take the plan back to Victoria, and Jack would approach Indian and Northern Affairs about Yukon participation. Although there was naturally some hesitation and skepticism at these agencies, there was also a recognition that separate, poorly attended Open Houses in Ottawa, Victoria and Whitehorse were not accomplishing their goal of conveying current results to clients in a timely manner and stimulating exploration investment.
As time passed, the idea gradually developed a life of its own under the co-chairmanship of Nick (who became Second Vice-President Elect during this process) and Mike Beley, and most importantly, Jack, who coined the phrase “Cordilleran Geology and Exploration Roundup”. The 1984 meeting was a great success with over 700 registrants, roughly double the previous year’s attendance.
The initial Roundup committee, in addition to the co-chairs, included Bill Macmillan and Vic Preto of the BC Geological Branch, Dick Campbell of the GSC, and Jim Morin of Indian and Northern Affairs, plus AME BC members Jeff Franzen, Val Greenwood, Terry Macauley and Colin Spence. The registration fee was only $10, an incredible bargain considering that there was a full program on each of the three days and the fee also included an individual membership. Registrants received a single sheet, double-sided program (abstract booklets, convention bags, day-timers, etc., appeared in subsequent years).
The program for the first day (Wednesday) included presentations by Dick Campbell, Chris Yorath, Dirk Tempelman-Kluit, Bert Struik, and Bob Thompson of the GSC. The following day, Atholl Sutherland Brown, Ron Smyth, Vic Preto, Gerry Ray, Don MacIntyre, Dani Alldrick, Andre Panteleyev, Tom Schroeter and Larry Diakow spoke on behalf of the BC Geological Branch. Indian and Northern Affairs Yukon speakers on the Friday afternoon included Jim Morin, Grant Abbott, Steve Morison, Ruth Debicki, Kate Grapes and Greg Lynch.
To the best of our knowledge, the Core Shack introduced at the first Roundup marked the first time that such a display was ever presented at a major geological conference anywhere in North America, and possibly the world. Jack Patterson recalls discussing with Bob Cathro the idea of having some drill core present at the first Roundup (although not a shack-full) after both had attended the Noranda hospitality suite at the PDAC meeting in Toronto in March of 1983. Noranda had brought several boxes of Hemlo core to its hospitality suite and it was a major topic of conversation because most of us hadn’t seen any specimens from that camp before. Hemlo was the talk of the town at the time and conference delegates were wearing buttons that read “In Gold We Trust” and “I Love Hemlo”. (Bob says he can barely remember being in the Noranda suite, or Toronto, but recalls that core vividly).
Full marks go to Jeff Franzen for turning the idea of the Core Shack into a reality and creating the model that is still followed today. In addition to the Hemlo core that Noranda, Golden Sceptre and Goliath agreed to bring to Vancouver, Jeff assembled core from an impressive collection of deposits for the first Roundup, including the Midway deposit of Canamax and Procan; the Tillicum deposit of Esperanza and La Teko; the Wenatchee deposit of Asamera and Breakwater; the Erickson deposit; the Sylvester K deposit of Kettle River and Noranda; Westmin’s H-W deposit, the Windy Craggy deposit of Falconbridge and Geddes; and the Aylwin deposit of BP and Riocanex.
AME BC held its plenary session on the morning of the final day. Participants included Herb Drechsler, Donn Morgan, Hugh Morris, Brian Abraham and Bob Cathro. The theme was “Where Do We Go From Here?” and perhaps reflective of how little some things have changed in our industry over the past 20 years, presentations included “Will B.C. Mining Survive?”, “Whither the Geological Branch?” and “Problems With Mineral Title”.
While the exploration industry may not have been entirely sure as to where it was going in 1984, AME BC knew exactly where it was going with Roundup. It was back to the Hotel Vancouver the following and subsequent years to allow for anticipated (and realized) increased attendance plus much needed additional space for corporate, government and service industry booths. From its modest start in 1984, the Cordilleran Roundup has grown into a huge event. Attendance at the 20th meeting in 2003, which was held at a new venue, the Westin Bayshore Resort and Marina, was over 3000, with more than 150 exhibitors.
Revenues from Roundup have become critically important to the financial health of AME BC. Much has changed over the past 20 years, notably the fact that individuals now make up the majority of AME BC's membership. Contrast this with the list of the 35 corporate sponsors (mainly senior mining companies) listed in the 1984 program, all of them corporate members of AME BC. It’s sobering to note that more than half of these companies either no longer exist or do not maintain a Vancouver presence.
Looking back, we realize how lucky we were to be surrounded by so much energy and talent, and how easy it all seemed as recently as twenty years ago, when the mineral industry was so vibrant and confident. We still trust in gold and love Hemlo (and Eskay Creek), but so much has changed.
R.J. (Bob) CathroChamber President, 1982 and 1983
N.C. (Nick) CarterChamber President, 1988 and 1989
Photo 1 - Stephen Rogers, Minister, presenting the Ed Scholz Award to Bob Hallbauer; Geoff Whiton in left edge.Photo 2 - Front row (left to right) - David Dunn, Ron Stewart, Rod MacRae, Bill Sirola - all of whom have received gold pan awards - Dave Dunn no doubt accepting on behalf of his father Bill, a former Chamber president who was obviously down south golfing. Second row, left to right Andrew Robertson, Don Rotherham Third row - (L to R) Frank Lang, Charlie Aird. John Wilson, Geoff Whiton.Photo 3 - Stephen Rogers, Minister of Energy and Mines at podium; Andrew Robertson to immediate left; Nick Carter in upper left; and to right - John Wilson, and Geoff Whiton.
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