Mineral Exploration

S pring 20 1 9 5 EDIE THOME President & CEO PHOTO: CARLOS TAYLHARDATART OF HEADSHOTS PRESIDENT & CEO'S MESSAGE T hanks to those of you who attended and helped make our 36th annual AME Roundup 2019 conference a great success! The hard work and dedication of our volunteers and sta• paid o• as we welcomed over 6,500 attendees at the Vancouver Convention Centre on the unceded Coast Salish territory of the Musqueam, Tsleil- Waututh and Squamish nations. We broke a few records at this year's conference with an all-time high of 49 countries represented, three premiers in attendance (British Columbia, Northwest Territories and Yukon), representation by all provincial and federal parties and Indigenous leaders from across the country. I was thrilled to see a contingent of 50 youth from 3Nations (Tahltan, Tlingit and Kaska). In addition, the feedback on the technical sessions and short courses was exceptional and we thank all of those presenting and attending for your contributions in creating such a high- value conference. We are grateful to our patron sponsor, Teck Resources Ltd., for its continued support of Roundup and once again championing the Reconciliation Breakfast, showing the company's commitment to the industry through leadership, collaboration and innovation. We also wish to thank the many companies who also sponsored the conference this year – a full list of sponsors is available on pages 8 and 9. At Roundup 2019, we introduced Kendra Johnston, a professional geoscientist and president of Independence Gold Corp., as our new board chair. This appointment was confirmed following our 107th annual general meeting, where we also convened our new board of directors. A hearty thanks to Dr. 'Lyn Anglin, past chair, as well as to the outgoing directors. They each brought commitment, passion and leadership to the industry and the sta• at AME through their contributions at the board. We are proud to present this year's board of directors and announce that this is the most diverse and inclusive board in the Association's history – with three Indigenous voices, 28 per cent of board under the age of 45 and eight regional representatives; there are 12 women and 13 men. (See the photo of the 2019 board of directors on page 10.) We also said a fond farewell to Jim Gray, AME's treasurer, after 12 years of dedicated service and welcomed our new treasurer, Jessica van den Akker, CFO and vice-president of finance at Fiore Management & Advisory Corp. 2018 Highlights B.C.'s mineral exploration sector is experiencing a steady rebound and 2018 marked the second consecutive annual increase in exploration expenditure. This broad-based growth produced a total exploration spend by companies of $330 million, which is up 34 per cent on the prior year and 62 per cent above 2016. We look forward to releasing the full 2018 report with our partners EY and the B.C. Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources at PDAC 2019. In 2018, AME participated in multiple engagement and consultation sessions including as a member of the Mining Jobs Task Force (MJTF), an initiative of the B.C. Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources. We encourage you to read the full report on the B.C. Government website (gov. bc.ca), which was a consensus document produced by a diverse group of Indigenous, labour, educator and environmental non- government representatives, AME and MABC. Roundup saw the announcement by the premier of a commitment to implement the action plan in its entirety with some initial, specific, exciting announcements in support of the industry during his address to the standing-room-only audience. AME'S NEW BOARD OF DIRECTORS AME appointed its new Board of Directors at AME Roundup. Visit amebc.ca to view photos and biographies. Kendra Johnston, chair Rob McLeod, vice-chair 'Lyn Anglin Don Bragg Michael Buchanan Chad Norman Day Stephen de Jong Lana Eagle Paul Jago Tara Hassan Justin Himmelright Corinne McKay Diane Nicolson Kevin O'Callaghan Christine Ogryzlo Jill Pardoe Andy Randell Steve Robertson Colin Russell Bruce Scott Jody Shimkus Leilah Tate Edie Thome Jill Tsolinas Wendell Zerb Ex-o"icio Directors: Gavin Dirom, Geoscience BC Representative from the Mining Association of BC (to be announced)

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