Mineral Exploration

30 S P R I N G 2 0 1 6 Photographs : AME BC H elicopters, gold pans and coconut cream pie – what do these things have in common? They all relate to min- eral exploration and mining, as a group of 32 high-school students discovered when they attended Mineral Exploration Roundup at the Vancouver Convention Centre. The students, who came from 10 Lower Mainland high schools, spent the day engaging with the industry. They were guests of MineralsEd, which arranged for the facilitator, guest speak- ers and volunteers for this annual Career Exploration Day program. In the morning, the students listened to several speakers, each working in some aspect of mineral exploration and mining, including geology, engineering, human resources, accounting and envi- ronmental services. Their afternoon was spent on the convention floor, where they interacted with people from diverse areas of the industry. Volunteers guided groups of three or four students through the experience. At the trade show, the students asked questions of exhibitors representing a broad cross-section of the industry, from exploration geologists to analytical chemists, to find out for themselves if a career in the industry might be for them. One of the students' favourite booths was Matrix Helicopter Solutions, where they were intrigued by the glamorous prospect of flying to work in a helicopter. Another favourite was Yukon Dan, who was running the gold-panning exhibit. The students, gold pans in hand, followed Dan's instructions, listened to his tips and swirled their pans with water until shiny nuggets were all that were left. What's not to like about a hands-on activity? The morning speakers were mostly young people, early in their careers. The students heard from Jason Courneyea, a geologist who described exploration geology as "trying to figure out a 500- piece puzzle when you've only been given 25 pieces." This conundrum appealed to the students in the group who like to problem solve. (above) Examining neat rocks on display was part of the fun for Ata, a Grade 12 student from West Vancouver Secondary; (left) Learning how to pan for gold was fun for Cynthia, a Grade 11 student from Lord Byng Secondary; (opposite) Students pan for gold using magnetic separation at Yukon Dan's station. Helicopters, gold pans and coconut cream pie VANCOUVER-AREA HIGH-SCHOOL STUDENTS DISCOVER MINERAL EXPLORATION ROUNDUP By Patty Kiloh

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