CECC Eurasia Mining Conference 2023 – the brand event of the Canada Eurasia Chamber of Commerce (CECC) - is taking place for the 23rd time this year on March 6th in Toronto on the margins of PDAC 2023. This is the final gala event resuming this year's Mining Series, started from the Vancouver International Mining conference on the margins of AME BC Roundup.

CECC Eurasia Mining Conference has always been the most prominent annual Canada-Eurasia industry event. It gathers the government and businesses to discuss the most emergent mining issues and share the experience and success of Canadian companies carrying out their activities in Eurasia.

The 2023 Conference included three country-focused panels devoted to Kazakhstan, Mongolia and Uzbekistan – three major Central Asian Countries most dynamically developing their mining sector in the past years.

The event was opened with the address of H.E. Ariunbold Yadmaa, the Ambassador of Mongolia to Canada. Then, H.E. Javlon Vakhabov, the Ambassador of the Republic of Uzbekistan, joined the Conference virtually to greet the honoured guests and attendees of the CECC Mining Conference.

Diplomatic Brief

During the Diplomatic Brief, Nurlan Gabdyzhamalov, Counsellor at the Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan and Edouard Huot, Senior Trade Commissioner at the Embassy of Canada to Kazakhstan, addressed questions on the latest government initiatives covering the investment environment in the natural resources sector. It was noted that the Republic of Kazakhstan continues supporting foreign companies interested in accessing the Kazakhstan market and providing the most favourable conditions to junior and senior mining developers operating in the critical minerals sector.

Kazakhstan Session

Eric Anderson, Executive Director at SIMSA, moderated the Kazakhstan session. 

Almas Kushumov, Deputy Director of the Subsoil Use Department for Solid Minerals, noted that much work had been done to improve legislation in geology and subsoil use, such as adopting the Concept for the Development of the Geological Industry for 2023-2027. Dmitry Barsukov, General Director, Cameco Kazakhstan, shared the company's success story of operation in Kazakhstan and developing the Inkai Uranium deposit in tandem with Kazatomprom. Qanat Qudaibergen, CEO, GreyWolf Management, concluded the discussion by presenting exploration and investment opportunities in the region, focusing on renewable energy sources such as critical metals.

Uzbekistan Session

Dr. Larry Rosia, President and CEO at the Saskatchewan Polytech, moderated the second session devoted to Uzbekistan. The session focused on human capital and talent training through the lens of B2Gold's and Navoi Mining Combinate's experience of operations.

Shamsiddin Alimov, Head of Geological Survey, Ministry of Mining Industry and Geology of the Republic of Uzbekistan, noted that only 40% of the country's potential is studied now. Therefore, long-term exploration programs are set to meet the demand of local and foreign investors. Victor King, Senior Vice President of Exploration, B2Gold, reported on the total gold production in 2022 and declared the company's intent to invest further in the region. Evgeny Antonov, First Deputy General Director for transformation, Navoi Mining and Metallurgical Combinate, closed the session by showcasing the significant mining potential of the Republic of Uzbekistan and outlining a series of market-oriented economic reforms recently adopted by the government to transform leading industries, attract foreign investment, and privatize state-owned assets. Mr. Antonov has also presented Navoi Gold's strategy for growing output while retaining cost leadership.

Mongolia session

Bilguun Ankhbayar, VP of Business Development, Erdene Resource Development Corp., moderated the session.

Uyanga Bold, Ph.D., Director-general of the Geological Policy Department of the Ministry of Mining and Heavy Industry, opened the session. Ms. Bold reported on the new post-pandemic recovery policy focusing on opening the country to domestic and foreign investment. It was noted that according to the geological research conducted in Mongolia, more than 30 deposits and more than 200 occurrences were identified in 11 metallogenic zones making the region more appealing for exploration and production. Ali Haji, CEO of Ion Energy Ltd., spoke about Mongolia's unique geographical location and significance to China's Belt & Road Initiative and remarked on the untapped and unlimited potential for battery metal production. President and CEO of Erdene Resource Development Corp. Peter Akerley highlighted the potential for copper-gold discoveries with at least 20 new copper deposits.

MOUs

The official ceremony of signing the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) followed the session.

Canadian mining biotech company Tersa Earth Innovations and Mongolia's Trigteq LLC signed an MOU to bring cutting-edge wastewater solutions to Central and East Asia. Mr. Tsolomon Gonching, CEO of Trigteq LLC and Vikramaditya Yadav, CEO of Tersa Earth Innovations Inc, signed the MoU.

The Canada Eurasia Chamber of Commerce (CECC) and Trigteq LLC signed an MOU to strengthen collaboration and expand their partnership, where Trigteq LLC will be representing the CECC in Mongolia. Gilles Breton, Chairman of the National Board of CECC and Tsolomon Gonching, CEO of Trigteq LLC, attended the signing ceremony.

We hope that the CECC Mining series 2023 and the Eurasia Conference on the margins of PDAC 2023 is a good start for our organization's continuous assistance to Canadian and Eurasian companies aiming to foster international investment and technological collaboration and to accelerate international cooperation in the area of sustainable development.

Thank you to our Sponsors:

The conference was supported by the main industry players in Canada and Eurasia: B2Gold Corp. and Kazzinc (Patron Sponsor), Cameco (Platinum Sponsor), Condor Energies and Ion Energy (Gold), Trigteq LLC, SIMSA, Oceaanixx (Silver), Arras Minerals, Falcon Consultants and Asum Group (Bronze).

Our traditional media partners are PDAC, Minex Forum and Resource World Magazine. We also greatly thank the KPMG team for treating us to a beautiful Reception.

We are grateful to all supporters for making this event possible and looking forward to continuation of our cooperation!

About CECC

Canada Eurasia Chamber of Commerce (CECC) is the only recognized organization at the moment that officially promotes bilateral trade and business cooperation between Canada and countries of the post-Soviet space. Our broad office network covers Canada and emerging markets in Eurasia - a viable entity delivering relevant services to a broad membership base across 13 time zones. 

Since 2004, CECC has received numerous recognitions from Canadian and foreign governments for contribution to development of bilateral trade and investment relations.

For more information and to access Conference presentations, please contact:

Vera Dedyulya, 

Regional Director, CECC Toronto

vera@canadaeurasia.com