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Burns Lake at its best

The 2012 Minerals North Conference was a golden opportunity for Burns Lake and the Lakes District to shine.

The 2012 Minerals North Conference was a golden opportunity for Burns Lake and the Lakes District to shine and from all accounts the community did just that.

Approximately 400 delegates rolled into town last week to attend the conference and, combined with a broad spectrum of First Nations, local and provincial government leaders, community members and local business representatives, the conference launched Burns Lake to the forefront of the mining and exploration sector for three days.

While the 2012 Minerals North Conference spanned just three days, it took nearly a full year and hundreds of volunteer hours to bring it all together.

Without these volunteers the success of the conference would not have been as great.

It was just amazing to see that a small community like Burns Lake could successfully put on such a spectacular event.

Comments have been rolling in and it has been said that Burns Lake has put on a better, or just as good Minerals North Conference as some of the bigger centres who have held the conference in the past.

That is very commendable to all the people who helped out - with smaller resources and the handful of people who stepped forward to organize this event, it shows that Burns Lake may be a small town, but we can still shine as bright as the big guys.

Not only did all the volunteers do a great job but the community as a whole did well with welcoming signs in their businesses and windows were painted up with mining scenes acknowledging the event.

Despite huge obstacles, such as not enough accommodations in the local area, the community pulled through opening up their  homes to those delegates who couldn’t find a hotel room.

Holding such a large event in Burns Lake demonstrates to the mining industry representatives that there is a good supply of small businesses and skilled labour in the Lakes District.

It was so nice to see community members all pull together to make this Minerals North Conference one that certainly won’t be forgotten.

The goal of Minerals North are to establish contacts and build working relationships and hold a dialogue on the impacts and benefits of mining.

All this was achieved and more.

It was also nice to see that students of the College of New Caledonia and local elementary schools were involved in the conference and participated in fun events.

Minerals North 2013 is set to be held in Terrace next year and I think the Terrace planning committee have some big shoes to fill, thanks to Burns Lake’s hard working local volunteers.

A job well done by all who volunteered  their time and helped showcase Burns Lake at its best.