Page 61 By Frank Giorno The discovery , development and op - eration of a mine is a strateg ic exer - cise that rivals the planning and oper - ation of a military invasion, with one exception - the mining project gener - ally lasts many years longer . A mining company’ s need for work - ers, materials, supplies and services such as, engineering, construction, electrical, transportation, geophysi - cal, mechanical and metallur gical are enormous. The various skills, expertise and know-how often go beyond the abil - ity of a mining company to incorpo - rate all of them into their permanent workforce. This is where purchasing supplies and services from outside providers come s in -- without them it would be that much more diffcult to set up a mining operation. On a cold January day in T immins the T immins Chamber of Commerce hosted “Meet the Purchasers” -- a one day event where purchasers from mining companies met with compa - nies who could provide the supplies and services they need. The event was sponsored by Porter Air which opened a T oronto - T immins route precisely a year earlier . Presentations were made by repre - sentatives of fve mining companies; DeBeers Canada, Detour Gold Corp., Lakeshore Gold Corp., Porcupine Gold Mines (Goldcorp), and Xstrata Kidd Creek Operations. In addition presentations were also given by four service providers: Du - mas Contracting Ltd., J.S. Redpath Ltd., Aecon Mining and Northern Colleges of Applied Arts and T ech - nology . Information tables were set up around the periphery of the hall. In the audi - ence were owners and representatives of small, local companies who have the expertise and skills to fll many of the subcontract needs of the lar ger contracting frms or directly contract to the mining companies themselves. One of the absolute musts for supply and services companies looking to do businesses with mining companies in Ontario is the consideration of em - ploying or subcontracting to First Na - tions and other Aboriginal groups. Though the companies are quite di - verse in their operations they all have one thing in common -- respect for the First Nations whose traditional lands their operations take place on that in - cludes the mine site itself - the hydro corridors and roads that maybe built, the airstrips and the taking of water from nearby rivers and lakes. Mining companies, through Impact Benefts Agreements with local First Nations, have committed themselves to hiring community members and contracting to First Nations suppliers. They also require suppliers and ser - vice providers to adhere to the com - mitments they have made to the First Nations. Another important requirem ent is providing the expertise and skill sets at a competitiv e price. All companies have a tenderi ng process that begins with a posting of a Request for Ser - vice either on their website or through conventional mail to a list of provid - ers or through advertising in major newspapers and trade publications. Contracting companies that meet the criteria established in the RFS can then submit an Expression of Interest to the mining company . All those who submitted an Expression of Interest will be invited to a bidders meeting to get more detailed information of what is required of them to meet the service or supply needs of the Mining Com - Pur chasers and suppliers r endezvous at T immins Chamber of Commer ce’ s Meet the Purchasers Event Cont’d on pg. 62 Purchasers and Contractors meet across the table. The purchasers are from left to right standing behind the table; John LaBine, Purchasing Manager , Martin Short (with hands in pockets) Buyer , J.S. Redpath; Martin Leavoy , Senior Contracts Man - ager , Aecon Mining Inc.; T ony Garito, Senior Buyer , Detour Gold (foreground) Page 60 fce complex. AuRico arranged for recentl y deliv - ered under ground equipment to be viewed along the tour route. Y oung students, mothers and fathers and Cont’d from pg. 59 AuRico/YOUNG-DA VIDSON MINE retired miners clambered inside and outside of the giant excavatin g equip - ment to get a feel of modern mining. Y oung people were able to hold ac - tual gold bars in their hands and pan for gold. A special cake in the shape of the mine head frame was cut and passed out. V isitors commented the day was a de - light and certainly very educational for all who attended.