Canada, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Russia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan Come Together at CERBA Eurasia Mining Conference during PDAC

Toronto, March 3 – The Canada Eurasia Russia Business Association (CERBA) held its 15th annual mining conference during PDAC, the world’s leading mining convention, held in Toronto.

The CERBA event was a unique opportunity to bring together Canadian representatives of the mining industry with their counterparts from Armenia, Kazakhstan, Russia, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan to discuss business opportunities, regulatory issues, market analysis and forecasts, and shared experience. The 140 participants included government regulators, mining company executives, investors and service providers. The conference was attended by the Armenian Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Mr.Yervand Zakharyan, and the Armenian Ambassador to Canada, Mr. Armen Yeganyan. Ambassador Alexander Darchiev of the Russian Federation spoke at the opening of the Conference and also attended the PDAC exhibition.

Maksym Maksmentsev, Vice Chairman of the Ukrainian Joint Stock Company Nadra Ukrayny, underscored that, despite the current conflict with Russia, the Ukraine wants to encourage foreign investment: “Our country is open for business, and we are currently working on improving our attractiveness to private investors in order to develop our extractive industry.”

Canadian companies, such as Kinross Gold and Dundee Precious Metals, as well as Tiger’s Realm Coal of Australia, spoke about their experience working in Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries.

Craig Parry, CEO of Tiger’s Realm, stressed the ease of permitting their coking coal project in Chukotka, in Far Eastern Russia. “Our experience in Chukotka demonstrates that if you follow the rules in Russia, you can succeed,” said Parry. “We have received excellent support from Federal Government officials and the Chukotka Administration as well.”

Claude Schimper, Regional Vice President for Kinross Gold in Russia, added: “Our two gold mines in Russia are some of our best assets, and we manage to keep the highest standards both from the corporate social responsibility angle and the creation of value for our shareholders.”.

Speakers stressed the importance of CERBA’s Eurasia Mining Conference, which provides in-depth information, valuable contacts and other tools necessary for Canadian companies to do business in the region. “This event helps support further development of the mining industries for all the countries in the region,” said Lou Naumovski, National Chair of CERBA. “We hope that our event contributes to improved mutual understanding and prospects for attracting additional foreign investment to the Region.”

About CERBA

The Canada Eurasia Russia Business Association (CERBA) was founded in 2004 with a mandate to enhance and support trade, investment and good relations between the countries of Canada and Eurasian countries. CERBA is a unique non-for-profit organization having a network of over 180 corporations.

To meet the dynamic needs of its growing membership, it has established seven chapters located in Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, Calgary, Vancouver, Moscow and Almaty. As an association, CERBA provides an extensive network of contacts in the private and public sectors with frequent events, informative seminars on pertinent topics in the Eurasian market, a bi-annual business summit, a quarterly printed Newsletter, and annual trade missions. Additionally, CERBA provides market intelligence, advocates with the Canadian and Eurasian government on key issues, and manages active sector-based committees to promote partnership between CERBA members and their counterparts in Eurasia.

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