Despite a rough 2013, miners attending the 82nd annual Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) convention on Sunday said they are optimistic about the future of the industry.

Last year proved to be disappointing for the sector as commodity prices tumbled and consumption growth in emerging markets decreased. According to PricewaterhouseCoopers, the volume of deals in 2013 fell to its lowest level since 2005.

However, spirits were high at PDAC, one of the sector's largest events, which hosted more than 30,000 delegates from 126 countries in Toronto.

PDAC Senior Program Director Nadim Kara said the past year had been "really challenging," particularly for exploration companies.

"It's very hard to raise financing, a lot of our share prices have been dropping, not just for juniors but also for the major producers, so we're seeing investors retreat from our sector and put their money elsewhere," Kara told Xinhua.

But the price of gold, which fell by 30 percent last year before bouncing back by 10 percent in the beginning of 2014, has given the sector some hope.

"People are kind of feeling that we've hit the bottom of the downturn, people feel like over the next year or two things are going to stabilize and we really think investors are going to come back," he said. "We're seeing a bit more optimism here, which is really nice."

At the end of the day, Kara, like many others believe it's just the cyclical nature of the market. As such, he says positioning for the rebound is one of the biggest themes of this year's meeting.

"Everybody's getting together and they're preparing to take advantage of the opportunities (which in) the next few years are going to come," he explained.

Companies attending the event can not only learn how to engage Aboriginal communities so that they can advance their projects when the money comes back, but also share experiences working with governments worldwide.

Participating companies can also attend a capital markets program which teaches them how to survive in the financial crisis and where new sources of money might be.

"I think everyone's coming here to say: 'I know the rebound is coming, let's learn about how to make ourselves ready,'" said Kara.

Junior companies like Appia Energy Corp., which develops uranium and rare earth deposits in Canada, are bearing the brunt of this volatile market. But its president and CEO Tom Drivas echoed Kara's sentiments.

"We're trying to keep our expenses down and so we're doing well considering, but things are improving," Drivas said. "This year I think the market started to turn and I think things will get a lot better."

The conference, running from Sunday to Wednesday, also offers a number of short courses, technical sessions and networking opportunities so that small-sized companies can get chances to meet potential investors.
Source Xinhua