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2020 Yellowknife Geoscience Forum cancelled, organizers say

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The 2020 Yellowknife Geoscience Forum has been cancelled due to the Covid pandemic.

The NWT & Nunavut Chamber of Mines and its partner the NWT Geological Survey announced the first cancellation in the event's 48-year history Friday.

Organizers plan to seek alternate avenues for sharing information on the North's geoscience, minerals industry, business opportunities and regulatory updates that are of interest to many industry watchers in and outside the NWT.

“This is an unfortunate circumstance that we find ourselves in, but we strive to develop communications alternatives for this year, and to plan for a strong conference return in 2021,” said Chamber president Ken Armstrong.

Other Northern economic gatherings have been cancelled due to the pandemic situation, including the Nunavut Mining Symposium 2020 that was called off in March and the NWT Tourism Association's annual Tourism Conference that was postponed until November 2021.

"Many local businesses benefit from the large contingents of delegates that attend these and many other Northern events," the release said. "These cancellations compound the already significant financial struggles faced by local service providers, many of which are Chamber of Mines members."

Last year's week-long forum, which involved tradeshows, presentations, workshops and an awards banquet, took place at several locations in Yellowknife and drew more than 700 participants.

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