Norm Tollinsky is editor of Sudbury Mining Solutions Journal, a magazine that showcases the mining expertise of North Bay, Timmins and Sudbury. This column is from the May, 2010 issue.

The preliminary results from a study of the Sudbury and area mining supply cluster and its value to the economy of Ontario confirm the claims that Sudbury Mining Solutions Journal has been making since our inaugural issue in March 2004. We knew that the mining supply cluster in the Sudbury, Timmins, North Bay triangle was substantial in size and impact, but we would never have guessed that its value to the economy was a whopping $5.6 billion per year or that it accounted for some 23,000 jobs.

Sudbury, Timmins and North Bay may be big players in the mining industry, but they represent a very small percentage of Ontario’s population and can be easily overlooked on public policy agendas, both at the provincial and federal levels.

Hundreds of relatively small mining supply businesses failed to register in the public consciousness outside the region, but thrived in the shadows. Until the establishment of the Sudbury and Area Mining Supply and Service Association (SAMSSA) and the founding of Sudbury Mining Solutions Journal, the cluster was an uncoordinated and unheralded collection of independent businesses focused on doing their own thing. Coming together under the umbrella of an association and served by a journal dedicated to promoting their capabilities and innovations to an international audience, hundreds of disparate businesses are now part of something much bigger.

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