The City of Greater Sudbury is joining forces with 10 local mining and mining supply and service companies to promote the city at MINExpo, the world's largest mining tradeshow, in Las Vegas this month.

Under the banner of Opportunity Rocks - Sudbury, the partners will focus on connecting with the talented, skilled workers needed to fill shortages in the mining and mining supply sectors, and mining education and research institutions, said the city in a news release.

“MINExpo is the Olympics of the mining industry, attracting more than 40,000 industry professionals every four years,” said Mayor Marianne Matichuk. “This is a great opportunity to connect with industry leaders, promote Greater Sudbury as a dynamic place to do business and improve our international profile.”

“This gives us a rare opportunity, not only to inform global industries about our mining and mining supply and service leadership, but also to attract individuals by showing them how incredibly unique our quality of living and lifestyle is,” said Scott Lund, chair of the Greater Sudbury Development Corporation.

"They don't call us the 'Palm Beach of Mining' for nothing, there is nowhere else in the world that has the kind of business, community and cultural services located in such close proximity to a globally-significant mining camp. Our work-life balance in Greater Sudbury needs to be bragged about and we're prepared to do just that.”

An Opportunity Rocks - Sudbury website, Facebook page and Twitter account have been established to highlight local attractions, engage professionals about the community and promote career opportunities available at partnering businesses.

“We're using technology and social media to get the word out in advance,” said Ian Wood, director of Economic Development for the City of Greater Sudbury.

“We have already connected with mining professionals from every continent around the Globe. We are working to establish relationships and better target potential business leads and networking opportunities. Our partners are also posting available positions to these social venues in an effort to reach our target in a more effective, concise manner.”

In addition to the City of Greater Sudbury - Greater Sudbury Development Corporation, the partnership currently includes BESTECH, Cliffs Natural Resources, Hatch, KGHM, Stantec, Laurentian University/CEMI, Technica, Science North/Dynamic Earth, Vale and Xstrata Nickel. The target audience is skilled professionals such as engineers and other mining-related professionals who will be in attendance at MINExpo.

Members of the partnership hope the MINExpo initiative is just the first of many similar opportunities to work together in promoting the City of Greater Sudbury and attracting skilled individuals to the community, the city said in the press release. Partners benefit from shared networking opportunities that include project management and administration.

Since Greater Sudbury's current labour shortage will not end in the foreseeable future as the baby-boomer generation continues to reach retirement age, the intent is to explore other opportunities where local companies may be invited to join the city in attracting talent to the community.

For more information regarding the Sudbury Opportunities Partnership, please visit their website at www.opportunityrocks.ca.