The Great Canadian Mine Show, a travelling mining exhibit that attracted 40,000 visitors and covered 76,000 kilometres during a 2001 cross-Canada tour, is on the selling block.
With no public- or private-sector support for the tractor-trailer display, combined with high insurance costs, the show's operators, the Elliot Lake Centre, has put the exhibit to bed.
Last year's sponsors, FedNor, Human Resources Development Canada, the Ministry of Northern Development and Mines and some private stakeholders in the mining industry, could not commit the $25,000 a month in operating costs to take the exhibit on the road again this year.
The $1.2-million exhibit, which folds out of a 53-foot trailer, includes interactive touch displays, an object theatre, an arcade area and featured some Northern Ontario content including Sudbury's regreening program. The exhibit's price tag is $450,000.
The Elliot Lake Centre is searching for potential buyers, possibly a municipality with a mining heritage or a for-profit group.
