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CIM Staff - 10 August 2026
CIM Vancouver Branch Co-Chair and Distinguished Service Award recipient Tuan Trong reflects on Western Canada's shifting industry mood, talent strategy, and the power of in-person community at CIM CONNECT
At this year's CIM CONNECT, the energy was undeniable—projects are moving, momentum is building, and the industry is eager to reconnect. We caught up with Tuan Trong to discuss the contrasting mood from last year, the strategies keeping junior talent engaged in geographically spread-out teams, and his secret to building a thriving local community.
CIM: Listening to the conversations at CIM CONNECT, what is the current mood of the industry compared to last year, and how is it shaping business strategy in Western Canada?
Trong: If you look at the mood from last year to this year, it's quite contrasted.
Last year, with all the geopolitical tensions in the world and the chaos, there was a lot of uncertainty. Everybody I talked to was like, "We're bidding on work, and we just don't know. We're waiting." That was kind of the waiting game.
Fast forward to this week, it's just been pretty busy. Everybody's go, go, go. Projects are going, lots of people are busy, and we're busy. I think the biggest challenge right now is finding people. Our clients, the mining companies, are looking for people. We're looking for people. I'm not going to say we're poaching from them, but it's a small community in the mining world here. That's been the challenge. Everybody wants to move forward.
Gold is currently at $4,500 US an ounce, and copper is about $6 US, which drives a lot of the activity. They all want to produce and make more, which is great for us as an engineering company.
CIM: As we celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Expo, what is the one way you think industry engagement has fundamentally improved since you started your career 20 years ago?
Trong: Since I started my career, it's been almost 20 years now—time flies.
Back in that time, people used to talk to people. We didn't have all the technology. We would go visit our clients, there would be telephone calls, and in-person meetings. We spent a lot of time in person.
What we've seen through the pandemic is an adoption of technology. Everybody's on Teams, doing virtual calls. It was so convenient: "I don't have to drive 3 to 4 hours to go to a mine site, I can just call them on Teams." Everybody was okay with that.
As we slowly move away from the pandemic, we're starting to see less of an interest to connect virtually. Part of that is people missed connecting with people in person. It's gravitating back towards that again, where people want to be with people. They appreciate when we go to site and drive those 3 hours because now they're like, "You actually spent time to come out to see us," and they'll give you more attention in person than they would virtually.
CIM: In an industry as geographically spread out as mining, what is your most effective strategy for preventing junior members from feeling siloed?
Trong: That is the challenge. It's so convenient to go on Teams, but for juniors to not get lost in the mix in our organization, we invite them to come to the office a lot, spend time with them, and engage with them.
For myself, it's really talking to them like a human being. We forget that there isn't a power hierarchy—it's not junior to senior. They're human. We were all there; we were all junior at one point. It's nice to have one-on-one discussions and talk like a human being.
Be friends with them. Go out and hang out with them, have a beer. We go for runs; we have a social club. We spend time with them human-to-human, and building that relationship is important. Then they don't feel that power gap from junior to senior or feel uncomfortable talking to them. Building a personal relationship is important.
CIM: You've grown the CIM Vancouver Branch events into sold-out successes. What is your secret for turning a group of professionals into a truly engaged community?
Trong: With the CIM Vancouver Branch, we've seen a lot of success over the last few years. It's growing in numbers and in the quality of our events. We changed venues, and the best part is that we're receiving awesome feedback. People are really enjoying it.
I was just talking to someone here at the show, and they mentioned how much fun they're having at the CIM Vancouver events. Our next one, by the way, is May 14th at the Vancouver Club. We have Lundin Mining presenting, so we're elevating our speakers.
The key there is not just doing any other event—the key is making it fun. Our goal is to bring the community together, engage with people, and create a fun experience for them to enjoy so they come back and talk about it again.
CIM: As a Distinguished Service Award recipient, what would you say to a young professional about why they should volunteer early in their careers rather than remain on the sidelines?
Trong: Thank you for the recognition. It was a true honour and a surprise. You don't do this work for recognitions and awards, but it's nice to get that.
For young professionals early in their career, to volunteer is fantastic. I don't think enough of them do it—I wish I did it when I was younger. You can do it at any stage of your career, whether middle or late in your career. It's nice to give back.
Most importantly, it's building connections and networking—not necessarily always on the professional side, but the personal side, too. The mining community is a small, tight-knit group here in Vancouver, and I've created many friendships out of it.
If I were to say the one perk or benefit out of it, it's that you get to work with executives in the industry that you normally don't get to work with if you were to sit in your own office, your own career, or your own building. Getting out of that and working with other executives is priceless.
Tuan Truong is the director of business strategy at CIMA+, where he supports business growth across Western Canada through client development, strategic initiatives, and talent building. He brings over 20 years of experience in the mining industry across manufacturing, construction, and engineering. A dedicated CIM volunteer, Truong currently serves as co-chair of the CIM Vancouver Branch and previously led its sponsorship committee. He has contributed to CIM CONNECT as a panel session chair, emceed the Vancouver Branch’s Student & Industry Night, and spearheaded the branch’s lawn bowling tournament — growing it into a sold-out event in its second year. Through these efforts, he has helped strengthen industry engagement and community within CIM.
