They may be rival neighbours back home, but mining representatives for Finland and Sweden are getting along just fine at PDAC.
"You know how neighbours are, it's a bit of a love-hate relationship," a Swedish mining official said with a smile.
Next door, the Finnish delegation also chuckled when asked about how their Swedish neighbours were doing.
"We have a rivalry, but only in sports," one of the Finns said, likely gloating about the fact the men's hockey team won a bronze medal at the recent Vancouver WInter Olympics, while Sweden was knocked out in the quarterfinals.
The two Nordic countries have a long and sometimes violent history between them, with Finland once annexed by the Swedish monarchy between the 13th and 19th centuries.
However, relations have warmed since, to the point that they can now co-exist at, say, a mining conference.
Incidentally, the Swedish booth offered this reporter a local chocolate, which does nothing but good for Canada-Swedish relations.
Eric Lam