Dryden.

• Position: COMMUNITIES OF THE NORTH

Exploring the untapped mineral riches of northwestern Ontario, harnessing the sun's energy, adding value to forestry and getting more tourists to stay and play, are the aims of the new economic development website www.exploredryden.ca launched in late November.

Last fall's closure of a Domtar paper machine and the loss of an additional 300 jobs have inspired the leadership of this resilient community of 8,200 to be more than a one-industry town. The Dryden Development Corporation has been beating this drum for the municipality for the past year, ever since forestry mills and jobs started disappearing. The organization has taken to the web to market itself as the place to be for opportunities in solar energy, mining and mineral exploration, manufacturing and tourism with projects going on in each category.

The city is promoting itself as a mineral exploration and service hub for mining and exploration companies in the north west where many local companies operate. It has a 72-page online catalogue for the mineral exploration industry. The guide also provides one-stop shopping on places to eat, sleep and meet; and where to find drillers, welders, machinists, pilots, road builders, lawyers, realtors, grocers, plumbers, and suppliers of every type of equipment and service needed in the bush. The city is also making moves on the...