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TORONTO, January 13, 2011 — The Canadian Mining Hall of Fame will induct three new members at its 23rd annual induction ceremony, to be held tomorrow evening, January 13, 2011, at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel, Toronto. The new inductees will join the 146 men and one woman previously inducted into the Mining Hall of Fame which was established in 1988.
The 2011 inductees are: Mike Muzylowski, gifted geologist and mine-finder; Bert Wasmund, world-renowned metallurgist; and the late John T. Williamson, a Canadian geologist who discovered, developed and operated a diamond mine in what is now Tanzania.
Mike Muzylowski (born 1934): Currently president and CEO of Callinan Mines Limited, and a resident of Vancouver, British Columbia, Mike Muzylowski has played a lead role in the discovery of 16 mineral deposits that have become mines: 13 primarily base metal operations in Manitoba, two gold producers in Nevada and the Snap Lake diamond mine in the Northwest Territories. He grew up on a farm near Oakburn, Manitoba, obtained a degree in geology from the University of Manitoba, and joined Hudson Bay Exploration and Development Company as a field geologist in 1955. In 1970 he joined the Granges organization, and was president and CEO of Granges Exploration Ltd. from 1974 until 1989 when the company was sold to Australian mining giant, MIM. His discoveries include the Trout Lake copper-zinc mine at Flin Flon, Manitoba, which is still in production after 28 years of operation.
Bert Wasmund (born 1939): Dr. Bert Wasmund is an internationally recognized authority on metallurgical processing. Born in Bancroft, Ontario, he joined the Hatch consulting firm in 1966 after obtaining degrees in chemical engineering from Queen’s University and the University of Toronto. At Mississauga-based Hatch, he used his technical and managerial expertise to build one of the most influential groups of process engineers in the global metallurgical industry. His leadership in advancing many metallurgical processes resulted in better productivity and reduced energy consumption and environmental impact. Smelters in Sudbury, the Dominican Republic, and South Africa are among the operations worldwide that have benefitted from his expertise. Currently an executive director at Hatch, Dr. Wasmund maintains a long-standing commitment to the development and mentorship of young engineers in the mining and metallurgical industries.
John Thoburn (“Jack”) Williamson (1907-1958): Dr. John T. Williamson discovered, developed from his own resources and operated the very successful Williamson diamond mine in Tanganyika (now Tanzania). Born in Montfort, Quebec, he graduated from McGill University with a PhD in geology in 1933, and began working in Africa. In 1940 he discovered the kimberlite pipe that became the Mwadui or Williamson mine, the first significant diamond mine to operate outside of South Africa. It is still in production today after yielding over 20 million carats of diamonds. Dr. Williamson donated funds to McGill University and employed McGill geologists at the mine, providing experiences that would later be of use in diamond exploration in Canada. Tanzanian mine operators have also been sent for further training to Canada’s Haileybury School of Mines, which is now part of northern Ontario’s Northern College.
The Canadian Mining Hall of Fame honors those who have demonstrated outstanding lifetime achievements that have benefitted the Canadian minerals industry. The Hall is sponsored by the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum, the Mining Association of Canada, The Northern Miner newspaper and the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada. Associate sponsors include the mining associations of British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec and Saskatchewan and the Association for Mineral Exploration British Columbia.
The Hall’s inductees are featured at four locations. The Canadian Mining Hall of Fame Gallery at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto opened in December 2008, and showcases the inductees through a bilingual, interactive video wall that also explains how mining touches every aspect of our lives. The original Hall exhibit is located in the University of Toronto’s Mining Building at 170 College Street, Toronto, while Elliot Lake in northern Ontario features the inductees at its Nuclear and Mining Museum in the Lester B. Pearson Civic Centre. A new Canadian Mining Hall of Fame exhibit opened in September 2010 at the Britannia Mine Museum in British Columbia.
More information about the Canadian Mining Hall of Fame and the new inductees is available at the Hall’s website, www.mininghalloffame.ca
For further information, contact:
Becky Bays, CMHF Coordinator
T: 647-726-3185
E: info@mininghalloffame.ca