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TORONTO, NOVEMBER 4, 2021 – The Canadian Mining Hall of Fame (CMHF) will welcome five new industry legends who have demonstrated leadership and outstanding achievement in the mining industry:
- F. Dale Corman
- Maureen C. Jensen
- Phillip John Mackey
- Robert Quartermain
- Peter Risby
Since its inception in 1989, the CMHF has recognized 195 exemplary leaders who were catalysts in establishing Canada’s mining industry as the global leader it is today. Each of these men and women embody the important role mining plays in society and have inspired future generations in mining. The 2022 inductees are no different.
“We are proud to recognize the leadership and commitment of our 2022 inductees to the Canadian Mining Hall of Fame,” said Pierre Gratton, Chair of the Canadian Mining Hall of Fame and President & CEO of the Mining Association of Canada (MAC). “Mining plays an essential role in driving our economy forward and delivering the minerals and metals needed for a low carbon future. These five inductees represent the very best of mining excellence and greatly contributed to making Canada the leader in responsible mining.”
The long and impressive list of mines and companies built by Dale Corman during a 50-year career is a testament to his ability to see the potential of early-stage opportunities and bring them to feasibility and fruition. Such early-stage exploration and mining companies have flourished within the Canadian capital markets, where few geologists have made the transition from the field to the boardroom more successfully than Maureen Jensen. Canada is the mining investment capital of the world, thanks to her stewardship and science-based approach. A strong sector also needs strong research and development, an area where Phillip John Mackey, one of Canada’s most prominent metallurgists, is recognized for his many technological contributions to the industry. As a successful geologist turned company builder, Robert Quartermain was an early champion of Indigenous involvement in the resource industry, something he remained dedicated to through his advocacy and philanthropy work in education, social injustice, and wildlife habitat preservation. Likewise, the life story and career accomplishments of Peter Risby are truly extraordinary in Canadian mining history, particularly as a trail-blazing advocate of diversity and Indigenous inclusion in Canada’s minerals industry.
The CMHF will welcome these five new members at the 2022 CMHF Gala Dinner & Induction Ceremony to be held on Thursday, August 18, 2022 at the heritage Palais Royale Ballroom in Toronto. Limited tickets will be available for purchase in the spring of 2022 at mininghalloffame.ca.
The past two years have proven the mining industry’s resilience to navigate through tough times, and Canada’s mining industry demonstrated its commitment to employees, operations, and local communities by putting the health and safety of people first. As Canada continues to lead the global mining industry, the CMHF remains steadfast in its vision to be the enduring source of information that shares the significant contributions of individuals who shape Canada’s global mining industry.
ABOUT THE 2022 INDUCTEES:
F. Dale Corman (b. 1937)
Corman was born in St. Catharines, Ontario, and earned a BSc (Geology) from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York in 1961. His early successes in the 1970s include the high-grade Sturgeon Lake base metal mine in Ontario, the Lake George antimony mine in New Brunswick, and the Cullaton Lake gold mine in Nunavut. In subsequent decades he led several Vancouver-based juniors, notably Western Copper Corp. and related entity Western Silver Corp. He was a tenacious champion of large copper and copper-gold projects, including the Carmacks and Casino deposits in Yukon, which were both advanced to feasibility. The highlight of his career was the discovery and development of the world-class San Nicolas deposit and the Penasquito mine in central Mexico. Penasquito ultimately became Mexico’s largest gold mine and second largest silver mine and an important asset for current operator Newmont Corporation. Corman served as president of seven public companies and director of 25 listed companies and was involved in the development of seven mines and mineral deposits in Canada, and other parts of the world.
Maureen C. Jensen (b. 1956)
Born in Winnipeg, Jensen grew up in mining towns, learned the values of hard work and self-reliance and saved to attend the University of Toronto, where she earned a BSc in geology in 1979. She is best known as the first female to head the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC), where she championed policies to improve investor protection and encourage diversity for executives and directors of public companies. Before joining the OSC, Jensen served as SVP, surveillance and compliance at IIROC and President at Market Regulation Services. She also held senior positions at the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX), including Director of Mining Services during the aftermath of the Bre-X scandal. She was a TSX member of the Mining Standards Task Force that laid the groundwork for National Instrument 43-101, which became a globally recognized disclosure standard for mining projects. Jensen’s previous 20-year career in mining enabled her to take a pragmatic science-based approach to solving industry and regulatory challenges. As a longstanding champion of equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) she introduced policies for disclosure of gender diversity on boards and is Chair of the Prosperity Project created to help women stay in the workforce during and after the COVID-19 crisis. Jensen’s contributions to industry causes and associations were purposeful and far-reaching. She played a leadership role in strengthening industry associations, notably the PDAC and CIM. Jensen has received broad public and industry recognition for her many achievements, including induction to the Investment Industry Hall of Fame (2020), The Toronto Life’s 50 most influential people in 2013 and 2014, PDAC’s Distinguished Service Award (2008), CIM’s Robert Elver Mineral Economics (2004) and CIM’s Distinguished Lecturer Award (2000).
Phillip John Mackey (b. 1941)
Although born in Australia, Phillip Mackey is known worldwide as one of Canada’s most prominent metallurgists in the field of non-ferrous extractive metallurgy. He is one of the few Canadians to have advanced the development of not one but two significant copper smelting technologies that have benefited copper metallurgical plants around the world. He co-developed the Noranda Reactor Process and co-invented the Noranda Converting Process, which has produced more than 4 million tonnes of copper since the late 1990s and remains the world’s third most productive copper converting technology. In addition to these and other technical achievements, Mackey expanded industry knowledge as a prolific author of technical papers, renowned lecturer, and inspirational mentor of young metallurgists. He was involved with other initiatives during his career with Noranda (and related entities such as Falconbridge and Xstrata), including new developments for processing lateritic nickel deposits, and concluding technology agreements with other nations, notably Chile. Mackey mentored a new generation of metallurgists as a professor at Laurentian University in Sudbury, and as a Special Lecturer at McGill University in Montreal. He also was an honorary professor at Northeastern University in Shenyang, China. He is a strong supporter of the Canadian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (CIM) and is a Past-President of the Metallurgical Society (METSOC). The Phillip Mackey Symposium was held in his honour at the 2019 Copper Conference in Vancouver.
Robert Quartermain (b. 1955)
The career path of Robert Quartermain encompasses several distinct phases of success, starting with a pivotal role in the discovery of Ontario’s Hemlo gold camp in the early 1980s. He began his career as a geologist for Teck Corporation and gained rare and valuable experience at Hemlo and other mines. He ventured on his own to form Pretivm Resources, based on an unshakeable belief that its high-grade Brucejack prospect in northern BC had the makings of a mine. His faith was validated when Brucejack became Canada’s fourth largest gold mine with annual production of 350,000 ounces. From a geological concept to Canada’s fourth largest gold mine in a decade is a testament to his skills as a geoscientist and company builder. Quartermain is a longstanding advocate for Indigenous involvement in the resource industry and a generous philanthropist with a focus on education, social justice and wildlife habitat preservation. His social conscience has deep roots from his childhood in St. Stephens, New Brunswick. He learned leadership skills as a young RCAF Air Cadet and in 2019 was appointed an Honorary Colonel in the RCAF for his support of the Canadian Armed Forces. Quartermain graduated from the University of New Brunswick with a BSc (Honours, Geology) in 1977, and later donated $1million to its Earth Sciences Department (now the Quartermain Earth Science Center), providing funding for research and 6 geoscience scholarships. Quartermain has received many awards over the years, notably MABC’s Mining Person of the Year (2017), CIM’s A.O. Dufresne Award (2016) and Vale Inco Medal (2010), PDAC’s Bill Dennis Award (2013), AME BC’s Murray Pezim Award (2009) and an Honorary DSc from UNB (2009).
Peter Risby (1931-2011)
Peter (“Pete”) Risby began prospecting in 1957, initially for syndicates, and later on his own with Indigenous partners. His early finds include the Risby-Tungsten property in Yukon and the Lee property in the Northwest Territories (NWT). The Lee project was the foundation for his involvement with Welcome North Mines and subsequent discovery of more than 80 projects optioned to major companies. Risby’s life story is equally inspiring. He was a tenacious entrepreneur who overcame adversity to become a successful prospector and miner in Northern Canada. He was born in Kansas in 1931, to a Black railway porter and a German nursing student who fled to Canada to avoid persecution by the KKK. The family settled in a Cree community in Alberta, where they were welcomed. Here, Risby learned vital bush navigation and survival skills. Risby was forced to attend a residential school but escaped at age seven and never returned. He was a keen learner who developed an uncanny photographic memory and applied these skills to navigate life. He began prospecting in Yukon, and sold his first claims to Johns Manville Co., then the world’s largest asbestos producer. In 1981, Risby began exploring the placer potential of the Indian River Valley near Dawson City. He went on to develop and operate the Indian River mine, which became a leading gold producer and a major contributor to Yukon’s economy. Due to his upbringing among the Alberta Cree, Risby was an advocate for inclusion in the industry. He spent several years teaching prospecting and mineral identification courses to Indigenous students and was one of the first to hire women for exploration programs. He was inducted into the Yukon Prospectors Hall of Fame and named Mr. Miner in 1996, for his technical achievements, economic contributions and as a trail-blazing advocate of diversity and Indigenous inclusion in Canada’s minerals industry.
About the Canadian Mining Hall of Fame
Founded in 1988 by the Northern Miner, the Mining Association of Canada, the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada and the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum, the CMHF is a charitable organization that recognizes outstanding achievement in the mining industry, celebrates individual leadership and inspires future generations in mining. Members are selected through a fair, inclusive and accessible process driven by the CMHF Board of Directors and its member associations. For more information, please visit: https://mininghalloffame.ca
Media Contact:
Morgan Murphy
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