Previous Awards Recipients

For the discovery of the Dixie gold deposit when others believed all the multi-million ounce deposits in Ontario's Red Lake camp had been found.

Subsequent exploration and structural interpretation led to more discoveries in rapid succession. During 2019, Great Bear found the Bear-Rimini, Yuma, Auro, Yauro, Viggo and Gap zones. Follow-up drilling confirmed these discoveries were part of a larger continuous zone of gold mineralization later called the LP Fault Zone. Unlike the vein-hosted gold mineralization typical of Red Lake, the mineralization was sheet-like, containing high-grade zones within lower grade haloes.

In February 2022, Kinross Gold purchased Great Bear for $1.8 billion, or $29 per share, even before the technical team had a chance to estimate resources for Dixie. The senior gold producer plans to develop the project into a top tier, long-life mine. As an added bonus, Great Bear’s discovery has reinvigorated exploration in the Red Lake camp, where geoscientists now have access to a new model of mineralization to find more gold.

For the discovery of the Saddle North gold-rich copper porphyry deposit and the Saddle South vein gold-silver zone in the Golden Triangle region of British Columbia.

A maiden estimate for Saddle North completed in 2020 calculated indicated resources of 298 million tonnes grading 0.28% copper, 0.36 gpt gold and 0.8 gpt silver, and inferred resources of 543 million tonnes at 0.25% copper, 0.31 gpt gold and 0.7 gpt silver.

In mid-2021 Newmont paid $393 million to acquire full ownership of GT Gold, stating that the "Tatogga project, including the primary Saddle North deposit, has the potential to contribute significant gold and copper annual production at attractive all-in sustaining costs over a long mine life. In addition to the known deposits at Saddle North, there are further exploration opportunities throughout the land package."

For the discovery and delineation of Valentine, the largest undeveloped gold resource in Atlantic Canada.

After 25 years of sporadic exploration, the Valentine gold project in Newfoundland was growing stale. There seemed little hope of improving on a sub-economic non-compliant resource of less than half a million ounces announced in 2004.

Everything changed in 2010 when Phillip Walford and Sherry Dunsworth arrived on the scene looking for a multi-million ounce gold acquisition. The two experienced geologists determined that the controls on gold mineralization were poorly understood at Valentine. They developed a new orogenic model that allowed their company, Marathon Gold, to delineate the largest undeveloped gold resource in Atlantic Canada and one of the leading gold development projects in North America.

The first four years were tough. The markets were still recovering from the recession of 2007-2009 and the gold price was just beginning to climb above US$1,000 per ounce. Financing was hard to come by. Yet the team persevered, led by Phill as President and Sherry as Vice-President of Exploration. The more they explored, the more they learned about the structural controls on existing gold zones. This growing understanding of the geological model led to the discovery of satellite deposits along a 20-kilometre strike length of the Valentine Lake Shear Zone.

The breakthrough came in 2014 when the team discovered the plus-three-million-ounce Marathon deposit by following up historical soil anomalies. More discoveries would follow, changing the landscape of geological thinking in Eastern Canada and highlighting Newfoundland and Labrador as a top jurisdiction for global exploration spending.

The April 22, 2020 press release of the updated technical report and pre-feasibility study on the Valentine Gold Project states that the Proven and Probable Reserves are 1.87 million ounces (41.05 million tonnes at 1.41 grams per tonne gold). These reserves are included in the mineral resources which are measured and indicated resources of 3.09 million ounces (54.9 million tonnes at 1.75 grams per tonne gold) and inferred resources containing 0.96 million ounces (16.77 million tonnes at 1.78 grams per tonne gold).

For his enduring perseverance as a prospector and the discovery of several precious metal, diamond and rare earth occurrences in northwestern Ontario.

For the discovery of the Chidliak diamond district on Baffin Island, Nunavut.

In 2008, the Peregrine Diamonds and BHP exploration team made the grassroots discovery of the Chidliak Diamond District, near Iqaluit on Baffin Island, Nunavut--Canada’s second largest kimberlite district. 

Exploration programs and engineering studies completed between 2008 and 2018 led to the discovery of 74 kimberlites, one of which has a 17.96 million carat inferred mineral resource with an average grade of 2.41 carats per tonne and average diamond value of US$151 per carat, with six other kimberlites having economic potential. 

A 2018 Preliminary Economic Assessment outlined an open pit mine with a 13-year mine life and post-tax NPV of CAD$668.7 million and IRR of 31.2%. Peregrine was acquired by De Beers Canada in 2018, and it is anticipated that Chidliak will become Canada’s next diamond mine.

For the discovery of the Arrow uranium deposit in the Athabasca Basin of Saskatchewan, Canada.

For the discovery of the Amaruq gold deposit between 2013 and 2016.

Agnico Eagle Mines Limited’s (Agnico) Val d’Or Exploration Team is the recipient of the 2017 Bill Dennis Award for the discovery of the Amaruq gold deposit between 2013 and 2016. The discovery was made while prospecting a virtually unexplored part of the Woodburn Lake Belt in Nunavut and is one of the few significant and recent finds in Canada.

Amaruq is an area made up of 1,147 square kilometres. Inferred resources were estimated at 16.9 million tonnes at 6.05 grams of gold per tonne, for a total of 3.3 million ounces of high-grade gold mineralization. Ore-grade drill results include an intersection of 47.6 metres, with an estimated true width grading 5.9 grams of gold per tonne at 288 metre depth.

Excitement surrounding the discovery is heightened by its timing. Reserves at Meadowbank Gold Mine (Meadowbank)—Agnico’s largest gold producer—are expected to be depleted by 2018. Meadowbank is conveniently located just 50 kilometres northwest of Amaruq, meaning much of the essential infrastructure for a producing mine is already in place.

For the Bruce Channel gold discovery at the Red Lake gold camp in northwestern Ontario.

Robert Cudney, Stephen Roman and John Whitton are the recipients of this year’s Bill Dennis Award for the Bruce Channel gold discovery at the Red Lake gold camp in northwestern Ontario. In May 2007, an internal estimate of the deposit size was 14.1 to 16.5 million tonnes of mineralized rock at a grade of roughly 20 to 25 grams per tonne gold for a total of between 9 and 13.3 million ounces of gold. The impressive discovery was located in the middle of Ontario’s third largest precious metals camp, with almost all of the required transportation and infrastructure at its doorstep.

An exploration program began, including a hole drilled vertically from the ice in the middle of the Bruce Channel in the winter of 2004—the first indication of a new deeper gold deposit. The main discovery hole was completed in August 2005, indicating a potentially high-grade gold deposit.

This discovery was described as being the most structurally complex in the Red Lake camp, sitting, as they do, at the junction of three deformation zones—one trending westward, another northeast, and the third southeast. It was given the “Discovery of the Year Award” by the Ontario Northwestern Prospectors Association in 2008.

For his discovery of the Borden Gold Project located near Chapleau Ontario.

David Palmer, President and Chief Executive Officer of Probe Mines Limited, is the recipient of this year’s Bill Dennis Award for a Canadian mineral discovery or prospecting success. David Palmer is receiving the award for the Borden Gold Project, a discovery located near Chapleau, Ontario.

The Borden Gold Project is an exciting and important new gold discovery that continues to evolve, grow and improve with continued exploration. Located in a previously unexplored area of Ontario, the discovery could potentially be the beginning of a significant new gold district in Canada.

The company’s June 2014 Technical Report estimated a high-grade gold resources with potential for underground extraction in the Borden Gold Project totalling 1.60 million ounces of gold in the indicated resource category (9.3 million tonnes grading 5.39 grams of gold per tonne), and 0.43 million ounces of gold in the Inferred Resource category (3 million tonnes grading 4.37 grams of gold per tonne) at a 2.5 g/t Au cut-off. The deposit still remains open for expansion.

The Borden Gold Project in Canada is significant to the industry, especially with the dwindling number of significant gold discoveries globally and could be the birth of Canada’s next gold district. Probe Mines has also identified potential for new discoveries within the Borden and associated belts that extend to the northeast of the Borden gold zone, and the company recently acquired over 350 square kilometres of additional unexplored ground comprising the East Limb Property.

For leading Fission’s team of geologists in the one of the most significant discoveries in the Athabasca Basin in recent years.

Patterson Lake South property is a high-grade shallow-depth uranium discovery located on the south-western margin of the Athabasca Basin in northern Saskatchewan. In the summer of 2011, a team of Fission geologists, led by Ross McElroy, discovered a large radioactive boulder field. The team used a new airborne surveying technology specifically designed for radioactive deposits to make the discovery.

A Radon survey of the site was completed, following the discovery, to assist the team in identifying drill targets. Drilling in 2012 and 2013 resulted in the discovery of high-grade, shallow, thick uranium intersections which quickly launched the Patterson Lake South property to the top of analysts watch lists. Over the past 10 months the discovery has grown from a single hole to five mineralized zones on-trend along a strike length of 1.03km.

Under the leadership of Ross McElroy, Fission’s uranium discovery has rejuvenated the entire exploration industry in the Athabasca Basin. Previously ignored by the uranium exploration sector, the western side of the Athabasca Basin now has multiple programs being launched by other uranium junior miners in the area.

Ross McElroy has over 30 years experience as a professional geologist. He has been instrumental in five of the last nine major discoveries in the Athabasca Basin, and has made two major discoveries in the past three years including Patterson Lake South, and Fission Energy’s J-Zone discovery.

For advancing the Brucejack Property’s Valley of the Kings.

Pretium Resources is the recipient of this year’s Bill Dennis Award for a Canadian mineral discovery or prospecting success. Pretium is receiving the award for advancing the Brucejack Property’s Valley of the Kings, which was first discovered in 2009, into a world-class, high-grade gold deposit. Since 2011, Pretium’s successful exploration program has seen the high-grade Indicated Mineral Resource Base for the Valley of the Kings grow to the current 8.5 million ounces of gold.

For his leadership of the team that has advanced the Detour Lake property in northern Ontario into a world-class, low-grade, high tonnage gold deposit

Gerald Panneton, president and CEO of Detour Gold Corp., for his leadership of the team that has advanced the Detour Lake property in northern Ontario into a world-class, low-grade, high tonnage gold deposit. Panneton spearheaded the initial acquisition and subsequent evaluation of what is now determined to be Canada’s largest undeveloped gold deposit. 

Recognizing the potential of Detour Lake in 2006, Panneton commissioned a large-scale drilling and re-sampling program that, by 2010, had increased the resource base of the property from 1 million ounces of gold to a global, measured and indicated resource of 17.7 million ounces. Detour Gold Corp. is now moving ahead with the development of the project.

This Yukon-based prospector worked for close to 15 years to locate the source of the alluvial gold found in the Klondike gold fields. In 2004, Ryan identified the anomaly that led Underworld Resources to its White Gold deposit and a subsequent $138-million takeover by Kinross. Ryan’s efforts and eventual success have had a positive impact on exploration in the Yukon, with a six-fold increase in exploration spending from $30 million at the beginning of this decade to an estimated $183 million in 2010. Ryan’s nomination for this award is supported by the Yukon Chamber of Mines.

The chromite Ring of Fire discovery in the James Bay Lowlands is said to be one of the largest in the world and the only one in North America, and has opened up a previously overlooked area of the country to new exploration activity. As a result of a number of significant discoveries in the region since the 1990s, the award recognizes former Noront Resources’ president Richard Nemis and exploration manager John Harvey; Mac Watson, president, and Don Hoy, exploration manager, Freewest Resources Canada; and Neil Novakof Spider Resources.

HudBay Minerals Inc. is being recognized for its Lalordiscovery near Snow Lake, Manitoba. In turn, the company is recognizing Alan Vowles and Kelly Gilmore, the respective heads of HudBay’s geophysics and exploration teams, for their roles in the discovery.

In a 1980 report, Geological Survey of Canada geologist Don Sangster had outlined prospects for the Flin Flon greenstone belt in Manitoba and wrote that he believed “the largest deposit in the Snow Lake area is, as yet, undiscovered.”

With HudBay’s Chisel Lake mine in the Snow Lake area nearing the end of its reserves in the 1980s, HudBay began working to prove that Sangster’s view was correct.

It began a major exploration program. By 2002, well over a decade after it began, the company was moving to deeper and deeper parts of the basin and the exploration team agreed that it needed to develop an accurate method for targeting deep holes.

Project geophysicist Alan Vowles agreed to conduct a geophysical experiment that he had developed with former chief geophysicist Bob Frazer to see if they could detect the Chisel North mine 600 metres below the surface employing new technology.

Using Crone Geophysics’ deep penetrating EM system, Vowles plotted the layout of a large loop of wire for a survey that would carry the electrical current over a two-square-kilometre area above the mine.

He had a joking wager with Ed Yarrow, then HudBay’s vice president of exploration, that if the experiment showed that equipment was able to detect the existing mine, the company would invest in the necessary upgrades to do more testing.

Vowles hired local contractor Dave Koop of Koop Geotechnical Services to lay out the wire. Vowles says Koop is an adventurous, enthusiastic professional who thrives on the excitement of making new discoveries.

Although the zinc at Chisel and Lalor is not conductive, it is associated with minerals that are. As a result, Vowles anticipated that extraordinary measures would need to be taken to detect deposits significantly deeper than the 300-metre depth for which the equipment was certified.

With the instrument that detects conductive minerals set for the test, they threw the switch on the transmitter and the current flowed through more than 10 kilometres of wire.

But instead of the conventional practice of letting the receiver run for about 30 seconds to test to the technology’s proven depth of 300 metres, Vowles pushed it to a new level.

He left the current on to record thousands of readings while he and the team went for lunch! When they returned the readings confirmed the mine was clearly in evidence 600 metres below the surface.

The results meant that HudBay could use the technology to search for deep deposits all around their numerous mine sites in the Flin Flon area.

Working with project geologist Chris Roney, who has since left the company,Vowles identified two potential sites for the next test, one near an existing mine and the other spanning an area identified by senior geologist Jerry Kitzler at a depth of 1,100 metres.

In 2003, Vowles and Roney designed a plan for the next step. They laid out huge loops of even more wire to test an area more than 800 metres deep.

When the data were plotted on a map, the anomalies looked like two bull’s eyes at a depth of about 900 metres.

Later that year they drilled a single hole into the first of the targets.

Unfortunately, the copper and zinc grades in that single sample were not economic. But the technology had worked and they had proved they could find mineralization 800 metres down.

Economics and then weather conditions intervened and delayed more drilling. By 2007 senior geologist Craig Taylor was in charge of the project. He and Gilmore, who is now chief exploration geologist, were ready to drill the second target, again 800 metres down.

At last, four years after the anomalies were first identified, drilling resumed.The results were immediately obvious. The core box was unusually heavy and just by looking at the samples, the distinctive Lalor ‘Black Jack’ zinc was evident.

Since then drilling has continued steadily, and the company has subsequently announced its discovery of a new gold zone that significantly enhances the potential of the deposit.

So HudBay Minerals is continuing on its quest to track down the even bigger deposit that Don Sangster predicted.

This award honours individuals who have made an important contribution to prospecting and exploration in Canada.

Osisko Exploration has had its share of good fortune outlining more than 8.4 million ounces of gold on its Canadian Malartic property in Malartic, Quebec. But the company’s innovative approach to a mature gold camp is what ultimately won the day.

Osisko was formed in 1998 by geologist Robert Wares but with commodity prices in the tank, and little capital, the company remained a one-man show until 2003 -- when John Burzynski and Sean Roosen entered the picture.

Roosen and Burzynski, along with Walter and Norman Storm, were co-founders of EurAsia Holding AG, a venture capital fund consisting of equity from wealthy German investors, many of whom were lured by the idea of finding oil and gas in Kazakhstan -- not gold in Quebec. But Roosen believed that gold was about to move into a long-term bull run and it was time for EurAsia to diversify. The fund bought its first stake in Osisko in 2003 for $1.5 million.

Osisko had some greenfield exploration properties in Quebec but little else. By the fall of 2004, after a foray into Brazil, little had changed. And investors were getting restless.

The company would soon focus on the Abitibi greenstone belt in an effort to find bulk-tonnage, open-pit, gold targets, a concept that eschewed the region’s long-held wisdom that the Abitibi only offered underground, high-grade, vein deposits.

After drilling several properties and finding few ounces, Osisko moved on. Meanwhile, Robert Wares quietly sifted through Quebec’s digital database of drill results, home to information on almost every hole drilled in the province since the 1920s. Wares and his technical team, who are geologists with Cygnus Consulting Inc. in Montreal, designed programs to comb the data for holes that had long intercepts at low grades. It wasn’t long before they outlined the roughly 1,000 surface holes drilled into Canadian Malartic and decided it was a bulk-tonnage target.

The old Canadian Malartic mine operated from 1935-1965 and yielded one million ounces of gold at a head grade of 3.3 grams per tonne -- making it the lowest grade gold operation in eastern Canada.

Armed with knowledge from the public drill-hole database, Osisko bought the Canadian Malartic claims from a liquidator for about $80,000. Now that Osisko had a high potential property, Roosen and Burzynski pitched EurAsia investors for more money – and got it.

As a result of the acquisition, Osisko received the former producer’s huge database as well as 65,000 metres of core drilled by Lac Minerals in the 1980s. In the spring of 2005, the Quebec government leased Osisko the former mine manager’s house on the East Malartic property and Wares’ team moved in and converted the garage to a core shack.

In an atmosphere not unlike a college dormitory, Wares and his team spent endless hours logging core and working the data into a comprehensive digital model. Lac Minerals had identified about 520,000 ounces of gold in a series of shallow open pits. Wares thought the deposit was much larger.

Osisko needed to know what it had and decided to drill right down the middle of the deposit -- an unusual tack that took until late summer 2005 to complete. The gold grades were low and consistent as would be expected in a porphyry-type system. Drill holes hit mineralization 52 times out of 56.

In September 2005 the company disclosed that it had evidence of a potential 3-million-ounce deposit, and that finally caught the market’s attention.

Almost two years later, in July 2007, and after a lot more drilling, consulting firm RSG Global pegged Canadian Malartic’s inferred resource at 8.4 million ounces from 286 million tonnes grading 0.92 gram gold per tonne, using a cutoff grade of 0.4 gram gold.

In January 2003, Osisko was trading at 5¢ per share and is now around $6.00. Osisko has brought a smile to the lips of many in Canada’s mining establishment by proving once again that Canada still holds world-class deposits, and that what it takes to find them is sometimes as simple as a new approach, faith in an idea, and a lot of persistence.

The four generations of this Newfoundland family have all been involved in prospecting. Ted, the father, was involved in the discovery of the Point Leamington, Burnt Pond and Tally Pond zones. Sons Al, Calvin, Fred, and Suley followed in their father’s footsteps. Al worked with his father on the Point Leamington and Tally Pond discoveries and also discovered Duck Pond and Winter Hill. 

Calvin has worked all over the world, discovering South Golden Promise and numerous uranium showings in Labrador. Fred discovered a 36-ounce/ton VG boulder on the Appleton Linear for Noranda (now optioned to Paragon). Suley discovered the Beaver Brook deposit with Calvin and has been looking for uranium in Labrador. The following generations – grandsons and great grandsons – are all actively involved in prospecting.

For his leadership in fostering economic opportunities for First Nations on their traditional lands, and for his long history of volunteerism.

Glenn has supported the development of economic opportunities for Indigenous peoples world-wide. He has supported the government of Canada’s efforts to bring awareness of mining opportunities to Indigenous people throughout the Americas. He continues to support the Shuar people of Ecuador and Peru to help establish better relations with government and the mining sectors and was chair of the Canadian Executive Service Organization (now Catalyste+).
After dedicating his life’s work to meaningful engagement and consultation between industry and Indigenous communities, including countless hours of volunteer work with PDAC, it's Glenn's turn to be recognized by his peers.

For his ability to engage and establish trust with Indigenous communities on mineral projects.

One of Colin’s most rewarding and also challenging roles was vice-president of sustainability for Noront Resources as the junior mining company attempted to negotiate the parameters of mine development in the James Bay Lowlands with surrounding First Nations communities. Colin helped community members better understand the mining cycle and the business opportunities available to them while ensuring their concerns about ongoing exploration and potential development were addressed. To this day the development continues to focus on community empowerment and working together in a meaningful way.

Over the span of his career, Colin has won the respect and appreciation of industry and Indigenous leaders alike with his ability to combine technical knowledge with Indigenous perspective.

For combining Indigenous traditional knowledge with Western science to improve the environmental assessment process for mining projects.

Nalaine, principal of ArrowBlade Consulting Services, is a member of BC’s standing Code Review Committee. As an Indigenous representative, she encouraged the province to revise the Code, making it among the strongest in the world for tailings storage. She served as a panel member for the proposed Prosperity Mine project for the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency, is the technical advisor for the Citxw Nlaka’pamux Assembly’s traditional stewardship department, is a founder of the Tahltan heritage resource environmental assessment team, and serves as a director on the BC Hydro board and for Geoscience BC.

Nalaine holds a BSc in metals and materials engineering from UBC and a mechanical engineering technology diploma from the BC Institute of Technology. She is a guest lecturer at UBC’s School of Engineering, where she is known for her ability to connect with students and prepare them for work as engineers in a changing regulatory environment.

For his contribution to Canada’s mineral exploration and mining sector by building bridges between Indigenous communities and the industry through the Canadian Aboriginal Minerals Association (CAMA).

For his contribution to Canada’s mineral exploration and mining industry by helping to set the bar for drilling safety and community consultation.

Gordon is a well-respected geologist and member of the Sachigo Lake First Nation in Ontario. He served on the Canadian Diamond Drilling Association’s Western Safety group, and on the committee in charge of developing the Drilling Excellence Certification. 

For his contribution to health and safety in the field, Gordon received the 2012 David Barr Award from British Columbia’s Association of Mineral Exploration (AME). Gordon helped to set the bar for industry consultation with communities and Indigenous groups. 

When Xstrata was planning exploration around the Kidd Creek Mine in northern Ontario in 2008, Gordon engaged a clear, respectful and honest dialogue with the Wahgoshig First Nation, offering opportunities for community members to participate in the project.

Throughout his domestic and international career, Gordon has demonstrated outstanding technical abilities, professionalism, and a commitment to safe and socially responsible exploration.

For her contribution to Canada’s mining industry by working diligently to bridge the divide between Indigenous communities and both junior and major companies.

Lana is a member of the Whitecap Dakota Nation in Saskatchewan who has devoted her career to building relationships between the mining industry and Indigenous communities. She is the driving force behind the Association for Mineral Exploration’s (AME) Gathering Place, where industry and Indigenous representatives meet to forge common ground.

Lana developed a profound understanding of the complexities and challenges facing both mining companies and Indigenous people when, as chair of Electra Gold, she negotiated with and gained support from First Nations communities to secure a coal licence on Vancouver Island. She went on to use her gift for constructive dialogue to bring companies and communities together to discuss challenges, share success stories, and develop joint opportunities.

Lana’s serves as chair of AME’s Aboriginal committee, and in 2017 became the first Indigenous woman to be elected to its Board of Directors. She is a program advisor to British Columbia’s Institute of Technology, serves on CIM’s diversity and inclusion advisory committee, and is Vice-President of CIM’s Western district.

Peter Moses’ outstanding contributions to Aboriginal communities over a 50-year career have earned him the 2017 Skookum Jim Award. Currently the Mineral Development Information Officer for Matawa First Nations Management, Peter continues to provide perspective and advice about mineral development to the nine Matawa First Nation communities in Northern Ontario.

Peter has successfully promoted, negotiated and executed 34 option agreements between his partners and junior and major mining companies throughout Canada and the United States. He has used his knowledge to provide prospector training, staking and geoscience (exploration) information workshops to 123 of the 134 First Nation communities in Ontario, as well as the Métis Nation of Ontario. He developed the entire curriculum with the support of other industry associations.

Peter is credited with fostering positive relationships between industry and Aboriginal communities. His impact transcends provincial boundaries as he networks nationally within the Canadian Aboriginal Minerals Association (CAMA) supporting opportunities for Aboriginal communities to participate in and benefit from the minerals industry.

Darrell Beaulieu is the recipient of the 2016 Skookum Jim Award for his innovation, hard work and dedication to the minerals industry in his Yellowknife community. Darrell is a leader and highly-respected member of his community who served three terms as Chief of the Yellowknives Dene First Nation.

Darrell has a keen mind for business and became the first President of Det’on Cho Corporation, the business arm of the Yellowknives Dene First Nation. He served on the Board of Directors for both the NWT Mine Training Society and the NWT & Nunavut Chamber of Mines. In 2005, he assumed the role of President and CEO of Denendeh Investments Incorporated, a Dene corporation established to create long-term economic self-sufficiency for the Dene.

Darrell was a key player in organizing the Northern Aboriginal Business Association. He built the foundations for a new mineral industry enterprise, a 100%-owned Aboriginal exploration and mining company. Denendeh Exploration and Mining Company—officially shortened to DEMCo—was launched in 2013.

For his strong and continued efforts to encourage and mentor Cree youth to pursue a career in mineral exploration.

Sam Bosum has been working with mining and exploration companies in the Chibougamau region of Québec for nearly 50 years. He began his career in the area in the 1960s, and has worked as a Director of several mining and exploration companies.

Currently the President of Native Exploration Services, an Aboriginal-owned company founded in 1984, Sam is based in the Oujé-Bougoumou Cree Nation, Québec. Native Exploration Services provides staking, line-cutting, and geophysical services to both the mining and exploration industries, and provides training in the field of basic mineral exploration methodologies (prospecting and sampling). The company offers significant employment and business opportunities in the region, and is considered a major employer in the Oujé-Bougoumou Cree Nation.

Sam has been a member of the Band Council of the Oujé-Bougoumou Cree Nation for the past 38 years and has focused his efforts on advancing the affairs of his community. During this time he has served as Deputy Chief and was elected as Chief in 2001, a position he held for eight years. Sam is still an active member of the Band Council of the Oujé-Bougoumou Cree Nation. He works to inspire and encourage the youth of his community to pursue their education and achieve the goals they set for themselves in their future careers, including that of geologists.

For his strong leadership in the environmental impact of the mining sector and his work advocating for more education and training programs for Aboriginal youth within the industry.

Mr. James MacLeod, a Cree resident of Mistissini, Quebec, is well known and respected in the mineral industry throughout Canada as a mining exploration technologist. Mr. MacLeod is a pioneer in mineral exploration and environmental impact and from the beginning recognized the link between mining and environment, and the importance of managing the relationship.

Mr. MacLeod began his career in mineral exploration as a young man, and founded J.A. MacLeod Exploration in 1987. Focussing his energy, knowledge and expertise on mineral exploration, Mr. Macleod has demonstrated a passion for field work, and built a strong reputation. In 2009, he founded EnviroCree Ltd ., an Aboriginal company specializing in environmental services. Both companies employ a local Aboriginal workforce, providing learning opportunities and training programs for Cree youth.

Mr. MacLeod is a strong advocate of education and advises youth to participate in all forms of training available to them. Over the years, he has given a number of courses in the mineral exploration domain, financially supported by the CHRD (Cree Human Resources Development). In the Spring of 2013, EnviroCree provided 9 Crees of Mistissini and Oujé-Bougoumou with the opportunity to participate in the Building Environmental Aboriginal Human Resources (BEAHR) Training Program, prepared by Eco-Canada.

Founder of the Mistissini Geological Resources Centre, Mr. MacLeod has worked closely with native communities as a consultant on projects and training in mining exploration. He also serves on the Board of Directors of Cree Mineral Exploration Board, and Canadian Aboriginal Minerals Association.

Motion: Be it resolved that the board approve the above recommendations proposed by the Awards Committee for the 2014 annual awards.

Windigo Catering Limited Partnership is the winner of this year’s Skookum Jim Awardfor Aboriginal achievement in the mineral industry. Windigo Catering is receiving the award for its achievement as a Canadian Aboriginal-run business and its service to the Canadian mining industry. Located in northwestern Ontario, the company is solely owned by Windigo First Nations and boasts an 83% First Nations employment rate. 

Windigo specializes in providing catering services to industry, including remote camps, and is currently providing camp management, catering, housekeeping, laundry, and light maintenance services to Goldcorp’s Musselwhite Mine at their remote fly-in camp on Opapimiskan Lake.

For creating an organization funded by mining revenue with the sole purpose of providing lasting benefits for communities surrounding Lundin Group companies operations.

In the communities surrounding the mine, the Foundation provided technical and financial support a local agricultural cooperative, to establish organic farm management practices and achieve organic certification. As a result, the cooperative's 180 producers, whose products include coffee, cocoa, yuca and plantain, now export to Europe, North America and other South American countries.

These are just two examples of how the foundation is improving the lives of people near the Lundin Group of companies' operations. Given the quantities of metals and minerals required to meet future generations' needs, coupled with the complexities of securing and maintaining a social licence to operate, the Lundin Foundation provides a model for the industry on how mining can foster a more sustainable future.

For state-of-the-art caribou protection and social initiatives at the Back River gold project in the Kitikmeot region of southwest Nunavut.

The caribou protection plan is just one of several initiatives designed to support sustainability in the region, including: investigating a hybrid energy system to offset diesel power generation with wind energy; funding the restoration of the creek leading into Bernard Harbour to create an unobstructed path for char to travel to spawning grounds and back out to the ocean; establishing a wealth creation fund with a $4 million initial investment to create long-term employment opportunities outside of the mining industry in Kitikmeot communities; donating 80 Leitz microscopes to regional schools to promote STEM learning; and a food security program that was created when the Covid-19 pandemic limited personnel from working on site.

As a result of these and other efforts, Sabina received its social license including a Nunvut Impact Review Board Project Certificate in 2017 and a Nunavut Water Board License in 2018. The company has also entered into a renewable 20-year benefit and land tenure agreement with the Kitikmeot Inuit Association (KIA) representing more than 6000 Inuit. “In Sabina, we have found a partner that shares our vision of sustainability,” according to KIA President Stanley Anablak.

For exemplary resettlement and community development work with the village of Fadougou at the Fekola gold mine in Mali.

Another critical component was a grievance mechanism that allowed people affected by the resettlement to formally express their concerns and complaints. If complainants disagreed with the proposed resolution, they could appeal to a Community Resettlement Committee composed of village members, women, youth, in-migrants and local authorities.

The Fekola Mine reached commercial production in 2017 and the village construction began later that year. The first residents moved to New Fadougou in April 2019, and since then 912 households representing 3,241 people have completed the move. B2Gold continues to invest in the village of New Fadougou to ensure their long-term success. In 2018, a three-year Community Development Plan (CDP) was developed with surrounding communities, setting mid-term and long-term objectives for their own development. Current projects include improved access to potable water infrastructure, construction of primary and secondary schools, equipment and capacity building on advanced agricultural techniques.

B2Gold believes that it has a responsibility to share benefits and leave a positive legacy with communities that will last beyond the life of its mines and seeks to build a trust-based relationship with local stakeholders. The resettlement and development of the village of Fadougou by its Fekola Gold Mine demonstrates this commitment to responsible mining and to international best practice in community relations and development.

For developing a strong Inuit workforce and supporting the Kivalliq region of Nunavut with training, education and community-led projects that benefit everyone.

For employing the latest technologies to reduce exploration’s environmental footprint and for fostering economic and social development in neighbouring communities through a variety of initiatives.

NexGen Energy has expanded its pursuit of excellence into the realm of environmental and social responsibility as its Arrow uranium deposit advances towards development and production. On the environmental front, the company is overhauling dated practices and implementing new technology to minimize its footprint. 

Directional drilling is testing several targets from a single location, significantly reducing the land disturbed by conventional drilling. Extensive studies are characterizing the existing environment to inform future planning, disturbed areas are being re-vegetated, and plans are underway to install a solar energy pilot project and construct energy efficient buildings. 

NexGen is also leading the way in community engagement in northern Saskatchewan by introducing several initiatives designed to improve economic development, health and community well-being through sports and recreation.

For exceptional community relations, commitment to sustainable development, and support for employees and local businesses at its two producing gold mines in Ghana.

Toronto-based Golden Star is committed to minimizing its environmental footprint at its Wassa and Prestea mines on the Ashanti gold belt in Ghana. Since 1999, the company has installed more than 200 clean water supply systems to serve local communities, doubling the proportion of households with access to clean, pipe-borne water.

Two of its open pits were integrated into the local hydrology to act like natural lakes that fill and drain after rainfall. The lakes are stocked with fish the community can raise and harvest long after mine closure.

The Golden Star Development Foundation launched in 2006 donates US$1 for every ounce of gold produced and 0.1% of pre-tax profits to fund development projects selected by the community. The 2,500-strong workforce is 99% Ghanaian, and women are represented strongly on both its Board of Directors and management team. The company’s breast cancer awareness program, now in its fourth year, has screened more than 10,000 women and girls in the country. 

For being a leader in community relations and responsible mining practices.

The Sabodala Gold Mine is the first and only gold industrial mine in Senegal, West Africa. Teranga Gold Corporation (Teranga) has operated the mine since 2009 and is the recipient of the 2017 Environmental & Corporate Social Responsibility Award for being a leader in community relations and responsible mining practices.

Teranga employs more than 1,000 people from Senegal, and delivers more than 40 training programs to develop employee skills, literacy and numeracy. Women comprise 9% of the workforce at the mine, and are represented across all departments. The company launched initiatives aimed at the growth of small businesses and service providers to feed its local supply chain, and proactively sought partnerships with government, international and local NGOs, as well as other organizations interested in supporting the long-term, socio-economic development of the region.

Teranga is working closely with the Government of Senegal as it introduces its Emerging Senegal Plan, which includes implementing the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative.

For their stakeholder initiatives, community engagement, and focus on sustainable practices and long-term benefits at their Karawoe mine in Botswana.

Lucara Diamond Corp., which recently discovered the second largest diamond ever on record, is the recipient of this year’s Environmental & Social Responsibility Award for their stakeholder initiatives, community engagement, and focus on sustainable practices and long-term benefits at their Karawoe mine in Botswana.

The diamond producer embarked upon an intensive stakeholder mapping and engagement exercise to ensure community members had a voice in each phase of asset development, including its name which resulted from a competition at a local school. The workforce at Karowe is comprised of 96 per cent Botswana nationals. Lucara Diamond aims to continue building strong ties with local communities and government authorities to strengthen and expand its innovative partnerships for a positive and lasting legacy.

From the perspective of the Karowe community, Lucara Diamond’s multi-faceted, nuanced approach to responsible mining has made a lasting contribution to improving quality of life, creating economic opportunities and contributing to sustainable development.

For its accomplishments and commitment to social initiatives in Northern Ontario.

Noront Resources Ltd. is the recipient of this year’s Environmental and Social Responsibility Award. The company is receiving the award for its accomplishments and commitment to social initiatives in Northern Ontario. The company prides itself on having an open and honest dialogue with all stakeholders, especially the First Nations that surround the company’s Eagle’s Nest Project in the James Bay lowlands of northern Ontario.

Over the years, Noront has expanded its community engagement program to include education, skills training, youth programming and economic development in the area. The company has built a partnership with Matawa’s Kiikenomaga Kikenjigewen Employment and Training Services (KKETS) and Confederation College in Thunder Bay to create the Ring of Fire Aboriginal Training Alliance (ROFATA).

The company supports a number of educational programs aimed at overcoming barriers to higher education among Aboriginal communities, including Noront Mikawaa Scholarship Program, Schulich School of Business, Global Mining Management MBA Program, Capstone Project and Webequie First Nation’s Grade 11 Mining Curriculum Program.

Noront also invests in community development by sponsoring programs like Mining Matters, an organization that educates students about Canada’s geology and mineral resources, and DAREarts, a movie-making youth camp that helps students better understand mining and a donations and sponsorship program.

The company has worked hard to build initiatives it believes will provide long-term benefits to its shareholders and the communities in the region where they operate.

For its outstanding accomplishments and commitment to sustainability, environmental and social initiatives.

Teck is Canada's largest diversified mining company, with assets in Canada, the USA, Chile and Peru. The company has learned over its 100-year history that responsible mining and mineral development are fundamental to long-term success. Teck’s approach to business is guided by its pursuit of sustainability.

In 2011, Teck developed a comprehensive sustainability strategy, focusing on long and short term goals that will achieve the company’s vision for sustainability. The sustainability strategy supports six key areas that represent the biggest challenges and opportunities for the mining sector: community, our people, water, biodiversity, energy, and materials stewardship.

Teck is committed to investing in environmental and social initiatives with communities and organizations that align with the company’s business objectives and sustainability efforts both locally and globally. Dedicated to building value through partnerships, Teck aims to address local and global sustainability issues.

Teck’s sustainability, environmental and social initiative achievements to date include:

• implementing over 50 energy efficiency projects reducing over 200 terajoules in operations; contributing over $23 million to more than 1,000 charitable organizations;
• investing $19 million to purchase 7,150 hectares in British Columbia’s Elk Valley and Flathead River Valley; 
• donating $2 million to the Nature Conservatory of Canada to help conserve Lot 48 on Columbia Lake in southeastern British Columbia, investing $12.5 million to support the expansion of the Vancouver Aquarium; 
• National Partner of the Canada Games, beginning with the 2013 Games in Sherbrooke;
• partnering with the Canadian Olympic Committee to develop the Teck Coaching Series;
• investing $1 million to support the completion of the Trans Canada Trail; 
• supporting the Royal BC Museum as the Lead Partner in Biodiversity; sponsoring the Earth Rangers School Outreach Program; 
• donating $7.5 million to create the Norman B. Keevil Institute of Mining Engineering at UBC and $5 million towards the new UBC Earth Sciences building; 
• named to the 2013 Dow Jones Sustainability World Index, four years running; 
• top ranked Canadian company and top ranked mining company worldwide on Corporate Knights’ 2013 Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations; 
• recognized as one of Sustainalytics’ Top 50 Socially Responsible Corporations in Canada in 2013.

For its outstanding accomplishments in establishing good community relations to support its exploration and mining operations.

Cameco Corporation is the recipient of this year’s Environmental and Social Responsibility Award. Cameco is receiving the award for its outstanding accomplishments in establishing good community relations to support its exploration and mining operations. Cameco’s five-pillar Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) model is designed to ensure local community support and proactive environmental stewardship, and has led to recognition of Cameco as an industry leader in CSR by Aboriginal associations and industry rankings.

For showing leadership and a willingness to take risks in the acquisition and development of the Island Gold mine in Northern Ontario.

By taking a calculated risk, McCluskey realized his 20-year dream of building a leading intermediate gold producer. Five years after the transaction, Island Gold is valued at nearly three times its acquisition price and the operation continues to grow through a self-financed expansion that will transform Island Gold into one of the largest and most profitable gold mines in Canada. Once unappreciated and misunderstood, the mine and its expansion are helping support and sustain local communities in Northern Ontario. 

The Island Gold acquisition and development is the latest in a string of strategically driven acquisitions for Alamos, from the Mulatos mine in Mexico in 2003 to the Young-Davidson operation in northern Ontario in 2015. Island Gold may well turn out to be the company's best acquisition reflecting McCluskey’s vision, strategy and perseverance.

For financing and developing Fruta del Norte, one of the first large scale mining projects in Ecuador.

The next challenge was to raise the $1 billion required to construct an underground mine in a jurisdiction that had little experience with large-scale mine projects. Lundin used a creative combination of debt, streaming and equity financing to achieve this goal, including a $250 million equity investment by Australia’s Newcrest Mining. 

The company was successful in fundraising partly because of an ability to mitigate environmental and social impacts and win community support for the project in an impoverished region of southeast Ecuador.

Fruta del Note reached commercial production in February 2020 and is expected to produce at least 4.7 million ounces of gold over a 14 year mine life.

For building and financing several international mining companies, taking them from exploration and discovery to development and operations. 

True Gold Mining is just one example of this, putting the Karma gold mine in Burkina Faso into production. With traditional bank financing unavailable for gold projects in West Africa, Mark tapped into existing corporate relationships and private equity to raise C$33.5 million at a low point in the mining cycle. He and his team were later able to convince Franco-Nevada and Sandstorm to provide a syndicated gold loan and streaming package worth C$120 million, the first partnership of its kind for a single asset developer. Endeavour Mining purchased True Gold for C$240 million in 2016. 

Pure Gold Mining is another example. Securing support from large corporates and mining titans, the PureGold Mine in Red Lake Ontario is scheduled to complete its first gold pour in December 2020, becoming Canada’s newest high-grade gold mine.

Mark has guided his companies by an ethos developed at the outset of his career: The Science of Discovery. Every company and project he worked on was science-driven, identified undervalued assets, defined team culture, while simultaneously leveraging existing and new financing avenues to advance projects to commercial status.

Mark has shown an intrinsic knack for bringing together and motivating top-tier talent, allowing him to build teams bound for success. Creativity and resourcefulness are some of the core traits he seeks in every team member, and he attributes his success to those he has worked with over the past 20 years. 

Today, Mark remains actively involved with his Oxygen portfolio companies and continues to be committed to a strong mining industry that balances responsible environmental stewardship, community benefits and sound financial returns. 

For developing the Touquoy open pit mine and consolidating other gold deposits near Moose River in Nova Scotia after the gold potential of the area had been unrecognized for decades.

Until the Touqouy/Moose River Exploration and Development Team recognized the potential of the disseminated mineralization surrounding the high-grade quartz veins, the exploration industry had generally avoided the Meguma Terrane. 

The success of Atlantic Gold, through the efforts of Bruce Hudgins, John Wightman, Ronald Hawkes, Wally Bucknell and Steven Dean, has revitalized gold exploration in the area. The increased interest has also rekindled exploration in other parts of the province resulting in discoveries of epithermal gold mineralization in previously unrecognized areas. 

The Touquoy mine reached commercial production in March 2018. In July 2019, St Barbara Limited purchased Atlantic Gold for $722 million. The Australian gold miner expects to produce 95,000-105,000 ounces of gold in fiscal 2020, at a cost of less than US$955 per ounce.

For demonstrating leadership in transforming a grassroots exploration property into a vertically integrated lithium operation in Quebec that will provide a new source of supply for the surging lithium battery market.

Nemaska is well underway on construction of a vertically integrated lithium operation, having raised $1.1 billion through a combination of a bond offering ($455 million) a streaming agreement ($195 million) and a $454 million share issue partly taken up by the Quebec government. 

The Whabouchi property is located in northwestern Quebec, about 300 km north of Chibougamau near the Cree community of Namascau. The mine is expected to produce 213,000 tonnes of 6.25% Li2O concentrate annually that will be shipped to and processed at an electrochemical plant in Shawinigan to produce high-purity lithium hydroxide and lithium carbonate. 

The Whabouchi mine is expected to begin production in the second half of 2019, and the Shawinigan plant will come online a year later. Nemaska has signed an agreement with the Cree covering training, employment and revenue sharing and Nemascau has a significant equity stake in the junior. 

Based on a 2018 feasibility study, Whabouchi has an after-tax NPV of $2.2 billion and an IRR of 56.0%. Reserves of 37 million tonnes grading 1.4% Li2O will support a mine life of 33 years.

For demonstrating leadership in the financing and management of one of Canada’s largest undeveloped gold projects.

In June 2017 Sumitomo Metal Mining purchased a 30% interest in the Côté Gold project in northeastern Ontario from IAMGOLD for US$195 million. The investment and subsequent 70-30 joint venture agreement allowed IAMGOLD to proceed with the development of a major gold project.

Côté Gold is the first new gold mine developed in northern Ontario in over five years and is expected to produce an average of 320,000 ounces of gold per year over a 17-year life span when it enters production in 2021. The project offers an estimated 19 years of employment through construction, operation and closure.

With proven and probable reserves of 5.9 million ounces, the project has an after-tax net asset value of US$703 million, an internal rate of return of 14% and a payback period of 4.5 years. The mine will become one of IAMGOLD's most productive assets and boost Sumitomo’s annual gold output to nearly 18 tonnes from 15 tonnes.

Gahcho Kué Diamond Mine in Canada’s Northwest Territories (NWT) officially opened in September 2016. It is the world’s largest new diamond mine in 13 years and is expected to produce approximately 54 million carats of rough diamonds during its initial 12-year lifecycle. This joint venture between the De Beers Group of Companies (De Beers) and Mountain Province Diamonds (Mountain Province) is the 2017 Viola R. MacMillan Award recipient.

Canada is the world’s third largest diamond producer, and Gahcho Kué is the sixth commercial diamond mine in the country. It will account for 3% of the world's changing diamond market. Gahcho Kué is De Beers largest ever mine outside of southern Africa and is Mountain Province Diamonds’ first ever mine.

The mine employs 530 full-time positions. During its construction between 2006 and 2015, the mine injected $440 million to the NWT economy, and a further $350 million elsewhere in Canada. At October 2016, the workforce at Gahcho Kué was already comprised of 46% NWT-resident employees, 20% self-identified Indigenous employees, and 14% female employees.

For developing new and innovative business strategies.

Silver Wheaton Corp. is the recipient of this year’s Viola R. MacMillan Award for developing new and innovative business strategies. Their business strategy portrays characteristics of a metal producer, a royalty owner, and has features of a corporate finance group. This structure allows Silver Wheaton direct ownership of metal in the ground, receipt of that metal upon production, and the ability to sell it to generate cash flow, all the while minimizing corporate overhead costs and maintaining a streamlined management structure. Similar companies have since started to follow this example.

Since 2004, Silver Wheaton has built a strong brand and set an example of how to make their business strategy one of the preferred methods for the junior sector to finance a mine. Creating a metal production stream has provided funds to under-capitalized companies while minimizing shareholder dilution, an important factor in times when share price is depressed due to market conditions.

Silver Wheaton is now positioned as the largest precious metal streaming company in the world.

For leading Stornoway’s team in the continuing development of the company’s Renard Project located in the James Bay region of Québec.

Matt Manson, President and Chief Executive Officer of Stornoway Diamond Corporation, is the recipient of this year’s Viola R. MacMillan Award for company or mine development. He is receiving the award for leading Stornoway’s team in the continuing development of the company’s Renard Project located in the James Bay region of Québec. The team completed its $946 million project financing package this past July, more than 13 years after the project’s initial discovery.

In the early 2000s, Matt, then President and CEO of Contact Diamond Corporation, was looking for growth opportunity and concluded that Ashton Mining of Canada’s 50 per cent interest in the Renard Property was Canada’s best undeveloped diamond asset at the time. He knew that Contact Diamond would not be able to acquire Ashton Mining alone, and approached Stornoway Diamond Corporation to propose a merger, which was completed in September 2006. In April 2011, Stornoway acquired the remaining 50 per cent of the Renard Property from Diaquem, Soquem, and Investissement Quebec.

Matt took the Renard Project through its various phases of development, modifying and adjusting plans to ensure development. Over this period, he has also built up strong relationships with the Québec Government and the Cree Nation and has made them active partners with Stornoway. Most impressively he has put in place the financing necessary to construct the Renard Mine, despite extremely difficult markets.

For demonstrating leadership and management in the successful development of the Minto and Cozamin copper mines and in its acquisition of Pinto Valley Copper Mine, transforming it into an intermediate copper producer.

Capstone Resources Corp., a Canadian base metals mining company, headquartered in Vancouver, purchased BHP Billiton’s Pinto Valley copper mining operation in Arizona, USA, in April 2013.

The Pinto Valley mine is the company’s third copper producing mine. Capstone Resources Corp. currently operates Minto Mine, an open pit copper-gold-silver mine in the Yukon, and Cozamin Mine, a copper-silver-zinc-lead underground mine in Zacatecas, Mexico. The annual production of both mines is approximately 85 million pounds of copper.

Located in the Globe-Miami mining district in Arizona, the Pinto Valley site is expected to produce 130 – 150 million pounds of copper in concentrate and approximately 10 million pounds of copper cathode annually, and by-product molybdenum and silver. The site’s estimated cash cost, for the first five years of production, is approximately $1.80 per pound (net of by-product credits).

The Pinto Valley acquisition transformed Capstone Resources Corp. from a mid-tier to an intermediate copper producer. The company’s annual copper production is projected to increase by more than 160%, from 85 M lbs Cu to 235 M lbs Cu, with the new Arizona mine.

The financing structure and purchase price of Pinto Valley allows Capstone Resources Corp. to maintain financial flexibility and retain $135 million cash providing them the necessary financial resources to continue funding development projects and avoid shareholder dilution.

The purchase of Pinto Valley allows Capstone Resources Corp. to further diversify its assets into Arizona, USA, one of the world’s most favourable mining jurisdictions.

For demonstrating leadership in management and excellence in best practices in bringing the New Afton mine to production.

New Gold Inc. is the recipient of this year’s Viola R. MacMillan Award for company or mine development. New Gold is receiving the award for demonstrating leadership in management and excellence in best practices in bringing the New Afton mine to production. 

The New Afton copper-gold mine, located in Kamloops, British Columbia, is a large underground copper-gold deposit which is expected to produce, on average, 85,000 ounces of gold and 75 million pounds of copper per year over a 12-year mine life. 

The New Afton Participation Agreement with local First Nations is considered a best practice in Canada.