Joe Bardswich

What was the most fulfilling project you ever worked on, and why?

I have been one of the key persons in the start-up of two gold mines in Arizona and one in Montana. Playing a major role in bringing a property to production and creating wealth and jobs is very fulfilling. However, the most fulfilling project was working at a small eluvial gold project in Zimbabwe in 1998/1999. Providing good paying jobs (by Zimbabwe standards at least) was appreciated by young men struggling to feed their families, however, most fulfilling was being in a position to show respect for them and their efforts and to impart knowledge of health & safety practices, ethics, equipment operation & maintenance, metal recovery, reclamation, fabrication, rudimentary geology, surveying etc. The reward was seeing how proud they were of their accomplishments and how grateful they were for any knowledge imparted to them.

What has been the most memorable experience of your career?

I have great memories of many different experiences in different facets of the industry. The highest adrenaline experience was witnessing the murder on the mezzanine level of the Royal York at the 1987 PDAC convention and following the murderer down the escalator, out onto Front Street and then up York Street to King Street where the Metro Police "finally" arrived to make the arrest.