Life Member Gallery

Meet our Life Members

Life membership is a special honour awarded to PDAC members who maintain 25 years of continuous membership and who have reached 65 years of age. Life members do not pay annual membership fees. 

Our 500 Life Members are some of the most dedicated and longstanding contributors to PDAC. With a range of 25-78 years of membership, the breadth of their experience has shaped our industry and we are excited to share some of their stories with you.

Our Life Member Gallery spotlights some heartwarming and hilarious adventures from a time long ago. Click the pictures below to read stories our Life Members have shared.

If you are a Life Member and would like to have an entry in the gallery, contact Kulpreet Thukral. Scroll down to view the full list of PDAC Life Members.

Showing 1-69 of 69 results

Bob Bishop

Member since 1986

How did you get your start in the mineral industry?

The simple answer is that in 1982 I bought a stock in Bull Run Gold Mines that went up about 1,000% over the next 90 days. Subsequent to that and while working for Howard Ruff of The Ruff Times, I wrote a piece on penny mining stocks and was intrigued by the history, the stories, and the characters surrounding the business. With elevated gold prices and heap leaching and other technological advances suddenly making the industry more accessible to junior companies, gold mining entered a strong growth phase. At the same time, there were few objective sources of information available to investors. Seeking to fill this gap, I decided to work my way out of a job and into a newsletter: Penny Mining Stock Report from 1983-85, Gold Mining Stock Report from 1985-2007. Looking back on it, I'm most grateful to have been involved at a time--the 90s--when a series of back-to-back world-class discoveries were made, and at a time when speculators were rewarded for having a longer term perspective on the market. Speculators got paid for being patient with stocks such as Arequipa Resources, Dia Met, Aber Resources, and Diamond Fields, where Robert Friedland played the world's two largest nickel producers against one another. It was an unusual concentration of world-class discoveries and a good time to be in the mining newsletter business.

What has been the most memorable experience of your career?

Being early on the Northwest Territories diamond story was the most memorable and also the most important, for the simple reason that I was close to being out of business when Dia Met announced its first discovery. The stock market crash of 1987 laid the groundwork for several lean years in the resource sector, especially on the speculative end of it, and I was literally wondering what line of work I might go into. I've likened trying to sell my newsletter at the time to trying to sell cancer door-to-door. Being early and right on the diamond story turned my business around, and also paved the way to being early on Diamond Fields Resources. There was much that was memorable about Diamond Fields, not least because of the money I and my subscribers made, but had it not been for the NWT story, I wouldn't have been in business by the time Diamond Fields announced its Voisey's Bay discovery. I had many memorable experiences over almost 25 years, but it was the NWT story that was most meaningful--and thus most memorable.

Donald Burton

Member since 1988

How did you get your start in the industry?

My father (Frederick R. Burton) was a geologist. He earned his PhD from McGill in 1933 and throughout my youth I wasn’t really aware of his extensive professional career. But I grew up knowing some of his closest colleagues when they visited our house. They were leaders in their field – Bill James (Senior), Marsh Cooper, Bill Buffam. Only later did I come to understand that this was the consulting firm of James, Buffam and Cooper. I remember my parents playing cards with “Doc” Oaks who was a pioneer in bush flying, opening the north up to prospectors. So I came by geology and I suppose my love of bush flying honestly, but at 18 my plan was to be a wildlife biologist...

Then I got a summer job packing rocks for a geologist in Rouyn Noranda. The wildlife biologist in me took note that there I was in the bush meeting bears - so perhaps geology could work. My father had died by then so he never knew that I became a geologist. For the next 50 years I would enjoy all that exploration geology could offer from North America to Africa. My friends would want to go back packing on a holiday and I was doing it for a living! Gravity surveys on the Beaufort Sea, prospecting the mountains in the Yukon, fly camping along the Liard River. I was hooked. Why exploration geology? It was the science, the travel to remote areas, the bush flying and the people.

What has been the most memorable experience of your career?

Aside from the professional aspects of being an exploration geologist, my most memorable experiences have been the opportunities to undertake community projects over the past 25 years in Africa through my company and with colleagues particularly in Niger, Burkina Faso, Mali and Cote d'Ivoire. Our sincere belief was that we were guests in these in these countries and it was incumbent upon us to assist in the areas of health, education and community needs. The contrast between the blessings in my life and the hardships people faced in rural West Africa were such that one either had to turn a blind eye or you did something about it.

We developed a partnership with local Rotary Clubs in Nova Scotia looking to participate in sustainable projects in Africa with accountability. We built a rural health clinic that serviced a population of 6,000 and expanded the local village school from a capacity of 50 students with no girls attending, to over 400 students with half of them being girls. My most gratifying moment was taking representatives from those clubs to visit those two social projects in Niger when they were completed. The people welcomed them and the Rotarians themselves experienced the sincere gratitude of the communities.

I remember the strength of the women who carried such a disproportionate load of the daily work and of children greeting me in song, seemingly oblivious to the hardships around them. These were experiences that would never have happened had I not chosen geology.

Paul Chamois

Member since 1979

How did you get your start in the mineral industry?

I actually stumbled into the mineral industry and, more specifically, exploration geology. I knew I didn't want a desk job and I had always enjoyed the outdoors (hunting and fishing with my Dad). Somehow, by the time Grade 13 rolled around, I figured being a mining engineer would be a good career choice. I wasn't the strongest math student however and only took two math courses in Grade 13 (in those days you could take three math courses in Grade 13, including calculus). When I applied to universities for engineering, I was told I would have to do a qualifying year (to get my math requisites). I didn't want to do that and my guidance counsellor suggested I take geology instead. I chose Carleton University for an undergraduate degree and fell in love with it. I had great professors like John Moore, George Skippen, Ken North and others. I followed that up with an Applied M.Sc. in Mineral Exploration at McGill. I worked in the bush during the summers and really enjoyed that. Ironically at Carleton, science majors had to take the same introductory calculus course as the engineering students and I passed with decent grades, although I really had to work at it.

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

After working for major mining companies (Selco, BP-Selco, Phelps Dodge Canada) for most of my career, I ended up working as a contract geologist for a couple of years (2006-2008). One assignment I had was drilling the Brabant massive sulphide deposit in northern Saskatchewan for Manicouagan Minerals. While I was District Geologist for Phelps Dodge, we had optioned the property but had cancelled the option on it when Phelps Dodge's exploration strategy changed. I knew the deposit and jumped at the chance of working on it again. I co-authored a technical report on the property during the summer of 2006 then handled the drilling from November 2006 to March 2008. We only had one drill turning and had hired a local guy, Peter McKenzie, to split the core. The geology was really interesting with all sorts of high-strain textures. I couldn't wait to rip the tops off the boxes in the morning to see what the night shift had drilled. You could tell by lifting the boxes if you were in the mineralization because of the weight. It was great to see the deposit grow or change shape with every hole that we drilled.

Richard Conroy

Member since 1990

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

The discovery of a new district scale gold trend in the Longford – Down Massif in Ireland was the most fulfilling project that I ever worked on. I had previously been involved in the discovery of the Galmoy zinc orebodies in the 1980’s which led to the revival of the Irish base metal mining industry and to the recognition of Ireland as an international zinc province. Exciting though the discovery at Galmoy was, there were already precedents in Ireland in relation to base metals, such as the discoveries at Tynagh, and the world class zinc deposit at Navan. The discovery of the Longford – Down gold trend was of far greater import, and much more fulfilling, as it indicated that Ireland has significant potential for gold as well as for base metals. As a child, I had admired the magnificent Bronze Age gold ornaments in the National Museum of Ireland. These gold ornaments are worth seeing. They are some of the most superb Bronze Age gold ornaments in Europe. Curiously, however, despite the presence and uniqueness of these gold ornaments, and their public display, Ireland has not hitherto been regarded, in mining industry circles, as having the potential to host significant gold deposits. The discovery of a new, district scale gold trend, in the Longford-Down Massif strongly suggests that Ireland has the potential to host significant gold discoveries, as well as having the potential for world- class base metal discoveries.

What advice would you give to someone who is considering a career in the mineral industry?

The mineral industry is challenging and unique. You need to have the interest, the energy, and also the ability to take on board information from a variety of sources, and to be prepared always to learn from colleagues and peers. The industry is an extraordinary amalgam of geology, finance, mining technology and many other factors. It is essential, if you wish to enjoy the industry and to make a satisfying and successful contribution to it, and that you are willing and able to look at the broader picture and always be open to considering things from a fresh angle or viewpoint. Thus, for example, if you are a geologist one must take into consideration more than the geology and be prepared to take into account financial, social, environmental and political factors. In other words, it is essential to have a broader vision than your immediate speciality. Equally if you are coming from a financial or corporate background it is essential to have an appreciation of geology, of mining technology, of the overall industry and of the local environment, or country, in which you are operating. The mineral industry has some of the most varied, interesting and able individuals you could meet. If you have what it takes it can be one of the most exciting and satisfying industries in which you could ever hope to work.

David Constable

Member since 1976

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

My mining career had three distinct phases; first as a field exploration geologist in North America for 25 years, then a corporate phase for 15 years creating and financing junior resource companies, and finally a decade serving as an ICD Certified Director and Board Chairman for North American and International resource companies. The highlight of my career was joining FNX Mining in 2001 and growing FNX into a profitable producer, increasing its value from $25 million to $3.6 billion over a decade. FNX became the best TSX market performer during that time. I feel that the arc of my career was a natural evolution from field to management to the Boardroom. In the mining industry one needs to remain keenly aware of new ideas, trends and opportunities. One must look ahead to the changing future and adapt. We used to have a saying in exploration, "learn and adapt!"

What has been the most memorable experience of your career?

I joined the Board of a junior explorer during a downturn in the industry. The Company was looking for Platinum Group elements in Northern Ontario and struggling to survive. The Board and Management ran a strategy session and decided to look for good gold projects while the gold price was low. We quickly found an ideal advanced gold project in Argentina, signed a confidentiality agreement and we successfully bid for it against a dozen other companies. A few months later after we had acquired all the local and regional data from the original owner, we noticed an area with very high silver and lead values. We sent a team to acquire the target, only to be told that one of the unsuccessful bidders had just acquired it. Shortly after, the unsuccessful bidder announced a massive new silver discovery on that property. We eventually sued them for breach of the original Confidentiality Agreement. The question was, "Could you enforce a CA across multiple jurisdictions?" Prior to the trial, we obtained a great deal of data and it showed that the unsuccessful bidder used confidential information. At trial in BC, we successfully proved malfeasance and we were given the Discovery Property containing over two billion ounces of silver. This decision was upheld upon appeal. The junior explorer sold the assets in a bidding process for $780 million within a year of acquisition.

Ruth Debicki

Member since 1982

How did you get your start in the mineral industry?

I always wanted to be a geologist...and told my grade 8 science teacher of my aspirations. He said "don't be silly...girls can't do that." His was the prevailing attitude in 1962. I was fortunate to earn a summer position in the Geology Department at McMaster University after grade 12, in the University's first offering of what would now be called a "STEM Mentorship Program." There, I learned about the breadth of opportunities in geoscience, so ultimately pursued a B.Sc., and later an M.Sc. in geology. I was also fortunate to be one of the first two female field assistants hired onto a summer field crew by what is now the Ontario Geological Survey (OGS) in 1970. This was a time when the mineral sector really wasn't hiring women, and on-campus recruiters would say openly "don't bother filling out the form; we don't hire girls." My work with the OGS was the start of a very diverse, and fulfilling career.

What has been the most memorable experience of your career?

There were so many memorable experiences that I can't pick just one. Some of them include having dinner and discussions with J. Tuzo Wilson when he was just starting to promote his ideas of plate tectonics; being a tour guide for the Apollo 17 astronauts in Sudbury before their trip to the moon; attending a "clean-up" at a large placer mining operation in the Klondike; being a speaker at the PDAC in the Concert Hall at the Royal York; teaching Prince Charles how to play a rock xylophone I'd made; flying over Newfoundland's Western Brook Pond and the Bay of Islands Ophiolite Complex in a helicopter; visiting the James Bay coast (twice - in January); digging for dinosaurs with the staff of the Royal Tyrell Museum in Drumheller; attending the grand opening of the Diamond Bourse of Canada; working with PDAC on Mining Matters and S-IMEW; sharing an Ontario Prospector's Association "Prospector of the Year" award for service to the industry...and the list could go on!

Peter Dimmell

Member since 1975

What has been the most memorable experience of your career?

The Point Leamington massive sulphide deposit was discovered by Noranda in 1971. I was the project geo on the property and was involved with the discovery from day 1 as I accompanied Allan Keats to large massive sulphide (MS) boulders that he had discovered on a small brook while stream sediment sampling. During the visit I noted pillowed mafic volcanics (MV) and quartz feldspar porphyry (QFP) both in float and outcrop and fragments of QFP in the massive sulphide boulders. I had been tasked the previous winter to examine a 1967 Phelps Dodge airborne electromagnetic (EM) survey and plot the anomalies on air photos so I knew that there was a strong EM conductor approximately 1/4 mile / 400 m away from the MS boulders. The same day that I visited the area with Al we laid out a grid for ground geophysics and after some iterations we drilled the anomaly about a month later hitting 241 feet (70 m) of massive sulphides in the first drill hole which assayed 1% Cu. I was on the drill for the first 80 or so drill holes. The deposit is still not a mine 50+ years later but it was a "good discovery" and it is still being evaluated.

What advice would you give to someone who is considering a career in the mineral industry?

Go for it - it, like most industries it has its ups and downs, driven by world metal prices and the availability of funding for exploration, which is the route to discovery, but it can be very rewarding and once you get some experience every day is different - there is no routine in exploration and the next big discovery is waiting to be found. Mineral exploration is a "treasure hunt" where clues from geochemistry, geophysics and geology guide you to a mineral deposit - it isn't easy and it takes perseverance but the discovery of a deposit is worthwhile for you and ultimately the province and country where you live.

Walt Humphries

Member since 1977

How did you get your start in the mineral industry?

Back in my high school days, when considering a career, I made a list of what I liked, including the earth sciences, working in the great outdoors, and doing something mentally and physically challenging. I wanted something that allowed freedom to pursue my many other interests.

I decided to go to the Haileybury School of Mines. While there, I went to my first PDAC in 1968. In the summers I worked in the bush. When I graduated, I won the PDAC Award for the highest marks in geology and mineralogy.

I worked for several companies, learned a lot about mineral exploration, and I 1974, opened my own contract and consulting business, based in Yellowknife and working primarily in the NWT and Nunavut. I had the time, as an independent prospector, to stake and develop my own properties and option them to companies. I could balance working in the field, plus painting, writing and reading.

Over the years, I received the MAX Distinguished Service Award from the Government of the Northwest Territories and NWT and Nunavut Chamber of mines, as well as an honorary membership from the NWT and NU Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists. I’m a well-known NWT artist and write a weekly newspaper column, Tales from the Dump for Northern News Services. I teach prospecting courses across the north and online and keep working towards opening a museum with the Yellowknife Historical Society.

All of this was sparked by an interest in mineral exploration and the PDAC.

What advice would you give to someone who is considering a career in the mineral industry?

My advice to you is to find a job and career that you truly enjoy. One that allows you time to explore and develop your other interests as well. It is important to balance your life. Don’t limit yourself. Be curious and learn as much as you can about everything you can.

It takes 4 years at school to get a degree in geology or engineering. It also takes you a decade or more of working in the field to learn how to prospect or become good at mineral exploration. Unfortunately, schools or universities don’t teach many of the things you need to know in the practical sense. I believe prospecting and mineral exploration should be taught in schools and become practical sciences on their own. They are also art forms.

Try to view every job as a learning experience. Pass on to others what you have learned and listen to what others have learned. You never know when a random bit of knowledge will come in handy. Keep an open mind. Learn about the history of mining and geology, the environment and ecology of the areas where you work. They all play a part in finding things.

Also, I believe one should give back as much as one takes. This applies to society, civilization, and the environment. Development and ecology should go hand in hand. We live on an amazing planet; it’s up to us to protect and preserve it. Most of all, enjoy what you do.

Wayne Lockhart

Member since 1963

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

NB government was phasing out coal mining in Minto, NB in the late 1960s. World oil prices were $2.00/barrel. One ton of Minto coal, with heat content of four barrels of oil, was worth $8.00, equaled less than production costs. Federal government subsidizing was stopping. Eventually, OPEC countries increased oil prices to $8 per barrel. Minto coal then worth $32/ton.

I was asked, December 1974, to meet representatives of NB and Federal governments and NB Power. A coal-fired 100 MW electrical generating plant would be built if I could discover coal to supply its 30-year plant life. Exploration to commence in one month. Budget, a lowly $100,000. I accepted the challenge.

Historical document research enabled me to select exploration areas. My calculations of maximum depth to which a Minto coal deposit could be mined led me to choose the world’s largest dragline, the Marion Power Shovel, then operating in Alberta Oils Sands. Its 100-metre boom could excavate 34 metres deep. My exploration drilling was limited to 50 metres depth.

By late April my drilling proved the required 10 million tons Minto coal deposit. Total exploration cost was under the $100,000 budget. The cost of coal was one cent per ton. This discovery created 260 direct, full time, lifetime (30+ years) mining jobs. A minimum of 3 indirect jobs were created for each direct mining job.

I judge my success, and contribution to society, by the number of lifetime jobs I have created by my discoveries of mineral deposits.

What has been the most memorable experience of your career?

Being kidnapped while working for two years in the Philippines.

It is relatively normal to be approached by strongmen of villages and by politicians of all countries, including Canada, for blackmail payments. I have never made direct payments for these requests. Normally I hire many local persons to work in exploration. I construct roads, short bridges, even short airstrips, with local labour using hand tools. I have donated pumps and piping bringing water to villages. Women and children no longer had to carry water daily for 3 or 4 kilometres. I have donated to local schools. I have not paid bribes.

In Northern Rhodesia (Zambia) I arranged with village elders to use their water supply for diamond panning. I moved a portion of my crew to that village. When returning with more camp and crew, my foreman told me we must find another campsite, or pay 1/2 day's pay/crewmember per week, or our legs would be broken. Our crew moved.

In Illocus Norte province, northern Philippines, my normal help to the village was not sufficient for a local headman. I refused to pay him direct money payments. While stream-sediment surveying, my crew and I were surrounded by men with rifles and captured. My crew were released. I was kept for 4 days while I discussed and negotiated my release, without payment. Thereafter, exploration continued without further serious incident.

Albert Matter

Member since 1993

How did you get your start in the mineral industry?

As a starry-eyed teenager, I found geology and astronomy fascinating, and the fact that ‘all roads led from mines to Rome’ intrigued me. Since I wasn’t a good enough student to excel in the hard sciences, I used what I’d learnt about ‘getting things done’ from working in construction to enter the finance industry, and have spent my life progressing from participating in exploration financings as a rookie broker, to becoming founder and initial CEO of several junior exploration companies, including Alamos Gold, Gryphon Gold and NuLegacy Gold Corporation.

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

Creation of Alamos Gold Corporation. Why? I took this from inception to completion. In 2000, I had retired from the brokerage industry, intuited that gold was bottoming, sought out capable hard scientists (geologist James McDonald, now CEO of Kootenay Silver, Genco Resources), then found and initiated/completed negotiations with Placer-Dome for the acquisition of their 3.0 million ounce of PP&P Mulatos deposit in Mexico on behalf of our ‘shell company’ National Gold; financed the acquisition (with the help of James Anderson, now CEO of Guanajuato Silver) and initiated further exploration, and then enrolled Chester Millar, founder of Glamis Gold, Eldorado Gold, truly a grand old man of the mining industry, as our partner to give our fledging junior exploration company (led by an amateur – me) some credibility and muscle. Chester joining us led to immediate creditability, and his protégé, John McClusky, took over day to day management and very capably advanced the Mulatos to production and we were all rewarded, and I retired ‘once’ again, before cofounding NuLegacy Gold Corporation with my partner Dr. Roger Steininger, one of the respected deans of the Carlin-style gold industry in Nevada.

William Rowell

Member since 1980

How did you get your start in the mineral industry?

In 1977 I graduated with a social science degree from the University of Western Ontario. After figuring out that there were no real jobs for social scientists, I took a cue from Gordon Lightfoot and was Alberta bound. I ended up in Calgary working for a temporary manpower agency doing whatever manual labor needed to be done in the bitter late autumn cold. Most jobs involved unloading trucks and box cars, but occasionally I was assigned to deliver packages for a company called Riley’s Reprints. Frequently the packages were map tubes destined for an oil exploration company located in one of Calgary’s relatively new office towers. During each delivery I took advantage of the opportunity to get warm and chat with sympathetic secretaries. In the background there were always guys not much older than me casually slumped in office chairs and sipping coffee while discussing weekend vacation plans. It took only a few deliveries before I decided that geology was the career for me. I enrolled in Western’s geology program and six years later finished with a master’s degree. Somewhere along the way I developed an affinity for Precambrian rocks and mineral deposits. I’ve spent most of my career crashing the bush and living in tent camps and cheap motels - not the cushy office job that I had initially envisioned. Although my decision to become a geologist was somewhat serendipitous, I can’t imagine having taken any other career path.

What has been the most memorable experience of your career?

In 1995 I was unexpectedly recruited to join a gold exploration program in Argentina. Two days after landing I was part of a team of geologists and baqueanos that was about to mount up and ride into the Cordillera Frontal. That morning might have been a fond recollection if I had any previous experience on the back of a horse. I tried to nonchalantly get into the saddle but, rather than the typical U-shaped metal stirrups that I expected, these were more like the front end of a wooden shoe carved for a small foot. I tried to put my boot into the opening several times but only succeeded in kicking the stirrup into a swinging motion that made the task increasingly difficult. The horse became agitated, and it was only with an aggressive push from a baqueano that I managed to unceremoniously get up and into the sheepskin-covered saddle. Realizing that there was a novice fool on his back, the horse refused to move until one of the baqueanos slapped a leather lead onto his backside. The horse jolted forward and then made great sport out of trying to scrape me off on every passing boulder and bush. I spent a lot of time riding over the next three years. I can’t say that I learned to ride well, but take some satisfaction in mentioning that, despite their best efforts, none of the mischievous horses and mules that I rode managed to get me out of the saddle.

William Scott

Member since 1976

How did you get your start in the mineral industry?

I spent my early summers at a family cottage in northern Ontario, and developed a love of the bush. From high school, I entered Engineering Physics at UofT, aiming at the geophysics option, which seemed to be the only one not leading to a laboratory job. My first summer job was with Huntec, working for Norman Paterson. That job sold me on the attraction of the geophysical life. I worked for Norm for the next two summers, and have never looked back. In 4th year, I developed an interest in the nature of the IP effect, and went on to do an MA at UofT with Gordon West on non-linear IP, and a PhD at McGill on phase angle IP with Murray Telford. Subsequently I worked at the GSC using geophysics to map geology and permafrost, first in Atlantic Canada, and then in the Western Arctic. Then I joined Hardy Associates in Calgary to form a group offering engineering and subsequently mineral exploration geophysics. Following that, I moved to C-CORE at Memorial University in Newfoundland, working on mapping shallow marine mineral deposits. Finally I partnered with my geologist wife in operating GeoScott Exploration Consultants, operating throughout Atlantic Canada. I never really had a life plan, but followed interesting opportunities as they arose. I have had a wonderful life in the industry, and, were I to do it all again, I would change nothing. My wife and I retired to Barrie, where now I build and restore wooden boats.

What has been the most memorable experience of your career?

When I worked at the Geological Survey of Canada (GSC), I was involved with the Projeto Geofísico Brasil Canadá. This project was established by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) with the Department of Mines and Energy of Brazil. It involved an appraisal of mineral resources in part of central Brazil, through airborne and ground geophysical surveys. The work was carried out by Canadian geophysical contractors under supervision of the GSC. The project was designed also to provide technical training to Brazilian personnel. One of the more interesting aspects was that Brazilian geophysicists were given the chance to gain experience by working with Canadian crews working in the Canadian north. During the life of the Projeto, I had Brazilian geophysicists working with me on geophysical surveys in the Western Arctic. Subsequently, I went to Brazil to work with them on their ground geophysical programs. On my first visit, in the winter of 1978(?), I left Tuktoyaktuk, where the temperature was -35C, and flew to Ottawa via Edmonton. A day later, I left Ottawa, arrived in Rio de Janeiro and went on to Goiania, where the temperature was +45C. On the third day I was in the field with the Brazilian crew. Driving back to the field camp, we stopped at a store in a small village. In anticipation of our arrival, beer had been placed in a freezer. Nothing in my life has ever tasted as good as that ice-cold beer at the end of that first field day.

Ian S. Thompson

Member since 1965

How did you get your start in the mineral industry?

As a very active child I was sent to boys’ camps each summer in the Haliburton area, eventually instructing in canoeing, swimming and out-tripping. I grew up in a small town where several geologists known to my family were living. Dr. J.B. Tyrrell, the famous geologist who mapped the Barrens, was its most famous son. I received his scholarship to enter U of T's Honours Geological Sciences course in 1954.That summer I worked for Conwest Exploration in the Manitouwadge [GECO] exploration camp and this determined that I would select geology over forestry as my chosen outdoor career. Subsequent summer jobs entailed stream sediment sampling in New Brunswick and mapping at Temagami Mines. In 1962 I was hired as a field geologist by Dr.D.R. Derry, who had just started his consultancy, after retiring as V.P. Exploration for Rio Algom and earlier as chief geologist for Ventures Ltd. [later Falconbridge] My early work was in the Shield in Ontario and Quebec, but also regional geochemical programs in Eire, Ecuador and in Belize. Derry's major client was Thayer Lindsley [founder of Ventures], thus I was fortunate to examine other gold and base metal deposits beyond Canada.

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

The discovery of the Tynagh lead-zinc [copper] mine in Ireland by Northgate in late 1961, attracted lots of Canadian exploration companies. Three additional discoveries were made within two years; Silvermines, Gortdrum, and Keel.

The Lower Carboniferous limestone hosts these deposits; basal sandy and shaly, changing upwards to normal bedded limestones and to upper massive reef limestones. Inliers of Devonian sandstone project through the limestones, which are often faulted against them by Permian movements, which have localized the ore. Glacial drift blankets Ireland, resulting in sparse outcrop.

Our Syndicate selected 24 areas over postulated faults separating Carboniferous limestone from Devonian sandstone. Stream sediment samples were collected at 1000 - foot intervals where streams crossed fault lines and analysed for cold- extractible zinc. Anomalies were checked by stream and soil sampling and by ground geological inspection. Prospecting Licences were granted for 6 areas.

In the 24th area examined, one sample, 3000 feet downstream from an old limestone quarry, led to the discovery of a 2000 x 700- foot zinc soil anomaly just north of Tipperary in Gortdrum Townland.

An Induced Polarization Survey outlined a chargeability anomaly over the soil anomaly. Discovery Hole G-6 cut 234 feet assaying 1.63% Cu, 1.21 oz. Ag/ton. The limestones are intruded by clay- altered feldspar porphyry dikes bearing the mineralization.

By 1968, a total of 121 holes delineated 4,191,000 tons grading 1.19% Cu, 0.75 oz Ag /ton. Mercury, later found in smelter concentrates, was estimated to grade 1.5% -2% Hg in the deposit. Gortdrum Mines produced ore from its open pit for 8 years.

I.S.Thompson; CIMM Vol.70, 1967 pp 85-92

Nick Tintor

Member since 1990

How did you get your start in the mineral industry?

During my second year at the University of Toronto in 1977, one of my teammates on the Varsity Rowing team, Bobby Boraks, told me he got a summer job working in the Arctic in uranium exploration. I loved the outdoors and asked him excitedly how did he get that job? He replied, “I’m a geology student and that's what we do every summer”. I then merrily went down Bay Street to Western Mines at the time and told them just that and got hired days later. After an amazing summer in the barren lands west of Baker Lake, Nunavut, on the way home I had to confess to my party chief that I was in fact not a geology student, but that I loved it so much I was going to switch my studies. A South African, he replied, “No worries, Nick. I only hired you because you look big and strong and I needed someone to roll fuel barrels.” When the first day of school started that September, I marched down to the Mining Building on College Street and walked in to see Dr. Gittins, Chair of the Geology Department, and told him I wanted to change my course specialty to geology. Desperate for any undergrad to enter the geology program, he warmly encouraged me, and I switched my course load. And the rest is history.

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

In the late 1990s, during a period of very low gold prices, our company drilled out, permitted and engineered a small open pit, heap leach gold mine called Lluvia de Oro, just outside of Magdalena de Kino in Sonora, Mexico. Magdalena de Kino was a poor, rural farming community with hard working families doing their best to provide for their children. When we started hiring people to work at the mine, I could see in their faces, the pride they took in their jobs and how the salaries changed their daily lives. Every man and woman wants to provide for their family so that their children can grow to have a better education and future. Our small gold mine did just that and helped families who in turn could better provide for their children. That's when I saw first hand, the good that mining and mineral investment can do when conducted responsibly and with compassion for local communities and all stakeholders.

Alan Willy

Member since 1978

How did you get your start in the mineral industry?

I don’t know exactly how I, a kid raised in Swift Current in the heart of SW Saskatchewan farming and ranching country, wound up in geology at the University of Saskatchewan. I do remember that in Grade One there was a corner display unit outside our classroom with all sorts of rocks and minerals to interest a 6 year old; in a kid’s imagination galena was silver, pyrite was gold and quartz crystals were diamonds. About the same time I got a Golden Nature Guide stamp book on rocks and minerals from my parents and a bit later an introduction to rock hounding was given to me by my uncle’s brother from B.C. There was not much to collect in my region except for a few fossils, barite and gypsum crystals, beach cobbles and flint arrowheads. I started U of S 1965-66 thinking I would be a chemist with no thought of becoming a geologist. As it turned out my marks were not so good in chemistry! As I had found first year of University a big change from high school, I decided to take a year off to work and returned in 1967 with the thought that I would try every science until I found one I liked. I guess you could say that Dr. Mel Stauffer lured me in to studying geology with his excellent teaching of the Geology 101 course and later having obtained a good paying junior assistant summer job with the Geological Survey of Canada sealed the deal! In 1969, a summer job with the Saskatchewan Geological Survey set me off on my life time career as a mineral exploration geologist.

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

I would say the most fulfilling project I every worked on was the Kitts-Michelin Uranium Project of Brinex Limited in the Central Mineral Belt of Labrador. I was hired to be the Project Geologist by Dr. Gerald Harper, Senior Geologist for Brinex in 1978. Up to this point in my career I had found it difficult to really test my abilities as a uranium geologist and Brinex gave me the opportunity to hire personnel, plan, budget for and execute this project. The most exciting part of this was the discovery of a line of highly mineralized uraniferous boulders following the ice direction on Melody Hill. The grades were stupendous but, alas, a couple years of intensive surface and diamond drilling exploration could not locate the source of the boulders. Time ran out for uranium by 1982 and that part of my career ended but I felt like I really had been give the opportunity to test my knowledge.

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Life membership is a special honour awarded to PDAC members who maintain 25 years of continuous membership and who have reached 65 years of age. Life members do not pay annual membership fees. 