Walter J. Riva was born in coal country in Canmore, Alberta, in 1922. From those roots, he grew into an unmatched leader of Canada’s coal mining industry, contributing tirelessly to it and to the communities that depend on it.
Edgar A. Scholz was one of the pioneers in applying large-scale open pit mining methods to low-grade copper, molybdenum and gold deposits.
An internationally renowned earth scientist, J. Tuzo Wilson made significant contributions to the understanding of the dynamic earth, particularly in the fields of geology and geophysics.
W. Austin McVeigh was one of ten children born to farmers working the land on Grand Calumet Island, Quebec, near Ottawa. It was here he developed his love of the outdoors and dreamed of the riches being discovered in places such as Cripple Creek, Colorado, and Cobalt, Ontario.
Adolphe “Lap” La Prairie is a legend in the Canadian explosives and mining industry, his standards for technical innovation notable even to this day. His motivation was simple, and based solely on his concern for miners and his interest in making mining a safer and more effective endeavor.
Credited with the discovery of several sizeable lead-zinc-silver deposits in Yukon, most notably the renowned Faro deposit, Alan Kulan was a compassionate and pioneering prospector with an independent, entrepreneurial spirit.
John Convey made ground-breaking contributions to metallurgy, atomic physics and minerals research, but is best known for guiding several Canadian agencies and institutions to prominence, notably the Canadian Mines Branch (since renamed CANMET) during its greatest period of growth and influence.
For almost forty years, Nathanael Davis was the driving force behind Alcan as it grew into a progressive Canadian multinational and global leader in the multi-faceted aluminum industry.
Bruce Grierson made lasting contributions to the mining industry in Canada and abroad during his 40-year career with Rio Tinto Iron & Titanium (RIT) and its subsidiary, QIT-Fer et Titane (QIT).
During a career that has spanned more than half a century, James McDougall has earned a reputation for boldly going where few geologists have ever gone before. It is said that his footprints can be found on just about every mineral occurrence in British Columbia, the Yukon and Alaska, where he has found or helped discover more than 16 major mineral deposits.
