The life story and career accomplishments of Peter (“Pete”) Risby are truly extraordinary in Canadian mining history. He was a tenacious entrepreneur of Black and German descent who overcame adversity to become a successful prospector and miner in Northern Canada. He began prospecting in 1957, initially for syndicates, and later on his own or with Indigenous partners. His early finds include the Risby-Tungsten property in Yukon and the Lee property in the Northwest Territories (NWT).
Although born in Australia, Phillip Mackey is known worldwide as one of Canada’s most prominent metallurgists in the field of non-ferrous extractive metallurgy. He is one of the few Canadians to have advanced the development of not one but two significant copper smelting technologies that have benefited copper metallurgical plants around the world.
They never discovered a single showing or hoisted a ton of ore, but Norman and Richard Pearce chronicled the burgeoning Canadian mining industry in the pages of The Northern Miner weekly newspaper for more than 50 years, holding it accountable and helping mold into one of the most open industries in the country.
The legacy Ralph Parker left to the International Nickel Co. and to the Canadian mining industry is rich, from advances in mining methods to the design and development of safety appliances and mining equipment.
Richard Valentine Porritt was the man who set the pace and style that marked a “Noranda man” - tough and fast-moving.
A pioneer of Canada’s mining and metallurgy industry, Lloyd Pidgeon is best known for the development of the process for the production of high purity magnesium. The process, which bares his name, remains to this day unrivalled in the production of the world’s highest purity magnesium metal.
Paul Penna was a successful mine maker and the builder of a substantial corporation destined to thrive long into the future. As chairman and president of Agnico Eagle Mines, he brought his company from small beginnings to senior status.
Alfred Powis is a company builder with exceptional leadership skills and a keen eye for opportunity. During his tenure as chief executive officer at Noranda, he was instrumental in creating one of the largest natural resource conglomerates in Canada, with few rivals internationally.
Mining promoters have been an integral part of the Canadian mining industry for more than a century, with some more dedicated to discovery - and more successful - than others. Murray Pezim ranks among the most successful of them all; his enthusiasm and perseverance led to the discovery of Ontario’s Hemlo gold camp, one of the great Canadian mineral discoveries, and the Eskay Creek gold deposit in British Columbia.
Franklin Pickard was a miner’s miner and the first Sudbury native to head up a major nickel company. He joined Falconbridge as a young process labourer and rose through the ranks to become the company’s President and Chief Executive Officer.
