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).
Technical innovation spurred the development of Sudbury, Ont., as the world’s premier mining and metallurgical centre. Louis Secondo Renzoni, as a chemical scientist working on the nickel refining operation of Inco Ltd. for more than three decades, did much to further the company’s fortunes and those of the entire industry.
The Kerr Addison mine near Virginiatown, Ontario ranks among the top gold mines in Canada, producing at its peak more than half a million ounces of gold every year. No one deserves more credit for turning the mine into the enormously successful venture it became than William S. Row.
Joseph Retty played a major role in the discovery of iron ore deposits in the Quebec-Labrador boundary region, remote wilderness which was later developed into one of the world’s greatest iron-producing fields.
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.
Harry L. Roscoe - “Bill” to an army of friends and industry colleagues - contributed to the advancement and prestige of the mining industry in many ways over many years, but is best known for forging development of a Canadian mining enterprise with global reach and influence.
David Robertson became a respected statesman of Canada’s mining industry through technical accomplishment and impeccable integrity displayed during a distinguished career spanning more than six decades.
Kathleen Creighton Starr Rice left the comforts and confines of Edwardian-era Ontario for the wilderness of northern Manitoba, where she found fame as a prospector and mining entrepreneur.
Few modern-era geoscientists can match the prolific track record of discovery established by Mark Rebagliati in Canada and abroad over four decades. Several of his discoveries became mines in his home province of British Columbia — notably Mount Milligan and Kemess — while others were found in far-flung parts of the world.
It was not for nothing that The Northern Miner, the weekly journal of Canada’s mining industry, in 1977 chose Stephen B. Roman as its first Mining Man of the Year.
