Download this News Release as a PDF.

TORONTO, January 15, 2014 — TORONTO, January 15, 2014 – The Canadian Mining Hall of Fame will induct four new members at its 26th annual induction ceremony, to be held tomorrow, Thursday, January 16, 2014, at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel, Toronto. The new inductees will join the 158 men and one woman previously inducted into the Mining Hall of Fame, which was established in 1988.

The 2014 inductees are: John (Jack) F. McOuat, C. Mark Rebagliati, Kathleen C.S. Rice and David S. Robertson.

John (Jack) F. McOuat (1933-2013)

John (Jack) McOuat advanced hundreds of mines and mineral projects around the world as a founding partner of Watts, Griffis and McOuat (WGM), Canada’s longest-running independent firm of geological and mining consultants. Armed with a degree in geological engineering (1956) from the University of Toronto, he teamed up with Murray Watts, Arthur (Tom) Griffis and Ross Lawrence to launch WGM in 1962. He proved his mettle at challenging projects in foreign lands and supported development of the Nanisivik and Raglan mines in Canada’s North. He was instrumental in Alaskan discoveries later developed as the Red Dog, Pogo and Green’s Creek mines, and negotiated joint ventures between industry and Alaskan native corporations to explore prospective lands. He was renowned for his ability to spot new opportunities and select favorable projects and geological districts worldwide. As a board member of the Royal Ontario Museum, he helped secure its largest corporate donation of $10 million in 2007.

C. Mark Rebagliati (Born 1943)

Few geoscientists can match the prolific track record of discovery established by Mark Rebagliati in Canada and abroad over four decades, culminating with his post as executive vice-president of exploration for Vancouver-based Hunter Dickinson Inc. (HDI). He was a prospector before earning a degree in geological engineering from Michigan Technological University in 1969, and later was a member of the discovery teams at the Red Chris and QR projects in BC. In 1986, he formed his own consulting firm and an alliance with Hunter-Dickinson. He advanced the Mount Milligan and Kemess copper-gold projects in BC, developed by others into mines, and made new discoveries at the Campo Morado project in Mexico. He next led exploration of the Pebble West deposit in Alaska, helped discover Pebble East, and elevated them to among the largest copper- gold deposits in the world. Even more discoveries have followed, notably the Xietongmen and Newtongmen porphyry copper-gold deposits in Tibet.

Kathleen C. S. Rice (1882-1963)

Kathleen (Kate) Rice left the comforts of Edwardian-era Ontario to venture into the wilderness of northern Manitoba, where she found fame as a prospector and mining entrepreneur. The young woman with a BA in mathematics and physics from the University of Toronto gave up a teaching career to prospect for gold north of The Pas. With help from local First Nations, she learned bush skills and traveled by dog team and canoe to make her first discovery at Reindeer Lake in 1914.


In the 1920s, after moving to the Snow Lake area, she staked the first nickel properties to lure Inco (now Vale) to Manitoba. She formed a company to drill the claims, resulting in a high-grade discovery then valued at $5 million. Her first option offer was derailed by a lawsuit, but Inco later optioned her claims, which are still held as a mining lease.

David S. Robertson (Born 1924)

Consulting geologist David Robertson became a respected statesman of Canada’s mining industry through technical accomplishments and personal integrity displayed during a career spanning more than six decades. After earning a B.Sc. degree (1946) from the University of Manitoba, and doctorate in geology (1949) from Columbia University, he captured attention for his role in the discovery of uranium deposits in Elliott Lake, Ontario. He made other uranium discoveries after forming David S. Robertson & Associates in 1965. In the mid-1970s, Robertson was retained by the Saskatchewan government to evaluate potash assets to be held by a newly formed Crown Corporation. His valuations were acknowledged as fair by all parties. He continued to provide expert industry advice after his firm merged with Coopers & Lybrand in 1982, and for another 20 years as an independent consultant. He was a valued board member of several companies, supported industry associations, and mentored many young geoscientists.

The Canadian Mining Hall of Fame honours those who have demonstrated outstanding lifetime achievements that have benefitted the Canadian minerals industry. Member organizations of the Hall are the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum, the Mining Association of Canada, The Northern Miner newspaper and the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada. Associate members include the mining associations of British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec and Saskatchewan and the Association for Mineral Exploration British Columbia.

The Hall’s inductees are currently featured at five locations. The original Hall of Fame is located in the University of Toronto’s Mining Building at 170 College Street, Toronto. The Canadian Mining Hall of Fame Gallery in the Teck Suite of Galleries at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto opened in December 2008. Other Hall of Fame exhibits are housed in the Nuclear and Mining Museum in Elliot Lake in northern Ontario, and at the Britannia Mine Museum near Squamish in British Columbia. The newest exhibit of the Canadian Mining Hall of Fame, presented by Barrick Gold, opened in November 2012, as part of Phase Two of the Vale Earth Gallery at the Museum of Nature, Ottawa.

For further information, contact:

Becky Bays, CMHF Coordinator T: 647-726-3185
E: info@mininghalloffame.ca