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.
Described justly as “a national asset”, Gerald Hatch has been honoured numerous times for his outstanding contributions to the advancement of process metallurgy and his leadership in multi-discipline consulting services. His world-renowned engineering firm, Hatch Associates, has successfully guided many metallurgical projects through the critical stages of research, development and production.
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.
Known by his contemporaries as “the man who made the Malartics”, James Paul Norrie combined ambition, energy, instinct and an extraordinary entrepreneurial spirit to discover and open mines in the Abitibi region of northwestern Quebec, including Perron, East Malartic and Malartic Goldfields, to name but a few.
Canada’s enviable reputation for engineering excellence owes much to Roland Kilborn, whose vision, technical skills and entrepreneurial spirit led to the founding of one of the nation’s foremost engineering consulting companies.