The metallurgical magic of Randolph Diamond transformed British Columbia’s Sullivan mine from a unique but uneconomic mineral deposit into Canada’s most productive zinc-lead producer and catapulted Cominco Ltd. into the forefront of Canadian mining companies.
Horace John Fraser’s career was a varied one: a gifted student, a respected teacher, a wartime civil servant in the United States, and a senior mining executive in the private sector. He is best remembered, however, for his private sector career, during which he oversaw the merger of Ventures Limited. and Falconbridge Nickel Mines into Falconbridge Ltd.
Mining engineer and geologist Georges H. Dumont has truly earned his place among the great contemporary discoverers. A pioneer of the Quebec mining industry, Dumont was actively involved in the engineering, development and production of the eleven mineral deposits he helped discover.
Recognized as the leader of a group of five men who invested their energies and resources in founding first the LaRose silver mine in Cobalt and later the Hollinger gold mine in Timmins, Noah Timmins is unquestionably a founding father of this country’s mining industry.
Geologist Arthur Thomas Griffis has truly earned his place of honor in Canadian mining history. He discovered five iron deposits for the Iron Ore Company of Canada, a copper deposit at the McIntyre Porcupine gold mine and developed a profitable copper-zinc orebody near Timmins, Ont., for Canadian Jamieson Mines.
Marsh Cooper is best known as the driving force in the acquisition and development of many of the deposits and mines that transformed Falconbridge into a global nickel giant. He guided the company through one of its strongest periods of growth, brought new mines into production and, during the 1970s, oversaw the completion of Falconbridge Dominica’s ferronickel plant in the Dominican Republic.
Richard Geren has been aptly described as a man with mining in his blood, mind and soul. As a geologist working with Labrador Mining and Exploration, he was a key member of a team that delineated high-grade iron ore in the Knob Lake area of northeastern Quebec.
During a distinguished career that spanned more than five decades, John Fairfield Thompson led Inco through a period of phenomenal growth and immense social, economic and technical change. As a young scientist, he explored the potential of nickel and helped discover new uses for nickel-based alloys.
For more than a quarter century, David A. Thompson contributed to the spectacular growth and prudent financial management of two of Canada’s oldest continuously operating mining companies.
Geological acumen, entrepreneurial instincts, and an engaging personality are some of the qualities that contributed to the extraordinary success achieved by Mackenzie Watson during his 50-year career in the Canadian mining industry.
