W. Austin McVeigh was one of ten children born to farmers working the land on Grand Calumet Island, Quebec, near Ottawa. It was here he developed his love of the outdoors and dreamed of the riches being discovered in places such as Cripple Creek, Colorado, and Cobalt, Ontario.
Adolphe “Lap” La Prairie is a legend in the Canadian explosives and mining industry, his standards for technical innovation notable even to this day. His motivation was simple, and based solely on his concern for miners and his interest in making mining a safer and more effective endeavor.
John Convey made ground-breaking contributions to metallurgy, atomic physics and minerals research, but is best known for guiding several Canadian agencies and institutions to prominence, notably the Canadian Mines Branch (since renamed CANMET) during its greatest period of growth and influence.
Bruce Grierson made lasting contributions to the mining industry in Canada and abroad during his 40-year career with Rio Tinto Iron & Titanium (RIT) and its subsidiary, QIT-Fer et Titane (QIT).
Grenville Thomas left the Old World as a young mining engineer to become a pioneering prospector and company-builder in the New World, where he made a series of important mineral discoveries and contributed to the advancement of Canada’s fledgling diamond industry.