Few events in mining history have generated as much excitement or public attention as the Lac de Gras diamond discoveries in Canada’s North during the early 1990s. Stewart (Stu) Blusson was an intellectual catalyst for this transformative event, which led to development of Ekati, Canada’s first diamond mine, and other significant discoveries.
For more than half a century, Edward Thompson has contributed to the progress and prestige of the Canadian mining industry as an explorer, mine developer, company builder, and dedicated supporter of industry causes and associations.
The legacy Ralph Parker left to the International Nickel Co. and to the Canadian mining industry is rich, from advances in mining methods to the design and development of safety appliances and mining equipment.
Minefinders get the glory, but it is the minebuilders who get the ore. For 65 years, while others discovered and financed the deposits, John Maclsaac applied his energies to breaking the first rock, sinking the first shafts and preparing the mines for their first production.
Oliver Hall joined Noranda Inc. almost at its inception, responsible for both mine operations and exploration. His foresight and economic sense promoted the company’s rapid growth in the 1930s and 1940s to become one of the country’s greatest mining concerns.
James Roycroft Gordon enjoyed a long and illustrious career with Inco Ltd., rising through the ranks to become the company’s first Canadian-born president.
Robert Boyle grew up in southwestern Ontario, where he developed his fascination with and love for science and the natural world. He went on to make many contributions to the mining industry; however the most important was his pioneering work in geochemistry.
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.
An imaginative exploration philosophy, sound academic approach and the resolute perseverance of a risk taker - these were the qualities that made Charles E. Michener a major factor in the success of Inco Ltd.‘s mine-finding endeavours during the middle decades of this century.
In his day, Robert J. Jowsey was known as the dean of mine makers. He was indeed a charter member of Canadian mining, a true, “dog-team and canoe” prospector, whose career flourished through the frenetic heyday of the Cobalt silver rush, the goldfields of Kirkland Lake, and the base metal plays in Manitoba.
