Managing Canada’s Mines Reopening a shutdown mine can pose unique

Gerald Proulx, manager of Cambior’s Pierre Beauchemin Mine, has first-hand experience with those problems. His prior experience and background, however, equipped him for just about any job in mining. A graduate of the Haileybury School of Mines in 1959, Proulx first gained diversified experience in the engineering departments of Maritime Mining at Tilt Cove, Nfld., Denison Mines at Elliot Lake, Ont., and Silver Summit Mines at Cobalt, Ont.

In 1963 Proulx joined the Preissac Molybdenite mine where he stayed until 197l, working in both the engineering and geology departments before he was promoted to mine superintendent. From 1971 to 1974, he worked for Campbell Chibougamau as assistant mine superintendent at three operations — Henderson, Cedar Bay and the Campbell Main Mine. Then he worked at Teck Corp.’s Lamaque Division for 12 years, from mine superintendent to general manager.

Proulx joined Sullivan Mines in 1986 as mine manager at its Eldrich-Flavel project. When Cambior purchased the company two years later, the project was renamed the Pierre Beauchemin Mine. That mine, which used to be a gold producer in Quebec’s Rouyn-Noranda area, had operated in the late 1950s and early ’60s. The definition of adequate ore reserves and the decision to put it back into production were made possible through the know-how of Cambior’s technical services and administration.

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