Mining Hall of Fame welcomes 8 new members

Eight new persons were recently inducted into the Canadian Mining Hall of Fame at the organization’s second annual dinner. Lionel Kilburn was the master of ceremonies.

Almost 500 guests attended the Toronto function which paid tribute to the eight men (five were honored posthumously) who played significant roles in the country’s early mining history. The Hall of Fame inducted 12 “legends” at its inaugural dinner last year.

Inducted to the Hall of Fame this year were (surviving) Eldon Leslie Brown, William Fleming James and Alex Mosher, and (deceased) Hector Authier, Selwyn Gwillym Blaylock, John Ross Bradfield, Norman Bell Keevil and Robert Crooks Stanley. (Keevil died last autumn shortly after receiving notification he had been selected for admission to the Hall of Fame.)

Known among other attributes for his innovative exploration techniques, Brown is closely connected with the growth of Sherritt Gordon Mines.

James, unable to attend this year’s dinner, worked for the Geological Survey of Canada before establishing a solid reputation as a consulting geologist. Son Bill, former president of Falconbridge Ltd., accepted the award on his father’s behalf.

Mosher was active in mine- finding across Canada’s north from Quebec to the Northwest Territories. He is a founder and past president of the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC).

Playing a large part in opening up the Val d’Or, Que., mining camp, Authier was involved from the start in the development of the Lamaque and Sigma gold mines.

Blaylock is known for his work in metallurgy and other fields. He helped form the base metals giant known today as Cominco Ltd.

The names Bradfield and Noranda are intertwined. Bradfield began working for the natural resources company in the early 1920s, eventually serving as president and chairman. In all, Bradfield was associated with Noranda for more than 60 years.

Keevil, who had expertise in a variety of disciplines, was the driving force behind Teck Corp. His son, Norman Jr., in his keynote address at the dinner, said Teck plans to commemorate his father’s work in geophysics with an endowment toward geophysical and other remote-sensing research.

An influential figure in the growth of Inco Ltd., Stanley steered the nickel giant into research and development in a successful effort to uncover new markets for the company’s chief metal commodity.

In his dinner address, Keevil Jr., president of Teck and chairman of Hall of Fame sponsor the Mining Association of Canada (MAC), acknowledged the contributions of the inductees.

“If their physical accomplishments helped to shape Canadian mining as it is today, equally important is the inspiration they gave to others. This is not only to those who followed them in their own companies, but to other people in the business as well,” he said.

Selection to the Hall of Fame is based on outstanding lifetime achievements in one or more of four categories: exploration, building the corporation, technical contribution and mining in society.

In addition to MAC, sponsors of the Hall of Fame, which currently consists of a portable display unit of portraits of the inductees accompanied by brief citations, are the PDAC, Canadian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy and Northern Miner Press Inc.