Munk, James enter Canadian Mining Hall of Fame

Two giants of the Canadian mining industry, Peter Munk and William James, were welcomed into the Canadian Mining Hall of Fame during the 14th annual ceremony and dinner, held at the Royal York Hotel in Toronto.

Describing the evening as “the mining industry’s equivalent of Hollywood’s Oscar’s night,” rookie master of ceremonies Pierre Lassonde, president of Franco-Nevada Mining, joked that he was worried about his accent when he was asked to play host, “mostly because when I was down in Australia a few weeks ago — you know I’ve been on a shopping trip down there — one of the journalists described me as ‘the razor-sharp French Canadian with the sort of accent that screams Montreal back-street-tough meets downtown-Toronto deal-maker.'”

Attending the dinner were six previous Hall of Fame inductees: Maurice (Mort) Brown, former editor of The Northern Miner; Marsh Cooper, former Falconbridge president; industrialist Walter Curlook, who helped build Inco globally; pioneering metallurgist Gerald Hatch, founder of Hatch Associates; former Inco minefinder Charles Michener; and former Noranda CEO Alfred Powis.

Peter Munk (b. 1927), the founder and builder of Barrick Gold, was recognized for his spectacular success in transforming a small gold producer into an industry-leading colossus in less than 20 years.

As a teenager, Munk fled Nazi-occupied Hungary with his family and later emigrated on his own to Canada, where he obtained an electrical engineering degree from the University of Toronto in 1952.

In the following years, he became involved in a series of high-profile business ventures that included the building of high-end stereos and the development of resort properties in the South Pacific.

Munk’s mining career was launched in 1983 with the acquisition of stakes in an Alaskan placer operation and the Renabie mine in Ontario. Gold production that year was 3,000 oz. and revenues totalled less than $2 million.

He then purchased the Camflo mine in Quebec, a seminal move that brought him into contact with a superb technical team headed by mining engineer and Hall of Fame member Robert Smith (1932-1998).

From there, the story is well-known: The Munk-Smith partnership turned its attention to Nevada, and with the introduction of innovative processing technology, Barrick played a leading role in transforming the Carlin trend into one of the world’s great gold-mining camps.

The corporate boldness continued into the 1990s with the rapid acquisitions of Arequipa Resources and Sutton Resources, whose Pierina and Bulyanhulu projects in Peru and Tanzania, respectively, are now in production.

In 2000, Barrick produced 3.7 million oz. gold, generated US$1.3 billion in revenue and ranked first among all gold miners in terms of market capitalization.

In 2001, the growth continued apace, with Barrick finessing a merger with venerable American gold miner Homestake Mining.

Munk’s influence in the gold industry today is equally felt in the financial realm, where his pioneering hedging activity allowed Barrick to continue to post hefty profits even as gold prices fell during the late 1990s and competitors withered.

In a Hall of Fame first, Munk delivered his acceptance speech via a recording that was broadcast on two large screens above the audience.

“I’m truly blessed and honoured,” said Munk. “I’m an engineer, but certainly not a mining engineer; I’ve never cut a drift and I don’t know much about the technical details of mining. But I did have the corporate vision to commercialize gold mining activity and I was fortunate that, in the realization of this dream, I encountered, at the very outset, a man of most exceptional talent and integrity: my friend Bob Smith.”

Munk accepted the honour on behalf of Barrick employees, whom he described as “reflecting the core values, the inspiration, the competence, and the integrity infused into them by Bob Smith.

“Yes, my abilities formed an important component of Barrick’s success, but, you know, how many times have you seen great business dreams just remain that way, never to be realized, never to become something tangible? So it is that great co-operation between the team Bob brought together . . . that is responsible for Barrick.”

Munk said he continues to feel a “great degree of pride” in Barrick and that it “will probably be my life’s legacy.” He also expressed satisfaction that many people who first invested in Barrick became multi-millionaires.

“But,” added Munk, “the real satisfaction . . . is that Barrick has been able to give to the people in the communities and countries in which we operate, that which, without Barrick, would not have been possible.”

Specifically, he referred to a new hospital in Tanzania, a school in Peru and scholarships given to the children of Barrick employees.

“There’s a host of other activities that extend beyond mere profitability,” continued Munk. “And you know, when we contemplate the future of our community and of our society, we are proud to be proponents and promulgators of the free-enterprise system. We must realize that only this system can provide increased well-being and wealth throughout this world.

“That is why Barrick and many other corporations like it are so vital to keeping the health and well-being of our total society. These are the things I’m proud of, and I’d like to encourage all of you to keep on giving opportunities to dreamers and visionaries in all fields so that many more Barricks can make permanent and ongoing contributions to mankind and the benefit of all of us.”

Munk has also helped fund the Munk Centre for International Studies at the University of Toronto and the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre in Toronto. He has won many awards in his life, including the Order of Canada.

Principles

Accepting the award on Munk’s behalf was Randall Oliphant, Barrick’s president and CEO, who commented that “all of us know it’s far more complicated than that, and to believe that Peter only led with his vision is not an accurate depiction of everything that he contributed: Peter introduced principles to our company and was very much the person who drove this company from its founding.

“Peter talked a bit about the past,” added Oliphant, “but you’d be mistaken if you think Peter Munk is finished. In fact, his vision has created the foundation for what he hopes to do. As far as Peter Munk is concerned, in this industry, he’s only just begun.”

Renowned “turnaround-man” William James (b. 1929) was introduced by Falconbridge President Oyvind Hushovd, who said “a lot of you know the public things about Bill James — that he’s been a tremendous asset to the industry and done a tremendous job for Falconbridge and the other companies he’s worked for. But for those of us who have worked with him — and actually we’ve been through some very tough times — the one thing we remember best is that during the tragedies, despite all the difficulties, Bill was so determined to do the right thing that there was nothing that could keep him from that.”

Hushovd also noted that James “has a tremendous ability to keep the spirits up despite tough times.”

Characteristically setting aside his notes, James launched into a rollicking, 45-minute speech that touched on moments in a 50-year career which saw him turn around three major Canadian mining companies: uranium miner Denison Mines, nickel-miner Falconbridge, and diversified producer Inmet Mining.

‘Geriatric’

“Getting this award is really a geriatric kind of thing,” quipped James. “But I can’t tell you how proud I am to be here. This is a true honour and I want to thank you all.”

He paid tribute to the tenacity of Denison founder and Hall of Fame member Stephen Roman (1921 -1988), who emigrated as a young man to Canada from Slovakia, along with his elder brother George, with an eye to acquiring a small farm north of Oshawa, Ont.

“They got the farm, and worked so hard and were so desperate and needed a horse that George traded Stephen for a horse for a week,” said James.

“You’ve got to realize all the jobs Stephen created at Denison. He was just a remar
kable, remarkable man . . . and it’s good to be with him [in the Hall of Fame]. And the other one is my father — I’m glad to be with dad.” (The ceremony marked the first time a son has joined his father in the Hall: Geologist William Fleming James [1894-1991] was inducted in 1990.)

James reminisced about joining Falconbridge in 1982 and how management decided “we couldn’t make any money selling nickel, so we decided to sell stock instead.”

His tenure at Falco’s helm was highlighted by the year-and-a-half-long takeover of the company by Noranda, with James working hard for shareholders to drive up the offer price.

He recalled intense negotiations in the elevator lobby of the building that the two companies shared and in a nearby delicatessen whose owners were thankful for the special mentions they were getting in business newspapers.

“Those were good times, and probably the most interesting times,” said James.

Latest protege

He also expressed fondness his latest protege, Inmet Mining, which he helped revive during the late 1990s through an extensive, global asset sale. He remains chairman of the company, having stepped back in January 2000 from his role as president and CEO.

Today, with mines in Quebec, Turkey and Papua New Guinea, “the sun never sets on the Inmet empire,” said James. “And now, at our mine in Finland, the sun never sets at all.”

James closed his speech by saying he had to pay tribute to the people who are actually working in the mines. “It’s these hard-working people who really do good things — they’re tremendous people and part of the whole mystique.

“The mining industry has been good for me,” he continued, “and it’s been good for you, most of the people in this room. It’s a great industry and something to be really proud of, and Canadians are as good as they come in the mining industry.”

James has won numerous awards, including the Inco Medal and the Fellowship Award of the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM).

With the addition of Munk and James, the Hall of Fame expands to 106 members. Biographies of the members can be found at www.halloffame.mining.ca

The Hall is situated on the ground floor of the Mining Building at the University of Toronto; it also forms part of the Mining Museum in the Lester B. Pearson Civic Centre in Elliot Lake, Ont.

The Hall has four main sponsors: the CIM, the Mining Association of Canada, the Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada, and The Northern Miner.

A board of directors, comprising 12 members appointed by the four sponsors, conducts the business of the Hall of Fame.