Conrad Hach

Conrad Hache, president and chief executive officer of Toronto-based River Gold Mines, has died. He was 57.

Beginning in 1962, Hach worked his way through various mining projects, holding such titles as sampler, surveyor, planner, supervisor, vice-president, and eventually president.

He participated in various Quebec projects, including: the Mattagami Lake copper-zinc mine and the Sleeping Giant gold mine, both of which are north of Amos; the Cooke copper-gold mine, near Chibougamau; the Corbet copper-zinc-gold-silver mine, north of Rouyn-Noranda; and the Kiena and Joubi gold mines near Val d’Or. He also contributed to the development of the Eagle River gold mine, west of Wawa, Ont.

Hach’s employers included Lac Minerals, Noranda, International Mogul, Falconbridge, Perron Gold Mines and Aur Resources.

He is survived by his wife, Dorothy, and two children.

Stephen Ogryzlo

Stephen Ogryzlo, who discovered several major deposits in Indonesia and Quebec, has died. He was 89.

Born in 1911 in Dauphin, Man., Ogryzlo obtained a bachelor of science degree from the University of Manitoba in 1931. In 1934, he was the youngest recipient of a PhD from the University of Manitoba.

He was supertintendent at the Toburn gold mine, owned by American Smelting & Refining (later Asarco), and introduced the jackleg drill and Elmco loader to that operation.

Asarco sent Ogryzlo on many trips to examine foreign prospects. In 1948, he teamed up with Freeport Sulphur to explore for nickel laterites on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi. Several deposits were outlined, though they were not developed for another 20 years, owing to the nationalistic communist government and low nickel prices. Today, they are being mined by Inco.

While working for Asarco, Ogryzlo also discovered a large asbestos deposit, underneath Black Lake in Quebec.

In 1958, he joined the Toronto-based Patino Group and assumed control of the struggling Chibougamau copper mine in Quebec. Under his leadership, throughput increased to 2,800 from 800 tons per day.

Orgyzlo was a member of the Canadian Mining Hall of Fame. He is survived by his wife, Faye, three children, four grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.