EDITORIAL PAGE — The entrepreneurial ethic

In early 1995, eight individuals will be officially inducted into the Canadian Mining Hall of Fame. They will join the group of 54 who have been honored since the Hall was established seven years ago.

The list of inductees includes trail-blazing pioneers who discovered and developed our world-renowned mining camps, scientists who revolutionized the industry with new ideas and technology and entrepreneurs who founded companies that helped build this nation’s economy. All played a key role in forging the development of Canada’s mining industry as we know it today. The lives of these 62 individuals reveal an enormous diversity in everything from nationality and background to training and temperament. Some were flamboyant, adventurous risk-takers motivated by greed and glory; others were comparatively modest men with private goals, who shunned the limelight and the trappings of success. A few were somewhat humorless and self-absorbed, as though burdened by destiny and a mission that had to be carried out before all else.

Some were true scientists, challenged by intellectual goals, while others were idealists concerned with the betterment of society. One or two were outright geniuses with an uncanny ability to “see into rock” and make accurate judgments about mineral potential, which others could arrive at only by drilling. And some were simply driven by an instinct they often did not understand or question.

Each of the inductees pursued their respective goals in markedly different ways. But in almost every case, these individuals possessed a remarkable determination and persistence that allowed them to bring their dreams to fruition — sometimes in the face of incredible odds. The other common threads were optimism, hard work, skill and, yes, luck.

The goal of the Canadian Mining Hall of Fame is to make Canadians and others throughout the world more aware of how important the mining industry is, and to give due recognition to some of the leaders who did so much to bring it about. It is also a celebration of the entrepreneurial ethic that built the nation, an ethic that remains alive in today’s mining industry. During the past century, mining has attracted some of this nation’s brightest and best, as well as more than its share of adventurers, schemers, dreamers, gamblers and losers. For each success, there have been many disappointments and failures. One-in-a-thousand is the ratio of success in the exploration business. With odds like that, it’s no wonder a famous minefinder once said that the most important qualification for working in this business is to be “soft in the head.”

What is remarkable is that among the ranks of those inducted into the Canadian Mining Hall of Fame are individuals who have beat these odds many times. They left a remarkable legacy to a new generation of prospectors, geologists and engineers to follow. And follow they will, because the industry still embraces the entrepreneurial spirit that drives people to dream, take risks and create companies. As one Canadian minefinder said of his profession: “It is only for men of faith, not for the many who despair of humanity and themselves.”