Hall of Fame adds 9 new members

More than 400 guests gathered recently at Toronto’s Royal York Hotel to honor nine new inductees into the Canadian Mining Hall of Fame. It was the fifth annual banquet, held to recognize the achievements of Canada’s mining pioneers.

Most of the country’s top mining executives were present along with delegates from the Quebec, Ontario and British Columbia mining associations. Manitoba was represented by its Minister of Energy and Mines James Downey and the Deputy Minister David Tomasson. John Gammon, Ontario’s assistant deputy minister of mines, was also present.

Past inductees in attendance included Viola MacMillan and Franc Joubin. Seated at the head table were Robert Ginn, past president of the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC), who acted as Master of Ceremonies at the dinner; Frank Schwab, a director of the U.S. National Mining Hall of Fame; John Cooke, publisher of The Northern Miner; Michael Sopko, chairman and chief executive officer of Inco (TSE); George Miller, president of the Mining Association of Canada (MAC); William Stanley, past president of the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM); and Fenton Scott, PDAC president.

This year’s list of inductees brings the total Hall of Fame membership to 45. The list consisted of mine finders and developers, milling and metallurgical specialists, a safety engineer, an educator and a journalist. As inductees Joseph Errington, Neil George, James McCrea, Richard Porritt and Ossian Walli are deceased, their awards were accepted by family members, who included wives, sons, a daughter and one grandson.

Jody Martin, who accepted the award for her father Neil George, a pioneer in mine safety, brought along his first hard hat. Martin said her father had dedicated his life to mining and mine safety and the Hall of Fame honor made her father’s work in mining permanent.

Surviving inductees Maurice Brown, Louis Renzoni, Mervyn Upham and Harold Wright all received their awards in person.

Renzoni said that his induction was “a realization of an impossible dream.” He accepted the award on behalf of all of his colleagues who had aided his research efforts throughout the years. Renzoni was pleased that contributors to science and technology had been added to the Hall of Fame list. Inductee and past Hall chairman Brown, who quipped he had just been “put out to stud” after 43 years with The Northern Miner, said he was more surprised than anyone by the honor.

Brown, who has been seeking a home for the Hall since its inception in 1989, hopes that a “white knight” might be lurking in the audience to supply the much-needed bequest to establish a permanent facility. In the past, Elliot Lake, Cobalt and Timmins have been discussed as possible sites. Sponsors of the Hall include the MAC, PDAC, CIM and The Northern Miner. Michael Sopko, chairman of Inco Ltd., greets Bill Porritt, son of Hall of Fame inductee the late Richard Porritt.