Hutchison: a miner’s miner

In my opinion, William Hutchison was the prime mining executive on the team from Preston East Dome and Technical Mine Consultants.

Hutchison understood the importance of getting the project in production on time, since the Eldorado Nuclear contracts were based on a 5-year delivery schedule.

I first met Hutchison at the Mattaini air base, near Algoma Mills, Ont., after the prospecting trip to Little Nordic Lake that was the wellspring of the 1953 staking bee that secured the main Elliot Lake mineralization for the Hirshhorn interests. Hutchison was general manager of the Preston East Dome gold mine, north of Timmins, and reported directly to Preston’s president, Bill Bouck, in Toronto. As a result of the summit meeting in that city in May 1953, Hutchison supported the decision to proceed with prospecting and staking along the middle and northern flanks of the “Big Z” sedimentary contact. This led to the initial Nordic and Quirke mines.

Hutchison’s contribution to the Pronto mine, the first uranium mine to be developed along the south belt, has been largely overlooked. He produced, almost single-handedly, the original feasibility study, which led to full production beginning in 1955. This study, along with feasibilities for other mines, was screened and rubber-stamped by independent consultant Charles Houston. Houston, who had become well known through his work in the Renabie gold camp, was retained by Eldorado Nuclear, the Crown corporation that was purchasing uranium for the national government. Separate contracts for each mine were drawn up, whereby the price per pound of uranium assured both a strategic supply and a viable operation.

Hutchison was born near North Bay, Ont., 98 years ago. He is still alive and in remarkably good shape. After attending high school in Toronto, he worked at various jobs before moving to Timmins. He worked at various mines, including Dome and Nighthawk Lake, and in every department and station, which probably augured well for his future success. Indeed, he was truly a miner’s miner — ambitious, hard-working and knowledgeable. He was a registered Professional Engineer in Ontario; in those days, for a man without a degree to do that was comparable to becoming a chartered accountant or a lawyer solely by articling.

Hutchison’s first big job came early in the Great Depression, when he was hired as underground superintendent at the renowned Lake Shore gold mine in Kirkland Lake. (Kirkland Lake is my home town and I’m proud of it — garbage or no garbage.) As such, he worked under the belligerent reign of Sir Harry Oakes (1874-1943), the mine’s onerous and outrageously wealthy owner. It is here that Hutchison earned his stripes — and then some: Oakes, who frequently visited the mine unannounced, was known for his tendency to fire employees with just the slightest provocation. It was also when he was at Lake Shore that Hutchison married Stella Johnston, daughter of the local chief of police.

During the latter part of the dirty ’30s, Hutchison was appointed general manager of Preston East Dome. From then, it was relatively smooth sailing, as the Blind River and Elliot Lake camps gradually came to fruition.

After some years, he was transferred to Toronto to become a senior executive with Rio Algom. But it was only later, when Hutchison headed up the Canadian subsidiary of Phelps Dodge, that I really got to know the man.

He was a gentleman, the “classic executive” in his stature, dress, habit and leadership; and I have never seen anyone as disciplined as Hutchison. He was liked and respected by all his employees. Whatever job employees had with the company, he avoided assigning them special titles, so as to keep the operations ‘stratabound’ (to use a geological term). There was no special treatment or fanfare.

Phelps Dodge was not terribly successful in Canada, but I believe that had the powers that be acted on more of Hutchison’s recommendations, the company would have thrived here. Just as he did.

Next week: William Bouck.

The author, a retired mining engineer, resides in Barrie, Ont.