Alexander Daniel (Danny) Hellens, a consulting mining engineer who cut his teeth in the business in Ontario’s Cobalt silver camp, died recently in Toronto. He was 81.
Born in Elk Lake, Ont., in 1911, Hellens was introduced early to mining by his father who worked in some of the early Cobalt mines. A graduate of the Haileybury School of Mines, he went on to gain a BSc degree from Michigan College of Mining and Technology in 1939.
In 1942 he was sent overseas with the Royal Canadian Engineers but returned to Cobalt in 1946 where he established himself as a consulting engineer. He was instrumental in bringing Cobalt Lode Silver Mines, later absorbed by Agnico Eagle Mines, into production.
Hellens was also involved in getting the Sherman iron mine near Kirkland Lake into production. Voyager Explorations, of which he was president and a large shareholder, controlled more than half of the reserves leased to the Sherman mine.
Hellens was an enthusiastic supporter of the Haileybury School of Mines and of the Canadian Mining Hall of Fame.
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