The founder of an emerging magnesium-talc mine in Timmins has died, following complications from a stroke.
William Quesnel, who grew up in Timmins, suffered a massive stroke in February and never recovered. He died on May 8 at the Kingston General Hospital at the age of 61.
Quesnel is the founder of the Quesnel Group and General Magnesium Corp., whose emerging magnesium-talc mine in Whitney Township in Timmins was said to have the capacity to create 1,000 jobs in the region.
A third lighter than steel, magnesium is valued for its lightweight quality in manufacturing cars and car parts.
The mine has an NI 43-101 resource estimate of close to 100 million tonnes, including 54,076,357 tonnes in the measured and indicated category, and 43,000,000 tonnes in the inferred category. Development of the project was set to get underway this spring.
Production was to start at 500,000 tonnes per year, and ramp up to 1.2 million tonnes annually, resulting in a 100-year mine life. A drilling program revealed more ore below the preliminary deposit.
Last fall, Quesnel announced a $4.9-billion, 15-year deal with Hunter Douglas Metals, which had purchased 100 per cent of General Magnesium’s product.
Quesnel, a 30-year mining industry veteran, grew up in Timmins, but left to attain his geology degree at the University of Waterloo.
Since then, he’s worked in Thunder Bay for a consulting firm, at Kidd Creek in Timmins, with LAC Minerals (now Barrick Gold), and in various capacities in Nicaragua, Argentina, Venezuela and Chile.
In recent years, he had made his home in Perth, south of Ottawa.
Since his father’s stroke last winter, Ryan Quesnel had taken over as president and CEO of General Magnesium Corp.
The future of the company remains uncertain.
