The best in mineral exploration recognized in Thunder Bay

Persistence and patience pays off in mineral exploration. Those virtues were rewarded to several recipients at the annual Northwestern Ontario Mines and Minerals Symposium in Thunder Bay, April 7.

Rubicon received the Developer of the Year Award for their work on their Phoenix Project in Red Lake. The company holds 65,000 acres of exploration ground in the Red Lake gold district.
"The discovery process requires determination, persistence and the dedication of many to overcome the long odds of finding a mineral deposit," said company president David Adamson.

Premier Gold Mines won the Bernie Schnieders Discovery of the Year for their Hardrock Gold project near Geraldton.
Prospector and NWOPA director Dan Calvert took home a Distinguished Service Award.

Four Lifetime Achievement Awards went to Freewest Resources CEO Mac Watson and his vice-president of exploration Don Hoy, along with Thunder Bay area prospector Mike Luski. Mel Bartley, an iron ore expert with Cliffs of Canada who also taught mining at Lakehead University, received his award posthumously.

Hoy called northwestern Ontario a "great place to carry out exploration and ultimately develop a mine" because of the "constant pipeline" of opportunities. He said with First Nation issues and the impact of the province's Far North Act creating uncertainty the government must provide "clear and stable policy" to ensure developments proceed.

"We need to know what areas are open for mining and what areas aren't."