Canadian Orebodies has lost its president and CEO, Gordon McKinnon, who died suddenly on July 30.
In a news release, the company said McKinnon had served as president-CEO, director, and company leader since its inception in 2008.
McKinnon, 36, had followed in the footsteps of his father, Don McKinnon, in “reinvigorating Ontario’s highly productive Hemlo mining camp,” the company said.
“With his prospecting heritage and financial expertise, he has been involved in several successful efforts at Hemlo and other exploration projects, and was instrumental in guiding the company,” John Harvey, a company director, said in a news release.
“His good nature, amiable personality, and dedication to the mineral exploration industry will be immensely missed by colleagues and friends alike.”
McKinnon was also a principal of the private exploration company McKinnon Prospecting Ltd., a director of Capha Pharmaceuticals Inc., Fox River Resources Corporation, and Noble Mineral Exploration Inc.
Additionally, he co-founded Mineral Streams Inc., a private mineral royalty company that was sold to AuRico Metals Inc. in 2015.
Prior to joining Canadian Orebodies, McKinnon served as manager of corporate development with Baltic Resources Inc., a company which was acquired for more than $70 million.
In Northern Ontario, exploration work is ongoing at Canadian Orebodies’ two Hemlo-area properties in northwestern Ontario, Wire Lake and the North Limb.
The company announced in late July it had extended mineralization in the Wire Lake Gold System and started a summer work program at its Pic Project.
Following McKinnon’s death, the company’s board has appointed Fraser Laschinger to act as interim president and CEO. John Harvey has been appointed as interim chair of the board and will assist in finding a permanent replacement.
