Ardiden Ltd. received the Bernie Schnieders Discovery of the Year Award for its Silver Star North Graphite Project from the Northwestern Ontario Prospectors Association at its annual convention and awards dinner in Thunder Bay, April 5.
Ardiden, an Australian graphite junior, has discovered the presence of high quality, jumbo flake graphite near Manitouwadge in northwestern Ontario.
With three Ontario projects on the go, the West Perth-headquartered company is angling to access the growing demand for North American graphite, spurred by the growing use of lithium-ion batteries.
The company has completed its 2,000-metre drilling program, reporting assay results as high as 2.71 per cent Cg (graphite content) over 41.6 metres and 4.23 per cent Cg at 17 metres, and super jumbo flake sizes of 500 microns.
The Developer of the Year Award went to Amethyst Mine Panorama, a family-run business owned by Steve Lukinuk. The Thunder Bay amethyst mine has been in the tourism and retail business for more than 35 years. Its stones, including a 22 carat, have been on display at the Royal Ontario Museum.
Consulting geologist Dave Hunt, who worked in the Timmins Resident Geologists’ Office and as project geologist with Dome Exploration and Placer Dome, received the Dan Calvert Distinguished Service Award.
Lifetime Achievement Awards went to KWG Resources vice-president Moe Lavigne; Pic River First Nation Chief and prospector Duncan Michano; Bob Moffat, prospector and owner of Fern Elizabeth Gold Exploration; and Laurentian University adjunct professor Greg Stott, a former government and current consultant geologist.
