The Ontario Mining Association’s board of directors has appointed Kelly Strong as the new chairman of the Ontario Mining Association (OMA). Strong currently serves as vice-president of Vale’s Ontario and UK Operations.
The OMA, whose members are involved in various aspects of the exploration, production and processing of mineral resources in Ontario, is one of the longest serving trade organizations in the country. This year, the OMA is celebrating its 93rd anniversary.
Strong becomes the 78th chairman of the OMA, succeeding Marc Boissonneault, Xstrata Nickel’s vice-president for Sudbury Operations.
“We know Kelly will add his own ideas, viewpoints and interests to his two-year term as OMA chair,” OMA president Chris Hodgson said in a statement. “The OMA and the Ontario mineral industry will benefit from the varied experience, enthusiasm and wise counsel of Kelly in his new volunteer position.”
“I am excited and humbled to serve in this new role as chair of the OMA,” Strong said. “Ontario’s mining industry has so much to offer, and I look forward to working together with our industry partners to maximize the potential of our industry now and in the future.”
With more than 20 years in the mining industry, Strong joined Vale (formerly Inco) in 2001 and since then, has held a number of management roles including mine manager, general manager of mine and mill, vice-president of production services, and vice-president of mining and milling.
Prior to joining Vale, he worked as a chief mine engineer and a mine captain in Red Lake. He graduated from the Haileybury School of Mines with a mining engineering diploma and from the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology as a mining engineer.
