Sudbury’s Wallbridge Mining and legendary Timmins prospector and geologist Dean Rogers were recipients of Ontario Prospectors Association Awards at a dinner during the Ontario Exploration and Geoscience Symposium in Sudbury, Nov. 4.
Wallbridge is operating its first mine producing copper, platinum, palladium and gold from its Broken Hammer open pit in Sudbury. The company also continues exploration on a large land package in the mining district through joint ventures with Lonmin Plc, Impala Platinum Holdings and Glencore.
The company was praised for its successful record of generating high potential mineral projects and to creating new spinoff companies by structuring partnerships.
Wallbridge owns a founding stake in two spinoffs: Miocene Metals, an exploration project in Chile, and Duluth Metals, a nickel-copper project in Minnesota, which is being sold to Chilean mining giant Antofagasta PLC for US $85 million.
Dean Rogers is highly regarded by all in the industry for his diplomatic skills and loyalty to his profession.
He was part of the consultation team that travelled to communities during the rollout of the provincial Living Legacy strategy in 1999.
He has represented exploration and mining interests in allowing ongoing industry access to Crown land for staking.
As president of the Porcupine Prospectors and Developers Association, he was behind a movement to have statutes erected in Timmins of historic prospectors Jack Wilson, Sandy McIntyre and Benny Hollinger. The statues were unveiled during the city’s centennial celebrations in 2012.
