And the Winner is! Annual Awards Dinner Gala at Roundup 2011

Last night the Association for Mineral Exploration British Columbia (AME BC) hosted its annual Awards Dinner Gala at Roundup 2011. The winners of the 2010 Awards were presented with their awards, which are given annually to individuals or teams in recognition of their significant contributions to enhance the mineral exploration industry in British Columbia.

“It is our pleasure to honour those who have made great contributions to the mineral exploration and development sector” says Gavin C. Dirom, AME BC’s president and chief executive officer. 

This year’s recipients are:

David Moore and Myron Osatenko of Serengeti Resources Inc.: recipients of the H.H. “Spud” Huestis Award for excellence in prospecting and mineral exploration.  They are recognized for their technical skills in coordinating an effective exploration program, and interpreting geological, geophysical, and geochemical information to identify and define a drill target that led to the blind discovery of the Kwanika copper-gold porphyry deposit in the highly prospective Quesnel Trough of north-central British Columbia. 

John McManus and Robert Rotzinger of Taseko Mines Limited: recipients of the E.A. Scholz Award for excellence in mine development. They are acknowledged for their leadership and technical coordination of the Gibraltar mine expansion program by initially recognizing the potential upside to expand the deposit resources, planning and undertaking exploration drilling and engineering studies, and scheduling the two-phase construction program to successfully complete the project on schedule and on budget. 

Cal Everett: recipient of the Murray Pezim Award for perseverance and success in financing mineral exploration. After several years working as a geologist, Cal Everett shifted to the world of finance and has directly raised over $500 million and has participated in over $1 billion in equity financings since 2004.

Brooke Clements, Robert Lucas, and Pierre Bertrand: recipients of the Hugo Dummett Diamond Award for excellence in diamond exploration and development. The perseverance of these key members of the Ashton Mining of Canada and SOQUEM exploration team resulted in the discovery of the diamondiferous Renard kimberlite cluster in Quebec in 2001.

David Adamson, Matthew Wunder, Ian Russell, Terry Bursey, and Crystal McCullough (“The Rubicon Team”): recipients of the Colin Spence Award for excellence in global mineral exploration. The team from Rubicon Minerals Corporation is acknowledged for its technical expertise and perseverance in evaluating and recognizing favourable lithologic and structural elements, and then applying the Red Lake deposit model within the geologic framework of the Phoenix Gold Project in the Red Lake Gold Camp to define the potential target that led to the discovery of the high-grade F2 Gold Zone.

Harvey Tremblay: recipient of the David Barr Award for excellence in leadership and innovation in mineral exploration health and safety. He is recognized for his dedication to health and safety in the diamond drilling industry through his firm Hy-Tech Drilling, which has developed safe and innovative programs for drilling in the challenging terrain of British Columbia.

Ian Thomson: recipient of the Robert R. Hedley Award for excellence in social and environmental responsibility.  He is acknowledged for realizing the importance of establishing a meaningful and workable process for integrating social, environmental, and economic components in successfully developing resource properties into sustainable and productive operations.

The Frank Woodside Past Presidents Distinguished Service Award is awarded to four individuals: Don Coates, the late Chuck Davis, Chris Graf, and Bill Meyer.

AME BC also recognizes John Murray with the Gold Pan Award for his service to the mineral exploration community through his work with the association.

The AME BC Awards Committee will also recognize the Mineral Resources Education Program of BC as the beneficiary of the AME BC Outreach Education Fund at Roundup. The fund is an endowment dedicated to increasing public appreciation and understanding of the mineral exploration sector in British Columbia. The outreach funding will be used for workshops delivered to elementary schoolchildren in the Lower Mainland and Prince George, BC.

For more details about the awards, visit www.amebc.ca/about-us/awards.aspx.

Check our photos of our award winners and event at http://blog.amebc.ca/photo-gallery/