Hendrick determined to change mining’s bad image

Improving mining’s public image will be the challenge Keith Hendrick faces as he steps in as chairman of the Mining Association of Canada this month. “Mining is the foundation of the Canadian economy. I want to make sure this is appreciated,” he told The Northern Miner at Noranda’s King Street office. Hendrick is particularly concerned about the mining sector’s reputation as an environmental threat. During his 2-year term in office, he will be trying to convince the public that mining companies can and will be environmentally responsible.

The MAC effort to improve the mining sector’s image is nothing new, but the idea has gathered steam since the organization received the results of a national survey last year. The poll revealed that while many Canadians are dissatisfied with the mining industry’s environmental efforts, many know so little of the industry they feel unqualified to comment on its activities.

Since graduating as a mechanical engineer from the University of Toronto in 1947, Hendrick has established a long list of accomplishments. As a Rhodes scholar, he completed a Master’s degree at Oxford University and, in 1953, joined Noranda Mines. His career with Noranda’s Sales blossomed and, in 1972, he became president of Noranda Sales. In 1986, he was promoted to his current position as president of Noranda Minerals, a unit of Noranda Inc. Hendrick’s interests, however, extend beyond mining. For example, he is president of the Art Gallery of Ontario.

Looking ahead to the next decade, Hendrick sees a renewed emphasis toward base metal exploration and away from gold. “The balance is shifting,” he said. In future, “there will be much more effort directed toward copper and zinc.” As the eastern economies strengthen, he explained, construction and development will create a demand for base metals. “Gold, on the other hand, is not driven by these forces.”

He is cautiously optimistic about opportunities for Canadian mining ventures in the growing Eastern European economies. Although he describes the geology as favorable, especially in Czechoslovakia, Poland and Hungary, he believes it will be some time before these countries develop the economic infrastructure to encourage major investments.

Concerning the increasing pressure to honor native land claims, Hendrick was hopeful that, in most cases, natives would recognize the benefit of mineral development on their territory. And because “the industry is committed to reclamation,” he said, mines should have minimal long-term impact on the land.

Hendrick realizes improving mining’s reputation will not be easy. “You can’t change a public image that has developed over the past 50 years overnight,” he said. But with two years ahead of him as MAC chairman, Hendrick has a shot at success.