Bill Dennis Award For A Canadian Discovery Or Prospecting Success

This award honours individuals who have accomplished one or both of the following: made a significant mineral discovery; made an important contribution to the prospecting and/or exploration industry. The award may also be used to recognize an important mineral discovery in Canada.

This year’s award is being presented to five people for their role in the Ring of Fire chromite, copper, and zinc discoveries in the James Bay Lowlands of northern Ontario: Richard Nemis and John Harvey, formerly with Noront Resources Ltd. as president and exploration manager respectively; Mackenzie Watson, president and CEO, and Don Hoy, exploration manager, of Freewest Resources Canada Inc.; and Neil Novak of Spider Resources Inc. The James Bay area had been identified as an area of possible mineralized greenstone but it was swampy and lacked the outcrops necessary for traditional prospecting. In spite of these obstacles, the five were able to lead their exploration teams to success, opening up a previously overlooked area of the country to new exploration activity.