Ontario teen wins mining essay competition

A 13-year-old boy from Aurora has been named “Junior Miner of Ontario” by the Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada (PDAC).

Riccardo Dente, a Grade 8 student at Light of Christ Catholic School, placed first in a composition contest that formed part of Mining Matters, an educational program designed to introduce Ontario elementary school students to the industry.

For his essay, Dente received 50 shares of Barrick Gold, one of the program’s corporate sponsors. The shares, which have been hovering at the $37 mark in recent weeks, are currently worth about $1,800.

“I learned a lot about mining,” Dente explains of the program, which was used for nine weeks last year in about 650 classrooms in Toronto and Ottawa. “It’s not just hitting a pick against a rock.”

Developed by teachers with the PDAC Education Committee, the program focuses on all aspects of mineral production, from exploration to marketing, and also encompasses such educational requirements as mathematics, science, language and arts.

“I appreciate the mining industry now, all the work that goes into it, and how many people are employed by mining,” the student says. “It’s more interesting than I though it would be.”

The second phase of the project will be implemented in the autumn.