PDAC to honor Rebagliati as top prospector of 1997

It is perhaps ironic that Mark Rebagliati will receive the Bill Dennis Award for Prospector of the Year for discoveries he made in British Columbia, a province in which exploration spending and development have dropped substantially in recent years.

Rebagliati is being recognized for his contribution to British Columbia’s mining industry, namely the identification of the Mt. Milligan, Southern Star and Kemess porphyry gold-copper deposits. Mt. Milligan and Southern Star are now owned by Placer Dome, whereas the Kemess deposit is currently being developed by Royal Oak Mines. Rebagliati is also being recognized for his work in Mexico, where he delineated the Reforma volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) gold-silver-copper deposit, as well as three VMS deposits in the Campo Morado district, near Mexico City.

The B.C.-based prospector will receive his trophy at the annual awards banquet of the Prospector & Developers Association of Canada (PDAC), to be held March 10 at the Royal York Hotel in Toronto.

Also picking up hardware at the awards ceremony is Norman Keevil, president of Teck. Keevil will be presented with the Viola R. MacMillan Developers Award for his role in developing Teck into one of Canada’s largest mining companies, with interests in both gold and base metal operations in Canada and around the world.

This year, the PDAC will issue two Distinguished Service Awards, which recognizes significant contributions to the Canadian mining industry.

Anthony Barringer, president of Barringer Geosystems and a 1998 inductee into the Canadian Mining Hall of Fame, will be honored for his success in the development of exploration technology, notably the invention of the INPUT (induced pulse transient) airborne electromagnetic system.

The second recipient of the award will be past PDAC president A. James Walker, who is being recognized for 47 years of service to that organization.

This year’s Special Achievement Award will be presented to the committee overseeing the Mining Matters campaign, which teaches elementary school children about the significance of mining to Canada.

The Environment Award will be presented to BHP Minerals Canada for its work at the open-pit Island Copper mine on Vancouver Island, B.C.