PROFILE (April 13, 1992)

Always mindful of being an ambassador for the mining industry, Mark Rebagliati wastes no opportunity to communicate his belief that British Columbia’s explorationists and miners are the most environmentally conscious in the world.

As a result, he’s had some stimulating conversations with individuals at his door seeking funds for environmental groups. Most are surprised, he says, when he explains that measures being taken to protect the environment and rehabilitate mine sites are well above those used anywhere else in the world. Rebagliati also works to convince politicians to remove “confusion and uncertainty” on land use and environmental issues by estab-

lishing clear guidelines. “They seem startled when I tell them the capital we have in the province today can be somewhere else in the world tomorrow morning,” he said.

Rebagliati is best known for his role in the discovery and development of two of British Columbia’s best known gold-copper porphyry deposits, Mount Milligan and Kemess.

Rebagliati, who rarely takes a day off work, was recognized for this contribution when he was presented the “Spud” Huestis award by the British Columbia & Yukon Chamber of Mines earlier this year. Appropriately enough, he began his career by taking the chamber’s prospecting course in 1963 before moving on to the Haileybury School of Mines in Ontario. In 1969, he received his BSc in geological engineering at Michigan Technological University. Rebagliati worked for a variety of companies, mostly majors, and was involved in the discovery of both the Red Chris gold-copper porphyry deposit and the QR gold deposit in British Columbia.

“I spent two years looking for uranium in Saskatchewan and some time searching for massive sulphides and epithermal gold deposits in British Columbia,” he said, “but most of my career has involved chasing porphyry copper-gold deposits.”

These deposits were not “fashionable” at the time, which meant small budgets and industry skepticism. By 1986, Rebagliati opted to stop working for majors and begin working with juniors. “It was a welcome opportunity to be able to get things done without having to convince four or five people up the line,” he said.

After forming Rebagliati Geological Consulting, he introduced Mount Milligan to Lincoln Resources and later directed the program that drilled the discovery hole. In 1990, he identified the porphyry potential of gold-copper mineralization at Kemess Creek and introduced that property to El Condor Resources. He is currently geological consultant and exploration manager at both Kemess projects.

Married for 23 years, Rebagliati and wife Lynda are avid skiers and scuba divers. The couple has two children. Son Ross, 20, was the 1991 Canadian and U.S. national snowboarding champion and is now on the World Cup circuit. Daughter Christy, 19, snowboards at the amateur level.