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s p r i n g 2 0 1 4 photographs : Mark Kinskofer/ Vision Event photography
E.A. Scholz Award
Excellence in Mine Development
Recipients: Peter Holbek
and Rod Shier
Peter Holbek and Rod Shier, Copper
Mountain Mining Corporation's vice-
president of exploration and chief financial
officer, respectively, were the recipients
of the 2013 E.A. Scholz Award for excel-
lence in mine development. They are
being acknowledged for their leader-
ship in bringing the Copper Mountain
mine back into production after a long
hiatus. They recognized the geological
potential of the deposit, arranged the
financing for the exploration and mine
development, established the necessary
ore reserves, and stayed the course dur-
ing difficult financial times.
Copper Mountain is an open pit
copper-gold mine located near Princeton,
B.C. It reopened in 2011 with a measured
and indicated resource of approximately
2.7 billion pounds of copper.
Holbek conceived and completed a
series of exploration programs to test
his plan for connecting the existing
three pits to create one super pit. His
knowledge of the deposit's character-
istics and potential provided the confi -
dence required during the early stages
of the project and led directly to positive
drilling results right from the start. Peter
did not hesitate to use innovative explo-
ration techniques, including the Titan
24 deep-penetration geophysics system.
Under his direction, the deposit grew
The E.A. Scholz Award presentation: Michael McPhie, past chair, AME BC;
Rod Shier; Peter Holbek; Ed Kimura, chair, AME BC Awards Committee.
p12-23_Awards.indd 14 14-02-14 3:08 PM
