Mineral Exploration is the official publication of the Association of Mineral Exploration British Columbia.
Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/264766
18 s p r i n g 2 0 1 4 photograph : Mark Kinskofer/ Vision Event photography water-retention dike and the subsequent transition to what is now an all-under- ground mining operation. An equally daunting challenge fac- ing mining projects today is acquiring a social license to operate and, as the sec- ond diamond mine to be proposed in the Northwest Territories, Diavik had an exceptionally difficult task. The proj- ect leaders built a local team with a local focus, and – in addition to committing to the highest levels of local aboriginal employment – Diavik took innovative steps to use the mine as a foundation for many new aboriginal businesses. In 1996, Rio Tinto nominated Rod Davey to be the first president of Diavik Diamond Mines Inc. Davey launched the Diavik project onto a solid path of devel- opment, building a fine team of national and international mining, engineering and processing experts. Under Davey's direction, the engineers travelled the globe to learn about dikes, and, in the end, proposed a completely new and untried design. He took a new step to build a local team to advance community relations and community participation. Davey met with aboriginal elders, youth and leader- ship alike, and there are many in the com- munities who speak fondly of him. Dr. Stephen Prest replaced Davey upon his ret irement, and became Diavik's second president in 1999. His most immediate and formidable task was to see the project through the final, cru- cial stages of permitting in order to get a construction decision, then to translate all of Diavik's com- plex engineering and innovative community plans into action. With the help of seasoned and accomplished construction and engineering managers and con- sultants, as well as his local com- munities team, Prest saw Diavik come into production in early 2003, under budget and several months ahead of schedule. Robert Gannicott led Aber Resources, the 40 per cent partner in the Diavik mine project who staked the Diavik claims in 1992 and launched the original exploration programs shortly thereafter. Aber had to fund its 40 per cent interest if it wanted to retain its inter- est in whatever might emerge. As a junior exploration com- pany, Aber was challenged to continually market itself as an exciting and potentially lucra- tive investment to raise the funding required to meet that commitment. Under Gannicott's leadership, Aber was positioned as a uniquely attractive investment – one that had a committed and accomplished multinational mining partner, and, in a stroke of genius, a deal that guaranteed Aber would also receive 40 per cent of all the rough diamonds the mine would produce. This right to rough diamonds rather than cash profits gave Aber a unique position as a diamond seller and future player in the diamond business. Colin Spence Award Excellence in Global Mineral Exploration Recipients: Ben and Garrett Ainsworth The father-and-son team of Ben and Garrett Ainsworth received the 2013 Colin Spence Award for excellence in global mineral exploration. Collectively, they are recognized for their respective roles and efforts that ultimately led to the discovery of a high-grade uranium mineralized system at the Patterson Lake South (PLS) project in Saskatchewan. At various stages, the PLS project has been operated by ESO Uranium Corp., Alpha Minerals Inc., and Fission Uranium Corp. Ongoing exploration work has con- firmed continuity of the initial zone and has identified five additional zones along an approximate 1.2-kilometre trend that is open for potential expansion. PLS is a classic discovery story: Ben and Garrett were instrumental in advanc- ing an idea in 2007 that eventually led to the discovery of a mineralized boulder train and to the spectacular intersection of pitchblende in drill holes in 2012. Garrett Ainsworth, who was vice-president of exploration for Alpha Minerals, worked as PLS project manager for Fission, under the supervision of Ray Ashley and Ross McElroy, during the 2012 season when the discovery hole was made. While early-stage exploration work began in the late 1960s in the Athabasca Basin, the idea that uranium could be found in the Patterson Lake area, which was largely an overlooked part of the Basin, was spawned from old-fashioned desktop research where Garrett recognized the potential significance of radon anomalies and "exotic boulders" in a government report. With this knowledge they staked the land in 2007, and early work resulted in the discovery of a uranium-bearing boul- der field. Follow-up ice flow studies indi- cated that the possible source of boulders could be located along an east-northeast directional trend. Although the first 20 drill holes were not successful, this did not deter the exploration team. Ben and Garrett's application of alteration studies in conjunction with geochemistry and geophysics was instrumental in vectoring and defining the target where the initial The Colin Spence Award presentation: Michael McPhie, Garrett Ainsworth, Andree de Rosen-Spence, Ben Ainsworth and Ed Kimura. p12-23_Awards.indd 18 14-02-14 3:08 PM