PDAC Honours Six Industry Leaders With 2015 PDAC Awards

TORONTO, ON--(Marketwired - December 09, 2014) - The Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) is set to honour six industry leaders at the PDAC 2015 Convention in Toronto. The annual PDAC awards showcase the achievements of companies, individuals and groups in the mineral exploration and mining sector by highlighting the best in domestic and international mineral discovery, mine development, Aboriginal achievement, environmental and social responsibility, and distinguished service.

Recipients of the 2015 annual awards will be celebrated at the association's Awards Evening on Monday, March 2 at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel during the PDAC 2015 Convention.

Award recipients are selected by the PDAC's Board of Directors based on the recommendations of the association's awards committee. A summary of the awards and recipients are listed below.

Bill Dennis Award for a Canadian mineral discovery or prospecting success
David Palmer, President and Chief Executive Officer of Probe Mines Limited, is the recipient of this year's Bill Dennis Award for a Canadian mineral discovery or prospecting success. David Palmer is receiving the award for the Borden Gold Project, a discovery located near Chapleau, Ontario. The Borden Gold Project is an exciting and important new gold discovery that continues to evolve, grow and improve with continued exploration. Located in a previously unexplored area of Ontario, the discovery could potentially be the beginning of a significant new gold district in Canada. The company's June 2014 technical report estimated a high-grade gold resources with potential for underground extraction in the Borden Gold Project totalling 1.60 million ounces of gold in the Indicated Resource category (9.3 million tonnes grading 5.39 grams of gold per tonne), and 0.43 million ounces of gold in the Inferred Resource category (3 million tonnes grading 4.37 grams of gold per tonne) at a 2.5 g/t Au cut-off. The deposit still remains open for expansion.

Viola R. MacMillan Award for company or mine development
Matt Manson, President and Chief Executive Officer of Stornoway Diamond Corporation, is the recipient of this year's Viola R. MacMillan Award for company or mine development. He is receiving the award for leading Stornoway's team in the continuing development of the company's Renard Project located in the James Bay region of Québec. The team completed its $946 million project financing package this past July, more than 13 years after the project's initial discovery. The project is now under construction, with production scheduled to commence in the second half of 2016. Matt took the Renard Project through its various phases of development and has raised the financing necessary to construct the Renard Mine, despite extremely difficult markets. During this period, Matt also built strong relationships with the Québec Government, the Cree Nation, as well as with the local communities of Chibougamau and Chapais by making them active partners with Stornoway.

Thayer Lindsley Award for international mineral discoveries
The Ivanhoe Mines Kamoa Discovery Team is the recipient of this year's Thayer Lindsley Award for international mineral discoveries. The team is receiving the award for discovery of the Kamoa Copper Deposit in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The deposit is located in the Central African Copperbelt on the western edge of the Katangan basin, approximately 25 km west of the Kolwezi district. The deposit is a new and blind grassroots discovery in an area previously written off by other explorers because of its lack of Mines Series rocks, as well as of surface mineralization. A 2013 independent mineral resource estimate ranked Kamoa as Africa's largest high-grade copper discovery and the world's largest, undeveloped high-grade copper discovery. The Kamoa Discovery Team was led by Dr. David Broughton, Executive Vice President of Exploration at Ivanhoe Mines, and Thomas Rogers, Director of Exploration, African Mining Consultants. In addition, the team included David Edwards, Geology Manager, Kamoa Project, Ivanhoe Mines; Dr. Douglas Haynes, Director, Douglas Haynes Discovery Pty. Ltd.; Dr. Ross McGowan, formerly of African Mining Consultants and currently CEO, Armada Exploration Ltd.; and Steven McMullan, P. Geo., Site Manager at Ivanhoe Mines' Kipushi Project, and Principal Geoscientist, African Mining Consultants.

Distinguished Service Award
Bill Pearson is the recipient of this year's Distinguished Service Award. Bill is receiving the award for his outstanding contribution and dedication to Canada's mineral and exploration industry in which he has worked for over 40 years. He convened the first meeting of the Committee for the Professional Registration of Geoscientists of Ontario (CPRGO) in March 1989, which he chaired for seven years. He was President of the Association of Geoscientists of Ontario (AGO) from 1996 to 2000 and was the founding President of the Association of Professional Geoscientists of Ontario (APGO) from 2000 to 2003. In addition to his work for the geoscience profession in Ontario, Bill was instrumental in the formation of the Canadian Council of Professional Geoscientists (CCPG now Geoscientists Canada), where he served as one of CCPG's founding directors.

Environmental & Social Responsibility Award
Noront Resources Ltd. is the recipient of this year's Environmental and Social Responsibility Award. The company is receiving the award for its accomplishments and commitment to social initiatives in Northern Ontario. Over the years, Noront has expanded its community engagement program to include education, skills training, youth programming and economic development in the area. The company has built a partnership with Matawa's Kiikenomaga Kikenjigewen Employment and Training Services (KKETS) and Confederation College in Thunder Bay to create the Ring of Fire Aboriginal Training Alliance (ROFATA). Noront also supports programs aimed at overcoming barriers to higher education among Aboriginal communities, including Mining Matters, an organization that educates students about Canada's geology and mineral resources, and DAREarts, a movie-making youth camp that helps students better understand mining and a donations and sponsorship program.

Skookum Jim Award for Aboriginal achievement in the mineral industry
Sam Bosum is the winner of this year's Skookum Jim Award for Aboriginal achievement in the mineral industry. Sam is receiving the award for his work bridging the gap between the Oujé-Bougoumou Cree Nation and the mineral industry, as well as his continued efforts to encourage and mentor Cree youth to pursue their future careers, including that of geologists. Sam has been working with mining and exploration companies in the Chibougamau region of Québec for nearly 50 years. He is currently the President of Native Exploration Services, an Aboriginal-owned company that offers significant employment and business opportunities in the region and is considered a major employer in the Oujé-Bougoumou Cree Nation. Sam has been a member of the Band Council of the Oujé-Bougoumou Cree Nation for the past 38 years. During this time he has served as Deputy Chief and was elected as Chief in 2001, a position he held for eight years.

About the PDAC
The Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) is a national association representing the mineral exploration and development industry with over 10,000 individual and corporate members. The PDAC exists to promote a responsible, vibrant and sustainable Canadian mineral exploration and development sector. The PDAC encourages leading practices in technical, environmental, safety and social performance in Canada and internationally.