December 22, 2011 14:03 ET

The Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada Announces 2012 Award Recipients

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Dec. 22, 2011) - The Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) is pleased to announce the recipients of its 2012 awards for outstanding contributions to and excellence in the minerals industry. The PDAC's prestigious awards program goes back to 1977, when the first Bill Dennis Award for prospecting success was handed out.

Recipients of the 2012 awards will be honoured at the PDAC's awards evening on March 5, 2012, at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel. The awards evening takes place every year during the PDAC convention-the mineral exploration and development industry's premier networking and educational event.

The 2012 award recipients are as follows:

Gerald Panneton, President and CEO of Detour Gold Corp., is the recipient of this year's Bill Dennis Award for prospecting success or for a Canadian mineral discovery. Panneton advanced the company's Detour Lake property in northern Ontario into a world-class, low-grade, high tonnage gold deposit with reserves of some 17.7 million ounces of gold.

Osisko Mining Corp. is the recipient of the Viola R. MacMillan Award for company or mine development. Osisko successfully developed and brought into production its Canadian Malartic gold property in Quebec's Abitibi gold belt. The mine began commercial production in May 2011 and currently has an estimated 10.71 million ounces in proven and probable reserves.

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