Vale Inco has donated a $10,000 cash prize from Kubota Canada to Miners for Cancer in support of the Northern Cancer Research Centre.
The $10,000 was awarded to Vale Inco to celebrate the sale of the 10,000th Kubota construction unit in Canada. Kubota dealer Tracks & Wheels Equipment Brokers Inc. sold the unit to Vale Inco’s Creighton Mine.
“When we received the call from Kubota Canada that we qualified for the $10,000 prize, we thought it was very appropriate to donate the funds to Miners for Cancer,” said Brian Maynard, vice president of mines for Vale Inco’s Ontario operations. “Cancer research is a cause many of our employees are very passionate about, and we are very pleased to be able to help out in this way.”
Ed Yamanski, president of Kubota Canada was on hand to present the cheque.
“Kubota Canada and our dealer, Tracks & Wheels Equipment Brokers, have had a great relationship with Vale Inco over the 33 years we’ve been selling equipment in Canada,” said Yamanski. “With the presentation of this cheque for $10,000, we’re thrilled to recognize Vale Inco as the purchaser of the 10,000th construction unit sold in Canada.”
The relationship between Tracks & Wheels and Vale Inco began in 1985 with the sale of a KH5 Mini Excavator to Creighton Mine. In the following two years, Inco acquired 12 more KH5s for use as fast mobile ditch cleaners in the era of track mining. In 1987, the first R400 Articulated Wheel Loader was sold to Frood Mine. Originally used by track repair crews, the R400 evolved as a cost effective material handling unit. The M Series tractor is also widely used in Vale Inco mines. In total, the company has purchased more than 400 pieces of Kubota equipment since 1985, said Tracks & Wheels president Kevin Houle.
Since the origin of Miners for Cancer in 1996, more than $250,000 has been donated to the Northern Cancer Research Foundation through local hockey, slo-pitch baseball and golf tournaments. Miners for Cancer involves participants from many local mining and mining supply companies, including Vale Inco, Kubota, Tracks & Wheels, Sandvik, FNX Mining, Xstrata Nickel, William’s Mine, Technica Mining and Goldcorp.
“On behalf of everyone involved with Miners for Cancer, I want to thank both Vale Inco and Kubota Canada for this generous donation,” said Wayne Tonelli, general foreman at Vale Inco’s Garson Mine and co-founder of Miners for Cancer. “Cancer affects so many of our lives and when it comes to cancer research, every dollar donated to the Foundation makes a difference.”
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