Xstrata Nickel took home the Canadian Land Reclamation Association’s (CLRA) Edward M. Watkin Award at the association’s 36th national conference, held concurrently with the 5th Mining and Environment International Conference in Sudbury June 27th. Named after a founding member of the CLRA, the award recognizes major contributions to land reclamation.
The company won the award for making major reductions in sulphur dioxide emissions from its Sudbury smelter and for its regreening efforts in the Sudbury Basin.
“This is a tribute to a lot of effort over a lot of years,” said Joe Fyfe in accepting the award. “There are a lot of people who provided the impetus for these programs. They provided us with the spirit of innovation to pursue things that were a little off the beaten track and were a little novel, but in the end served us well.”
The CLRA’s Noranda Award for 2011 was won by geologist Bill Mackasey of Sudbury. Described as the “godfather of abandoned mines in Ontario,” Mackasey managed the Ontario government’s three-year, $10 million program to inventory, assess and remediate abandoned mine hazards in the province.
He began his career describing the rocks of Ontario and identifying mineral exploration opportunities. His work transitioned into land use planning, mineral development and abandoned mines.
Mackasey recognized that abandoned mines were the result of poor planning and regulation, and focused on policy development for the creation of mine rehabilitation legislation, leading to a revision of Ontario’s Mining Act.
He was the Ministry of Northern Development and Mines’ representative on the Joint Review Committee for decommissioning the uranium mines of Elliot Lake, Agnew Lake and Bancroft, and spearheaded the founding of the Sudbury Mining and Environment International Conference series.
The recipient of the inaugural Tom Peters Student Award at the conference was Kelsey Norlund, a Ph.D student at McMaster University, for her submission entitled “Microbial sulphur geochemistry in mine water chemistry: the interactions between ecology and geochemistry.” Norland also took home a cheque for $5,000.
