One of Thunder Bay’s best known “mining people” was recently honoured by his peers at the Northwestern Ontario Prospectors Association awards.
Retired provincial geologist and city economic developer John Mason was named the recipient of the Dan Calvert Distinguished Service Award.
Mason was one of four recipients during the association’s annual awards ceremony at the Ontario Prospectors & Explorers Symposium on April 15 in Thunder Bay.
Mason, a lifelong Thunder Bay resident and Lakehead University geology graduate, spent 36 years with the Ontario Geological Survey in Thunder Bay, retiring in 2011 as regional manager.
He transitioned over to the Thunder Bay Community Economic Development Commission and where he spent the next 11 years as the project manager for mining services, a role created just for him.
He was instrumental in putting together the city’s Mining Readiness Strategy document on how the community could best take advantage of the economic spinoffs from the mining industry in northwestern Ontario.
Mason also served as chair of Lakehead’s Mining and Exploration Subcommittee and was chair of the university’s Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Mining and Exploration.
He retired to Bracebridge in 2022 where he works as an independent consultant. Mason was unable to attend the event.
Jim Parres, an independent prospector and geologist, received the Dave Christianson Lifetime Achievement Award.
An active member of the Thunder Bay exploration community, his work dates back more than 60 years, spending time in the James Bay lowlands, Kirkland Lake, the Timmins area and northwestern Ontario.
Born in Timmins and raised in Flin Flon, Man., Pares started prospecting in his teenage years with his family, exploring and discovering VMS deposits in Manitoba, for iron in Saskatchewan and niobium in northeastern Ontario.
In the northwest, Pares carried out many exploration programs in the Shebandowan, Beardmore-Geraldton, and Georgia Lake areas. He remains active with a portfolio of claim packages in the Beardmore-Geraldton area.
Pares serve as president of Shiningtree Gold Resources in the 1980s and has been an officer or director of six public companies across Canada. He founded Jiminex Inc. in 2009 to explore for gold in the Hemlo and Pickle Lake camps.
He is also a passionate chronicler of Manitoba’s mining history, having written two books on the subject.
Libra Energy Materials picked up the Bernie Schnieders Discovery of the Year for its high-value Soules Bay-Caron lithium project, south of Pickle Lake.
It’s considered one of Ontario’s most significant spodumene discovery in 2024.
The privately owned exploration company began grassroots exploration in 2023 and within a year found spodumene-bearing pegmatite occurrences across a 12-kilometre trend on the property at widths of up to 30 metres. From 184 grab samples collected, assays returned up to 6.64 per cent lithium oxide.
The project was optioned from Bounty Gold and after the discovery was made, Libra completed a $33-million earn-in agreement this year. Libra is planning for a public listing on the CSB in June.
Alamos Gold and its Island Gold District, outside Dubreuilville, captured the Developer of the Year Award.
The Toronto-based mid-tier gold miner has been steadily expanding its operations at Island Gold for the past several years, while marking records in gold production, revenue and free cash flow in 2024.
Last year, Alamos acquired Argonaut Gold and its neighbouring Magino open-pit mine. Gold production from the two operations totalled 188,000 ounces in 2024. Alamos is aiming for a gold production target of between 275,000 and 300,000 ounces in 2025. Consistently promising high-grade results from exploration at Island Gold indicates many more years of mine life ahead.
Currently, Alamos is carrying out a third round of mine expansion at Island Gold, all internally funded, that includes sinking a new shaft down to more 1,000 metres depth to accommodate increased production in the years ahead.
