Page 6 By Gregory Reynolds Mining produces the essentia l and ir replaceable components of daily life and modern technology as well as the building blocks of innovation Everything from lifesaving medical devices to planetsaving green tech nologies depends on minerals and metals The history of Ontario demonstrates that mining can transform people s lives and communities for the better The major mineral discoveries and mine developm ent of the 20th century underpinned Ontario s rise to the sta tus of Canada s most populous and wealthiest province and supported Canada s development as an indus trialized and globally competitive na tion Ontario Mining Association president Chris Hodgson comments The min ing sector has exceptional potential to contribute to the economic develop ment of Ontario provided good poli cy and governance frameworks are in place While directly responsible for the rise of northern communities such as T immins and Sudbury the industry afects all parts of the province Even though many residents do not make the connection T oronto is a city built on mining and not just in terms of its infrastructure Over 50 of the public mining com panies globally are headquartered in Canada and more than half of capi tal investment in the mining busi ness went through the T oronto Stock Exchange TSX Although the val ue fuctuates with commodi ty price changes the value of Ontario s min ing production is the highest in Can ada 106 billion in 2016 despite challenging market conditions The sector makes signifcant tax con tributions to all levels of government which pay for public priorities like health care education and infrastruc ture supporting Ontarians standard of living Mining ofers versatile and rewarding careers and is actively working to attract an increasingly di verse workforce W ages in the mining industry are 67 higher than the aver age industrial wage in Ontario W ith links to other industries and sectors in the economy including manufacturing engineering educa tion legal services transportation construction environmental manage ment and geological surveyinganal ysis among others mining contrib utes an economic multiplier efect In some parts of the province es pecially in the Far North mineral resource development is critical to creating highvalue jobs and entre preneurial opportunities Moreover Ontario miners are work ing hard on improving their capacity as environmental stewards by adopt ing efective management strategies and technologi es to reduce the envi ronmental impact of operations Much efort is being devoted to mak ing Ontario s mines ener gy efcient the industry has a low carbon foot print which will become smaller over time allowing Ontario to produce some of the lowestcarbon commodi ties in the world W ith society shift ing away from fossil fuel dependence and relying on more alternative en er gy sources global use of mining products will only grow As a place known around the world for its safety and environmen tal lead Ontario Mining A Foundational Industry for the 21st Century and Y ears Beyond Page 6 Canadian Mining Hall of Fame Benny Hollinger 1885 1919 Inducted in 2010 httpwww mininghallofamecainducteesgibennyhollinger The Porcupine Gold Rush of 1909 was a major event in Canadian history with three gold mines discovered by separate prospecting parties a few miles from each other The Hollinger produced 195 million ounces A total that is being added to by the opening of the Hollinger Open Pit mine in 2013 The discovery of the Dome Mine by Jack W ilson on June 6 1909 prompted Ontarioborn Benny Hollinger a former barber from Haileybury to join the trek to the Porcupine with Alex Gillies a professional prospector They arrived to fnd the imme diate area entirely staked and headed west beyond the staked claims In an abandoned exca vation Hollinger stripped moss from an outcrop and uncovered a wide vein splat tered with visible gold Their claims were later developed into the worldclass Hollinger mine by entrepreneur Noah T immins another Hall of Fame inductee W ithin this issue you will fnd pictur es and minipr ofles of just some of the many gr eat men and woman that have played a major r ole in the building of our gr eat nation and our rich mining indus try Contd on pg 8