Following a record number of nominations, Resourcing Tomorrow is excited to announce the full shortlist of nominees for the Mines and Money Outstanding Achievement Awards – to be held on 1st December 2022 in London.

It is the first time since 2019 that the glittering Gala Dinner for this prestigious awards ceremony will be held in person following the sudden arrival and prolonged shutdowns caused by the Covid pandemic.

Celebrating the mining industry’s achievements together

Rio Tinto's CEO, Jakob Stausholm, will also be speaking at the Awards this year – and the organisers are clear that the event is shaping up to be the best one yet. 

“This year's Resourcing Tomorrow, brought to you by Mines and Money Programme and the award nominees, is ultimately a reflection of the complex and hard work of individuals and companies, all to ensure that vital minerals are supplied, making fundamental changes to the world. Now, that's worth celebrating,” remarked Andrew Thake, Divisional Director of the event.

Indeed, 2022 has been a real comeback year for this prestigious mining industry award event, according to Chief Operating Officer Anita Richards. “We have had more nominations than ever, and have people signing up to attend in large numbers – and we’re looking to be entirely sold out soon,” she reported. “I can’t wait to celebrate the mining industry’s achievements together – and it seems the industry can’t either!” 

Recognising trailblazers in mining 

Among the award categories are those that aim to recognise companies that continue the search for the next generation of mines; who have made significant discoveries or have continued to progress exciting projects in jurisdictions around the world. While this includes traditional commodities such as precious and base metals, there are also a number of nominees with deposits in the battery metals category – key commodities required for the energy transition.

For the Exploration Discovery Award, Mines and Money has shortlisted ACME Lithium; Great Bear Resources; AusGold; Reunion Gold; Baselode Energy; Lithium Chile; Galileo Mining, and Patriot Battery Metals.

The Exploration Company of the Year Award sees Fireweed Metals; Amex Exploration; I-80 Gold and Goviex Uranium; Mako Gold, and Royal Road Minerals nominated for their respective exploration achievements during the past 12 months.

 

Awards recognising excellence in innovation within the sector also received considerable nomination support, as mining companies seek to become more efficient and extract additional metals from existing deposits and facilities, while explorers seek new and improved ways to aid exploration.

In the Mining Innovation of the Year category, shortlisted nominees include: Minehub Technologies Assay Exchange; the Boart Longyear orebody science platform (TruScan™); Gravitricity’s storage solution; Canada Silver Cobalt Works Re-2Ox processing technique; Iluka’s Narngulu Mineral Separation Plant, and Vinca Technologies fast-acting molten salt critical metal leaching technology.

For the Collaboration Award the shortlist nominees are: Minehub Technologies along with BHP and Sumitomo, Minviro and Maptek; Mkango and HyProMag; Rajant Corporation, Kinetic Mesh, Australian Droid and Robot (ADR) and PBE Group; and Iluka Resources.

Mining Technology Company of the Year shortlisters include: Geomoby; Minespider; Canada Cobalt Silver; Matec Industries; Canaria Technologies; NextOre and Hexagon

 

Outstanding leaders and unsung heroes

There is no doubt that the unprecedented events of the last two years saw a number of company leaders step up into making critical and timely decisions to ensure the safety of employees and the continuity of their respective businesses. In addition, there was continued pressure from industry leaders to ensure great strides that had been made in areas such as inclusion and diversity were not lost or shelved due to the on-going pandemic.

Nominees for the Mining CEO of the Year Award include: Chris Taylor (CEO, Great Bear Resources); Brandon Macdonald (CEO, Fireweed Metals Corp); Jim North (CEO, Ferrexpo); Leon Coetzer (CEO, Jubliee Metals Group); Marc Bishop Lafleche (CEO, Anglo Pacific/Ecora Resources); and Vincent Moscolo (CEO, Atlantic Lithium).

Alongside those established leaders are the future leaders that are already blazing a new trail. Nominees for The Rising Star of the Year Award – recognising an up-and-coming professional in the mining industry – include: Jorge Ramiro Monroy (CEO & Founder, Reyna Silver); Tamara Leves Hamen (President, Women in Mining Chile); Marc Bishop Lafleche (CEO, Anglo Pacific Group); Louis-Pierre Gignac (President, CEO & Director of G Mining Ventures); Francis Wedin (CEO, Vulcan), and Thandi Dywili (CEO of Lilitha Minerals and Resources in South Africa).

In a similar vein, there are a number of individuals who have gone largely unrecognised by the mining industry but have – in their own quiet, below-the-radar way – advanced mining as an industry. The shortlist for the Unsung Hero award includes: Anand Sheth (Co-founder, International Lithium Association); Assheton Stewart Carter (Founder, TDi sustainability and The Impact Facility); Carla Rojas Neculhual; Gladys Smith (Head of Engagement, International WIM Alliance of International Women in Mining (IWIM)) and Professor Joe Seegers.

 

Celebrating mining’s mega-deals

The mining sector is also known for its mega-deals, and no awards would be complete without an annual contender for Deal of The Year. Of course, size isn’t the only factor the judges took into consideration – they also looked at those transactions that most captured the imagination of the financial community and had strong synergistic benefits.

This year’s nominees include: G Mining Ventures Corp financing package for its Tocantinzinho Gold Project; Great Bear Resources sale to Kinross Gold for C$1.8 billion; The Ontario Teacher’s Pension plan investment into Foran Mining of $200m for 20-per-cent ownership; Horizonte Minerals US$633 million project financing for its Araguaia ferronickel mine, and the Matsa Mining acquisition by Sandfire.