Kevin Loughrey of Thompson Creek Metals retires

Kevin Loughrey. — photo courtesy Thompson Creek Metals

Kevin Loughrey's retirement has arrived at the same time as one of the biggest feats of his career: the opening of Thompson Creek Metals' Mt. Milligan mine. Loughrey made significant contributions to the company over the past 15 years, first as vice president and counsel, and later as CEO of the company. Under Loughrey's leadership, Thompson Creek was listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2007 and in October of 2013 opened the Mt. Milligan copper and gold mine in northern B.C.

Loughrey's start in the mining industry was different than many others'. He was a lawyer working in private practice in Colorado Springs when he bumped into a couple of guys who were looking for an attorney for a company called Rocky Mountain Energy, which was the mineral subsidiary of the Union Pacific Railroad. After a chat they asked Loughrey to join them. This was in 1978.

Since then, Loughrey has had several accomplishments in the mining industry. Two of his longest stints were at Cypress Minerals Company for 13 years and then the past 15 years at Thompson Creek. He served as vice president and counsel at Cypress and then continued on to the same position at Thompson Creek, working his way up to CEO.

According to Loughrey, his two greatest accomplishments happened at Thompson Creek.

"The sale of Thompson Creek to Blue Pearl and the reconfiguration of Thompson Creek as a public company and then ultimately a public company on the New York Stock Exchange would be one of my greatest accomplishments," said Loughrey. "Then the purchase and development of Mt. Milligan and the start up of this brand new copper and gold mine has to be another."

Retirement is going to be a big change for Loughrey.

"If I'm 50 per cent excited and 50 per cent scared, which I am, then my wife must be 100 per cent scared," said Loughrey. "She has a daily routine and I'm not part of it, so we'll have to figure that out. I've done what I've done for so long and I enjoy it and enjoy the people work I with.

"I actually am not sure what I'll do when I retire. It's been such a busy time and I've been so focused on the job and getting Mt. Milligan up and running and haven't spent as much time as I should've on what I will be doing next."

Loughrey's immediate thoughts are to take the rest of the year to relax and do some travelling with his family. At the start of the new year he'd like to look for some things to do. He is determined to stay active and involved in the mining business and will be looking for some avenues to do that. He is also on the board of directors for Craig Hospital in Denver.

"At Craig, they work with people who have spinal cord injuries and traumatic brain injuries and there's really only two or three hospitals of this quality in the country," said Loughrey. "People come from all over the world to rehabilitate from those kinds of injuries. It is a very good mission and a very positive thing for me to spend time on. I enjoy it very much."

Loughrey said his inspiration has been the people he works with and, of course, his family.

"I do everything for my family," he said. "I value my business career tremendously, but it's done in part to take care of my family, so family is definitely number one. Also, what I find myself looking back on as I near retirement is the friends, acquaintances and the people I've worked with over the years. They have been what makes the journey very enjoyable. I've made a tremendous amount of friends over the years and enjoyed the stimulation of the job.

"I like being part of an industry that creates wealth, that takes something and puts together capital and labour and intelligence and makes something that is good for the world. Plus we do it in a safe and responsible way. I love being a part of the mining industry."

Now that Loughrey is leaving his post at Thompson Creek, he has some advice for those who have chosen a career in the mining industry.

"First of all, I would encourage someone to do that," he said. "It's a very important industry and it is going to become critical as it becomes harder to build and develop these mines and yet the demand for commodities continues to increase. It's important for our future. I would also warn them of the cyclical nature of the business, as it's often up and down and politically unfavoured. It's an industry which certain elements of our society like to criticize without recognizing its importance. I say ignore those critics and drive ahead. Operate in a safe and responsible manner, do the right thing and I think you'll have a great career in mining."