Lana Eagle wins 2018 PDAC Skookum Jim Award

Lana Eagle has made great contributions to the mining industry. — Photo courtesy Peter Caulfield

Lana Eagle is the 2018 winner of the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) Skookum Jim Award.

Recipients of the award have demonstrated exceptional achievement or service in a Canadian Aboriginal-run service business for the Canadian mining industry or a Canadian Aboriginal exploration or mining company.

Alternatively, they have made a significant individual contribution to the mining industry.

The award is named for Skookum Jim—his real name was Jim Mason—who was a member of the Tagish First Nation in what is now Yukon. He was a packer for miners and famous for his great strength. Skookum Jim was also one of the first co-discoverers of gold in the Klondike in 1896.

PDAC introduced the Skookum Jim Award in 2008. The past three recipients, before Lana Eagle, were Peter Moses, Darrell Beaulieu and Sam Bosum.

Eagle and six other PDAC award winners will be feted at the PDAC Awards Gala and After Party (see sidebar for the names of the others). The event will take place March 6, 2018, at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel in Toronto during the next PDAC Convention.

According to PDAC, Eagle has contributed greatly to Canada’s mining industry by “working diligently to bridge the divide between Indigenous communities and junior and major mining companies.”

“I was very surprised and humbled to hear that I’d won the award,” said Eagle, who is an Aboriginal relations consultant based in Campbell River, British Columbia. “So many Aboriginal people are doing great work in the same field.”

The first female Indigenous winner of the Skookum Jim Award, Eagle is a member of the Whitecap Dakota Nation in central Saskatchewan.

She has devoted her career to building relationships between the mining industry and Indigenous communities across Canada.

Eagle is the chairwoman of the Aboriginal committee of the Association for Mineral Exploration (AME). In 2017, she became the first Indigenous woman to be elected to the association’s board.

In addition, she is a program advisor to the British Columbia Institute of Technology, serves on the diversity and inclusion advisory committee of the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM), and is vice-president of CIM’s Western district.

Eagle has taken part in several panels on the topic of Indigenous engagement and reconciliation and has advised government agencies at both the federal and provincial levels.

She is also a speaker and lecturer, and a mentor to Indigenous youth who either work in the mineral sector or want to find out more about it.

Eagle is the driving force behind the AME Gathering Place, where industry and Indigenous representatives meet to forge common ground.

To bridge the divide between Canadian First Nations and the mining sector, education on both sides is needed, Eagle said.

“Explorers and miners need to explain to First Nations what they do, what the differences are between exploration and mining, and what benefits can be expected,” she said.

In addition, the mining sector needs to engage early with First Nations.

“All First Nations are different, and they all have different expectations that need to be managed and kept realistic,” Eagle said. “First Nations decision-makers need to know what each project is about and what they can realistically expect from them. They also need to understand how long it can take to bring a project through the lengthy approval process and into production.”

Eagle says the biggest hurdle she faces as a negotiator between miners and First Nations is arranging a meeting between the different stakeholders.

“So be prepared to be patient,” she said.

All of these challenges notwithstanding, relations between First Nations and the mining sector have been improving.

“It’s starting to happen all across the country,” Eagle said.

In addition to Lana Eagle, who won the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada 2018 Skookum Jim award, there were six other award winners.

Bill Dennis Award: NexGen Energy Ltd.

NexGen Energy’s exploration team discovered Arrow, one of the largest undeveloped uranium deposits in the world, in the Athabasca Basin of Saskatchewan in 2014.

Distinguished Service Award: Ted Reeve

Ted Reeve is a geologist and former mining analyst who has made invaluable contributions to PDAC’s annual convention. From 2002 to 2005 he chaired several sessions, including the keynote session in 2004.

Environmental & Social Responsibility Award: Golden Star Resources

From turning former pits into lakes teeming with fish to screening thousands of women in the region for breast cancer, Golden Star is recognized as a global leader in environmental and social initiatives.

Special Achievement Award: Jean Descarreaux

The late Jean Descarreaux was known for his role in developing the Quebec mineral exploration sector.

In 1975 he co-founded the Quebec Prospectors’ Association (now the Quebec Mineral Exploration Association, or AEMQ) to promote exploration and entrepreneurship in the province.

He also set the stage for several major discoveries by convincing the provincial government to introduce flow-through financing for mineral exploration in Quebec.

Thayer Lindsley Award: Don Taylor, Arizona Mining

The Taylor lead-zinc-silver deposit in Arizona is considered among the top undeveloped deposits of its kind in the world. Don Taylor discovered the eponymous deposit in 2014 after deducing that considerable lead-zinc mineralization might occur below a known silver-manganese deposit on surface.

Viola R. MacMillan Award: IAMGOLD & Sumitomo Metal Mining joint venture for Côté Gold

In June 2017 Sumitomo Metal Mining purchased an nterest in the Côté Gold project in northeastern Ontario from IAMGOLD. The investment and subsequent joint venture agreement allows IAMGOLD to proceed with the development of Côté Gold.

In addition to Lana Eagle, who won the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada 2018 Skookum Jim award, there were six other award winners.

Bill Dennis Award: NexGen Energy Ltd.

NexGen Energy’s exploration team discovered Arrow, one of the largest undeveloped uranium deposits in the world, in the Athabasca Basin of Saskatchewan in 2014.

Distinguished Service Award: Ted Reeve

Ted Reeve is a geologist and former mining analyst who has made invaluable contributions to PDAC’s annual convention. From 2002 to 2005 he chaired several sessions, including the keynote session in 2004.

Environmental & Social Responsibility Award: Golden Star Resources

From turning former pits into lakes teeming with fish to screening thousands of women in the region for breast cancer, Golden Star is recognized as a global leader in environmental and social initiatives.

Special Achievement Award: Jean Descarreaux

The late Jean Descarreaux was known for his role in developing the Quebec mineral exploration sector.

In 1975 he co-founded the Quebec Prospectors’ Association (now the Quebec Mineral Exploration Association, or AEMQ) to promote exploration and entrepreneurship in the province.

He also set the stage for several major discoveries by convincing the provincial government to introduce flow-through financing for mineral exploration in Quebec.

Thayer Lindsley Award: Don Taylor, Arizona Mining

The Taylor lead-zinc-silver deposit in Arizona is considered among the top undeveloped deposits of its kind in the world. Don Taylor discovered the eponymous deposit in 2014 after deducing that considerable lead-zinc mineralization might occur below a known silver-manganese deposit on surface.

Viola R. MacMillan Award: IAMGOLD & Sumitomo Metal Mining joint venture for Côté Gold

In June 2017 Sumitomo Metal Mining purchased an nterest in the Côté Gold project in northeastern Ontario from IAMGOLD. The investment and subsequent joint venture agreement allows IAMGOLD to proceed with the development of Côté Gold.