Mining Association of Canada announces new chair

Gordon Stothart, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for IAMGOLD has been elected Chair of MAC for the next two-year term. — Photo c

Gordon Stothart, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for IAMGOLD has been elected Chair of MAC for the next two-year term. — Photo courtesy Mining Association of Canada

The Mining Association of Canada (MAC) is pleased to announce that Gordon Stothart, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for IAMGOLD, has been elected Chair of MAC for the next two-year term. Gordon comes to his new role with extensive experience in the mining sector, and significant familiarity with MAC having been a dedicated participant on multiple committees, including the Executive Committee, over the past several years.

"We are pleased to have Gordon assume the leadership position at MAC," said Pierre Gratton, President and CEO of MAC. "Gordon is well versed in the many issues impacting Canada's mining sector having worked in the industry for decades and we feel extremely fortunate to have him on board. We are particularly pleased to have him as Chair given his familiarity with MAC's Towards Sustainable Mining® (TSM®) initiative, as through his leadership at IAMGOLD, the company has been recognized multiple times over the past several years with TSM Leadership Awards and TSM Excellence Awards, the two most significant honours MAC bestows on companies in recognition of outstanding work in corporate responsibility in the Canadian mining sector."

Effective today, Mr. Stothart replaces Anne Marie Toutant, Vice President, Fort Hill Operation, Suncor Energy Inc., who served as Chair from June 2017 to June 2019.

"It was a privilege to have Anne Marie at the helm over the past two years," continued Gratton. "Anne Marie provided leadership during one of the most active periods of public policy development in many years, and we appreciate all she did to ensure the mining industry's future success."

Gordon brings over 30 years of industry experience to his role as Chair. He has held the role of Chief Operating Officer at IAMGOLD for the past 11 years. Prior to joining IAMGOLD, Gordon worked for over 20 years in the Noranda/Falconbridge Ltd./Xstrata organizations in a number of operations, projects, and corporate roles in Canada, Peru, and Chile. Gordon graduated from the University of British Columbia in 1987 with a Double Major in Mining and Mineral Process Engineering.

"I am excited to be assuming this position at such an important time for Canada's mining industry, one of our country's most significant employers and contributors to the economy," said Mr. Stothart. "Canada has long benefited from a prosperous minerals and metals industry, but we are not immune to global competitive forces, and cannot take the benefits and opportunities that mining offers Canadians for granted. We operate in a global context, and competition for investment is fierce. I look forward to playing a role in ensuring the mining sector is given the opportunity to reach its full potential in the years to come."

The mining industry is a major sector of Canada's economy, contributing $97 billion to national GDP and responsible for 19 percent of Canada's total domestic exports. Canada's mining sector employs 634,000 people directly and indirectly across the country. The industry is proportionally the largest private sector employer of Indigenous peoples in Canada and a major customer of Indigenous-owned businesses.

The Mining Association of Canada is the national organization for the Canadian mining industry. Its members account for most of Canada's production of base and precious metals, uranium, diamonds, metallurgical coal, mined oil sands and industrial minerals and are actively engaged in mineral exploration, mining, smelting, refining and semi-fabrication. Please visit www.mining.ca.