The Recipient of the Fourth Fennoscandian
Mining Award in 2011
Mr. Peter Walker
Mr. Peter Walker
Mr. Walker is a British geologist and mining entrepreneur. He graduated in Mining & Exploration Geology in 1973 from the Royal School of Mines in London. As founder and CEO of Scandinavian Minerals, he acquired the Kevitsa nickel-copper-PGE deposit in 2000. Kevitsa was a GTK discovery which had lain dormant for several years. Scandinavian Minerals devoted the next 8 years to developing Kevitsa.One of the early and critical steps was the metallurgical breakthrough made by the GTK Mineral Processing laboratory. This identified a method for producing separate nickel and copper concentrates at economic levels of recovery, something that had eluded previous researchers.
Over the next 8 years, Scandinavian Minerals raised some 100
million Canadian Dollars in equity finance to develop Kevitsa.
Development work included metallurgy, drilling, environmental work
and feasibility studies. The company also began construction of
infrastructure, including a new road and river bridge, as well as
ordering processing equipment.
In 2008, Scandinavian Minerals was acquired in a friendly takeover by First Quantum Minerals for 281 million Canadian Dollars. First Quantum has continued to develop Kevitsa, which will commence production in 2012.
The Recipient of the Fifth Fennoscandian Mining
Award in 2011
Anglo American Exploration Team led by Jim Coppard
Anglo American Exploration Team led by Jim Coppard
Jim Coppard earned his MSc at the Imperial College. Whilst Jim has worked globally, his expertise and passion is in the Fennoscandian and Arctic regions where he has worked for over 20 years. In 2004 Jim had an 'exploration' idea and, with the support of Graham Brown, Head of Geosciences at Anglo American, he began the Lapland Greenstone Belt Ni sulphide exploration programme. This programme has culminated in a number of grassroots discoveries including the significant Sakatti Cu-Ni-PGE deposit. Although nobody knows yet the true dimensions or resources of the deposit, it is already evident that this represents the most significant discovery in Fennoscandia in the 21st century, (at least so far). The intersections shown today are impressive and the metal grades magnificent. The discovery is based on Anglo American's high-level expertise, traditional and in-house techniques and innovations in mineral exploration. Sakatti demonstrates that there are still major deposits to be discovered in Fennoscandia, and evidently this discovery will encourage all of us to focus further on the Lapland greenstone belt.
| From left:
Jim Coppard, Regional Head of Exploration -
Arctic, Anglo American,
Pekka Nurmi, Research Director, Geological
Survey of Finland and
Risto Pietilä, Regional Director, Geological
Survey of Finland
|
Jim leads from the field and over the years has risen in the
ranks of the highly successful Anglo American Exploration Group to
the position of Regional Head of Exploration - Arctic. Jim's highly
motivated exploration team in Finland includes the key personnel of
Bo Langbacka (with whom Jim has worked with since 1994), Stephanie
Klatt, Sebastian Stelter, Peter Blaberg, Janne Kaukolinna and in
the past Brian Williams and Denis Fitzpatrick who both contributed
towards the Sakatti discovery.
| From left: Peter Blaberg, Bo Langbacka, Pauli Välitalo, Sebastian Stelter, Risto Moilanen, Jim Coppard, Jorgen Ylitalo, Päivi Rissanen, Mattias Johansson, Kirsti Kulpakko, Craig Hartshorne, Klara Collis, Stephanie Klatt, Janne Kaukolinna, Ryan Preece, Jani Muotka |
|
The Recipient of the Third FEM Special Award in
2011
Professor Gabor Gaál
Professor Gabor Gaál
Professor Gabor Gaál is a rather rare commodity - an inspiring individual who has successfully combined an innovative research and teaching career with project generation and management skills, in many countries and across the entire range of geosciences studies, from exploration through tectonics to groundwater management.
| Gabor was born in 1938 in Nitra in Hungary. He graduated
in geology in Vienna in1963, with a focus on structural
geology and tectonics. Gabor then worked in India and in
Finland, in exploration for base metals with Outokumpu and
from 1973-1997, led a government funded research and
exploration program in Lapland, which for the first time
hinted at the potential for gold mineralization in the
region.
Gabor's geological and tectonic syntheses from this period represent benchmark studies in Finland, and reveal a conceptual approach to mineral exploration. During the same time, Gabor was pioneering mathematical approaches to geology, data integration and the development of computer-based methods for management of geological and ore deposit databases. |
From 1970-1983 Gabor also taught at the Universities of Helsinki
and Oulu in Finland where he is remembered for his enthusiastic
teaching and field course by a whole generation of students. After
a period in Brazil, furthering his international experience, Gabor
joined GTK in 1984 as Chief Geoscientist coordinating research in
mineral exploration and tectonics. Gabor then returned to his
native Hungary as Director of the Geological Survey, undertaking
the challenging task of restructuring an entire organization,
before taking up the position of research director at GTK. During
these years he consolidated his role as an innovative and tireless
coordinator of international collaboration in the geosciences,
through IUGS, EuroGeoSurveys and in the initiation of numerous
multidisciplinary EU-funded projects. After retirement in 2003,
Gabor continued his activities on EU-projects as the scientific
coordinator for ProMine, an ambitious large-scale, integrated EU
Framework Project involving 28 collaborative groups from throughout
Europe.
