Jim Gray has his roots in mining, being born and raised in Trail BC in the shadow of Cominco’s Lead Zinc smelter. He graduated with a BApSc in Mineral Engineering from UBC in 1975 and spent 27 years with Cominco subsidiaries. The first two were at underground operations as a contract miner, a shift boss, and a mine planner. Back in Canada, he joined Fording Coal Operations, and later to Fording’s Calgary office as manager of engineering, and in 2000 consulting with Cominco Engineering as principal engineer. After Cominco, Jim set up as an independent consultant.  

Since starting as an underground stope miner through to international consulting he has worked on a multitude of projects and seen several from exploration into production, most recently the formation of Moose Mountain Technical Services, a Co-Op of technicians and professionals. This has been his most rewarding experience, which provides camaraderie from building a successful team, and the opportunity for mentoring, coaching and encouraging others in their careers.

Jim Gusek of Linkan Engineering has 49 years of wide-ranging experience in mining-related projects, with a focus on environmental issues. Since graduating from the Colorado School of Mines with a B.Sc. in mining engineering, he has completed dozens of mined land remediation projects, many of which included the design of constructed wetlands for treating mining influenced water.  Since 1988, Gusek has advanced the understanding of how passive treatment systems work. In the process, he became an internationally recognized authority and is considered a pioneer in this sustainable technology.  Sharing knowledge is a professional credo; over his career, he presented or published dozens of technical papers and taught short courses at mining conferences. He is especially proud of his two versions of the “Periodic Table of Passive Treatment” in 2009 and 2013. In the past 12 years, he has focused his engineering efforts on advancing proven 40-year-old bactericide technologies that prevent acid rock drainage (ARD).