Fred Pletcher is chair of the Mining Group and a partner at Borden Ladner Gervais LLP. He works out of BLG’s Vancouver office. He has over 30 years’ experience advising on a broad range of mining transactions and issues, both domestically and internationally. He is recognized as a leading mining lawyer by all major ranking publications, including Chambers, Best Lawyers, IFLR 1000, The Legal 500, Lexpert and Reuters. He has degrees from Columbia University (LL.M), University of Toronto (LL.B.) and Harvard University (A.B.) and was called to the British Columbia bar in 1993. He has served as an adjunct professor at the Allard School of Law at the University of British Columbia, a trustee of the Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation; and a director of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. He is a frequent speaker and author on mining law issues.

Robert Elver Mineral Economics Award (50th anniversary)

Dr. Robert Bruce Elver joined the federal Mineral Resources Division as a ferrous industry specialist not long after graduating in applied geology from the University of Toronto in 1957. He worked with the government until his untimely death in 1979. During that time, he was a representative at meetings of international bodies including the Steel Committee of the OECD and the Steel Committee of the Economic Commission for Europe. He became progressively more involved in Canadian regional economic development and pioneered work in mineral resource evaluation. In 1971 he became coordinator of the office of Mineral Policy Review at a time when an integrated federal-provincial approach to mineral resource development was clearly needed. Shortly afterwards, he was appointed director of the Mineral Economics Division of the Mineral Policy Sector of what had become Energy, Mines and Resources, Canada (now Natural Resources Canada). 

Dr. Elver participated in the activities of CIM, both in the Ottawa Branch and nationally. Importantly, in 1974, he sought the approval of CIM Council to form the Mineral Economics Committee (now the Management and Economics Society) and became its founding chairman.