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Vale Medal for Meritorious Contributions to Mining

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Vale Medal for Meritorious Contributions to Mining

For meritorious and practical contribution to the mining and metallurgical industry of Canada

Origins & Conditions

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History

The Vale Medal for Meritorious Contributions to Mining is presented as a mark of distinction and recognition to the person who has made a meritorious and practical contribution of outstanding importance to the mining and metallurgical industry of Canada.

The donor is Vale. It has been awarded annually since 1933. 

Objective

To recognize meritorious and practical contribution to the mining and metallurgical industry of Canada 

Judging based on 

A meritorious and practical contribution of outstanding importance in bringing about a result or a significant advance to the mining, minerals and/or metallurgical industry of Canada. The distinctive contributions to be recognized must be applicable to the business of minerals, fuels or metallurgical products or to the application of related Canadian expertise worldwide. 

Recipients

There is only one recipient of this award every year. This award is solely for individual nominations (no teams). 

Winners

2024

Tony Warner

Tony Warner has over 50 years of pyrometallurgical industrial experience in Operations, R&D and Engineering. He retired in 2005 from Inco Ltd (now Vale Inco) after 35 years. Since 2005, he has worked for WorleyParsons (Toronto) and is currently the director of metallurgy, smelting and refining and has worked on many non-ferrous and due diligence projects since that time at all levels of development including technical lead for many RKEF projects including PTVI, PT Antam, South 32 (Cerro Matoso) and Horizonte Minerals.

At Inco Ltd, he has held senior roles at the superintendent/manager level in process engineering, plant engineering, process technology and development, smelter operations, pilot plant pperations, and R&D management in product and process research. He participated in commissioning and then operating the smelter at PT Inco, Indonesia and then spent many years back in Canada at the Canadian smelters and was a key player in the continuing improvements to reduce atmospheric emissions.

2023

Kurt Strobele

Kurt Strobele is chairman and chief executive officer of Hatch Ltd.  

He received his B.Sc. in engineering cum laude at Witwatersrand University in Johannesburg, South Africa in 1968, and his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering at McMaster University in Hamilton in 1973. In 1969 he completed graduate work at Munich University in operations research and production engineering. A year later at McMaster, he did graduate work in modeling and optimization of mixed variable systems before he joined Hatch on a full-time basis.  

By 1973, Dr. Strobele had been made an associate of Hatch, and held several leadership roles. He was vice president of computer systems (1987-1990); vice president, engineering (1990-1994); managing director, industrial minerals (1994-2000); and managing director, light metals (2000-2003). He was elected chairman and CEO in 2004.  

With more than 40 years’ experience in the design of metallurgical facilities, Dr. Strobele has been responsible for the development, design and construction of several major plants in North America, Australia, and South Africa. He has written and co-authored more than 20 technical papers, which have been published in several languages. He is a member of the Canadian Academy of Engineers, Professional Engineers of Ontario, Engineering Institute of Canada, Institute of Mechanical Engineers (UK), and AIME Iron & Steel Society.