The 2025 Ontario Prospectors and Explorers Symposium took place in Thunder Bay in mid-April, where at the Valhalla Inn the Northwestern Ontario Prospectors Association recognized individuals and companies for their mining and exploring achievements.
Since 2001, the association has presented awards recognizing mineral discoveries, mine developments and lifetime achievements.
This year, the Dave Christianson Lifetime Achievement was awarded to Jim Parres. The award recognizes cumulative work, discoveries and contributions to the prospecting, exploration and mining community of Northwestern Ontario.
With a long family history of geologists, prospectors and mine owners, including his grandfather’s discovery of what became the Nor-Acme/New Britannia mine in 1924, Parres started prospecting at an early age with his family.
He co-discovered the Pine Bay VMS deposit near Flin Flon, Man., with his father in the 1960s. Parres is regarded as an active and well-known member of the exploration community in Thunder Bay. His passion about preserving Manitoba’s mining history resulted in him penning two published books: The Nor-Acme Gold Mine Story and Headframes, Happiness, and Heartaches.
Dan Calvert Distinguished Service Award
The Dan Calvert Distinguished Service Award was presented to John Mason. The award, which acknowledges exceptional service to the mineral exploration community, is named in honour of Dan Calvert.
Both Calvert and Dave Christianson were long-time prospectors and supporters of mineral exploration in Northwestern Ontario.
This is Mason’s second honour from the Northwestern Ontario Prospectors Association, having received the Lifetime Achievement award in 2010 and becoming the first person other than Dan Calvert and Dave Christianson to receive both awards.
Mason spent most of the 1980s as an economic and resource geologist in charge of a data series maps project and a limestone study. He became the resident geologist for the Thunder Bay North district and went on to become the regional manager of the province’s resident geologist program.
Before retiring in 2022, he spent 11 years as the project manager of mining services for the Thunder Bay Community Economic Development Commission, helping to build the city’s Mining Readiness Strategy.
Developer of the Year Award
The Developer of the Year Award, which recognizes outstanding mineral development during the previous calendar year, was presented to Alamos Gold Inc. (Island Gold District). Alamos Gold Inc. is an intermediate-tier gold miner with four producing assets in the Americas, including three in Ontario.
In 2024, while operating the Island underground mine, Alamos acquired Argonaut Gold and its primary asset, the Magino open-pit mine. This created the Island Gold District. The company has been consistently hitting records in gold production and revenue while continuously expanding its operations over the past several years.
Bernie Schnieders Discovery of the Year Award
The Bernie Schnieders Discovery of the Year Award recognizes an exceptional discovery in Northwestern Ontario during the previous calendar year and was awarded to Libra Energy Materials (Soules Bay-Caron project).
Formerly known as Libra Lithium, Libra Energy Materials was co-founded in 2022 by Koby Kushner and Ben Kuzmich with the support of David and Mark Goodman. The private exploration company features projects spanning across Northwestern Ontario and Quebec.
The Bernie Schnieders Memorial Award scholarship was presented by Lakehead University to Jason Dyer and Hanna Tiitto.
