M. McKinnon
Glenn Nolan (Outers 1974-75) has been elected president of the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada’s (PDAC), arguably the world’s leading mining organization.
“I was at the right place at the right time,” said Nolan last week. “I’m not a geologist, an engineer or a mine developer, but I do have the experience to give something beyond an industry-backed position. The industry is ready for a new face.”
A Missanabie Cree (he was chief of that First Nation from 2001 to 2010), Nolan grew up in a mining home (his late father, Ken Nolan, started at the Renabie mine near Wawa in 1947, and came to Atikokan, and Steep Rock, in 1972), and has been involved in the field in a wide range of ways since completing a geological technician program at Sault College in the late 1970s.
He started in the industry with Cominco, then launched his own contracting firm doing prospecting work, claim staking and line cutting. Involving the local people in the work – they were often Aboriginal – was an approach he adopted right from the start. He got to see the other side of the coin as a chief, and worked to make sure the junior miners working Missanabie lands fully involved Native peoples.
Nolan got involved with PDAC while chief at Missanabie, when he served on a committee of the board in 2004. He became a full member of the board in 2005 and was first elected to an executive position (second vice-president) in 2008.
Today, he’s vice-president, Aboriginal affairs, with Noront Resources. Noront is an exploration company, and a major player in the Ring of Fire in the James Bay Lowlands, where it has invested over $100 million and discovered proven major reserves of chromite and other platinum group metals, nickel and copper. It’s been active in that area since 2007, and also has holdings elsewhere in Canada as well as in Mexico, China and Europe.
Noront Resources aims to fully involve Aboriginal people in the development of the Ring of Fire, and Nolan believes strongly these resources offer an opportunity for the First Nations in the region to grow and prosper. His work across Canada (and in South America) has convinced him “these communities, Aboriginal, Métis, Inuit, really want to be involved, and are taking control of mining development [in their territories].”
The challenge now is to make sure they have the resources and training to be able to do effectively.
Mining firms are more committed than ever to corporate responsibility, and the legal need to involve Aboriginal peoples when working in their territories, and PDAC has been a leader in both areas. That is a sea change in the way mining works, and Nolan acknowledges some conflict is inevitable, but says success stories far outnumber the trouble spots. He sees getting that message out as one of the major challenges ahead for PDAC and the industry.
“As an industry we have not done a good enough job of getting that message [of the benefits of mining] out,” he said. “People who work in the industry, who see the chain of product coming out of mineral resource, [understand] the benefits.”
Ultimately, even the most sophisticated of information technologies would not be possible without the mineral resources from which communication and computer devices are made.
“As a society we are heavily dependent on these resources, and really it’s always been that way. We tend to forget that. Native people used to quarry stone in Quetico Park, and mine silver and copper on the North Shore [of Lake Superior].”
Nolan has travelled extensively since joining the board, and expects that will increase during his term as president. (Noront is supportive of his role with PDAC, and has agreed to allow him to devote half his time it.)
“Canada is the world leader in all aspects of mining, from technology to corporate responsibility to legislation to best practices. [The world] wants to know what Canada is doing,” he said. “You name it, we’re invited.”
