Robert Quartermain, the driving force behind Brucejack, British Columbia’s newest gold mine, was named Mining Person of the Year for 2017 by the Mining Association of British Columbia (MABC) on May 1 at the launch of B.C.’s Mining Month.

Quartermain, executive chairman for Pretium Resources, said he was “surprised and very humbled” to be named MABC’s 25th Mining Person of the Year. He was primarily recognized for pushing the high-grade Brucejack gold mine, a 2,700 tonnes-per-day underground operation located in northwestern B.C., from discovery through permitting to production in under a decade.

“In May 2011, we mobilized the first drill onto the site and thought there was high grade gold at the Brucejack project and here we are seven short years later already we’ve produced over 230,000 ounces of gold in the first nine months of production,” said Quartermain, acknowledging the efforts of the entire Pretium team and everyone involved with the Brucejack project.

“We’ve invested over a billion dollars in northern B.C. with roads and powerlines in fairly rugged terrain,” said Quartermain. “At times we had over 2,000 people constructing that project over the last year, and today we have 500 people on site and a payroll of over 1,000 people.”

Approximately 30 per cent of the labour force are from the 25 different First Nation bands in the region, and Quartermain credits the company’s collaboration with them as the key factor that allowed Pretium to steer the project through the permitting in a relatively short period of time.

Related: Bestowed with highgrades and blessed with a favourable exchange rate, the Brucejack project is a jewel in Pretium's crown

Teck Resources CEO Don Lindsay, a colleague of Quartermain’s from his days at Teck’s Hemlo operations in Ontario, recorded a video message thanking his “old friend” for all that he has done for the mining industry in Canada and everything he has given back.

“Bob has the ability to see real potential and make game-changing discoveries,” said Lindsay, “Moreover, Bob is building the future of the Canadian mining industry through education, earth sciences and geology programs here in B.C. and in New Brunswick.”

MABC’s Mining Person of the Year award is presented to publicly recognize an individual whose outstanding leadership has advanced and promoted the mining industry in BC. Past recipients include Lindsay (2009) and Ross Beaty (2007).

The award reception was the first event on the 2018 B.C. Mining Month calendar. With so many events to squeeze into National Mining Week (May 7-13), MABC President and CEO Bryan Cox approached the province’s energy and mines minister, Michelle Mungall, earlier in the year to request an entire month dedicated to raising awareness of the contributions mining makes to the province. Mungall agreed without hesitation, Cox said.

“Mining has a long and rich history in British Columbia and I think it’s time that we celebrated it for a whole month,” said Mungall in Vancouver last night.