It is with heavy heart that I recognize the recent passing of one of our CIM past presidents, Christopher Twigge-Molecey. Chris was the epitome of what makes CIM great—hardworking and dedicated; amicable but with strong views on matters important to him and always trying to build something better. Part of the reason why CIM is where it is today is because we’ve built on the legacy Chris left after his term as CIM President [2010-2011]. His presence and support will be missed by Hatch, where he worked for 49 years, MetSoc and our wider CIM community.

Chris, like so many CIM presidents before him, set an example of what commitment to the CIM community looks like. On top of holding office as CIM President, he was president of MetSoc (1996-97) and in 2017, he published, along with three collaborators and 17 authors, the important CIM book, Metallurgical Plant Design.

In recent months, other CIM presidents have demonstrated that the role of president is not a one-and-done task. For example, in November 2023, we launched the eagerly anticipated Mine Evolution educational video game, a joint venture between CIM and Science North and a passion project of Samantha Espley, our 2020-21 CIM President. This fun digital game comes with complementary educator resources and its primary goals are to demonstrate that mining is for everyone and that it is the foundation of our future. Another of Sam’s passions is safety. As current chair of the Health and Safety Society (HSS), she and many others in the HSS are working on many initiatives, such as a Canadian severe injuries and fatalities database to promote learning from grave mining incidents.

Ian Pearce, our CIM President-Elect [2024-25], chaired our third Capital Projects Symposium in Vancouver in November 2023, with significant support from past presidents Pierre Julien [2021-22] and Samantha Espley, along with Incoming President-Elect Candace MacGibbon [2025-26]. The conference’s goal overall was to create a forum to network, share and learn in order to enable improvement in mining industry project performance. This is very relevant and a key priority for our industry and particularly for operators and those with construction projects in the pipeline, including all of the engineering, construction and other mining-adjacent companies that support mining projects.

Unfortunately, there is not enough room here to thank everyone involved in these recent initiatives, nor to recognize all the great events and activities that our OneCIM community has undertaken over the course of 2023—activities that could not happen without the dedication of all our members and volunteers, including our presidents past and future. It is our CIM community working together that makes CIM such a success. I’m looking forward to a great 2024 and catching up with as many of you as possible in the months to come.