CIM is celebrating a banner year in 2023. The Dominion Charter of June 18, 1898, officially marked the birth of the Canadian Mining Institute, which subsequently became the Canadian Institute of Mining Metallurgy and Petroleum, or CIM for short, as we know it today.
I’ve been involved with CIM since the early 2000s, but with its 125th birthday, I wanted to learn more about some of its earlier history. I took a look at Pride and Vision, a book by author E. Tina Crossfield that chronicles and celebrates CIM’s first 100 years.
CIM had its roots in the first provincial mining associations with representation from both the east and the west. Mining in Canada had grown quickly and the author notes that it was the growth of both the railways and the need for minerals that were primary factors in the opening up of Canada. Coal mining had been taking place since the early 1700s on Cape Breton Island. Canada’s first iron ore foundry was opened at Quebec’s Les Forges du Saint-Maurice in 1729. The mineral wealth of the Canadian Shield was discovered in the 1860s and discovery of the Sudbury Basin’s copper and nickel deposits followed in the 1880s.
With this growth, members of the mining industry also realized quickly that industry-specific organizations were needed to better inform both them and the general public, as well as to provide an industry voice. One of those organizations was CIM.
During the Second World War, CIM played a significant role in advising a government committee on the sourcing of minerals identified as critical for the war effort. Post-war CIM saw the growth of CIM technical divisions and committees, many of which morphed into the CIM Societies we know today.
Along the way, new branches and societies have been formed and new committees struck to recognize both membership needs and industry changes and innovations as they develop. Branches and affiliated student branches continue to have the longest reach across the country and have provided the first interaction with CIM for many new members.
CIM has navigated changes in membership demographics, internal structure and mining economic cycles. To do this, it has increasingly focused on its mandate and strategy. The 100-year history that Crossfield so eloquently chronicled in Pride and Vision finishes with 1997-1998 President Sandy Laird stating that CIM’s fundamental purpose is to provide its members with opportunities for both knowledge and fellowship. Those two guiding principles continue to be primary pillars in CIM’s strategic plans going forward.
I’d like to say thank you to Anne Marie Toutant and the presidents before her, to CIM’s hard-working central office team and to all of you, our members, for all of your efforts that have brought CIM to where it is today. We currently have more than 10,000 individual members and 124 corporate members. We have 30 branches nationwide, 11 societies covering a wide range of industry interests, 11 committees and 10 student chapters. We hold world-renowned events, publish internationally recognized standards, guidelines and leading practices and produce technical content that drives our industry forward.
Happy 125th birthday, CIM! We can look back at our storied history and our contributions to the mining industry with pride, and we will continually strive in our vision to serve our members as we go forward.
