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OTTAWA, January 21, 2015 – Today the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM), and the Canada Science and Technology Museums Corporation (CSTMC) signed an agreement to work together on a project to highlight the history of metallurgy in Canada.

The legacy project will preserve and document the contribution of the Canadian metallurgy and mining sectors to the advancement of Canadian science and technology, and create the fundamental body of research needed for the development and management of a national metallurgy and mining collection, as well as complementary educational activities.

More specifically, this partnership’s outcomes should include the development of an in-depth research report on the history of metallurgy and mining in Canada, as well as an oral history record which should include close to 100 testimonies from selected mining and metallurgy personalities, which will be accessible to Canadians through the CSTMC’s archives and websites.

To assist the CSTMC’s research experts complete their task, the CIM’s Metallurgy and Materials Society will provide input on significant events and people, technical oversight, and facilitate contacts. The CSTMC, on the other hand, will focus on compiling, preserving, and publicly disseminating the knowledge gained about this crucial sector of the Canadian economy.

CIM Executive Director Jean Vavrek says: “Considering the demographic shifts we face and the significant number of retirements this represents for the next decade, it is imperative to ensure that the wealth of insight and the contributions made by so many are not lost. For CIM, and more specifically for its Metallurgy and Materials Society – which has been documenting historical metallurgy for a long time – the opportunity to partner with the Canada Science and Technology Museums to highlight the trailblazing women who were such an integral part of our industry's legacy is a crucial step in the realization of such important mandates.”

Dr. Sam Marcuson, Past-President of the Metallurgy and Materials Society and Chairperson of the Historical Metallurgy Committee: “In an age of smart phones, social networks and other digital miracles we tend to forget that metallurgy and mining are cornerstones on which Canadian industry and society were established. Technical, economic and social developments did not just happen; they were created by leaders, people of action. Through both written history and oral histories, collected from leaders of the Canadian mining enterprise, this legacy project documents, preserves and disseminates this vital heritage.”

“Very often, people tend to forget that the marvels we now accomplish daily thanks to the new information and communication technologies would be entirely impossible if it weren’t for the extraction and transformation of our rich mineral resources. Little do we recognize the wealth of applied scientific knowledge that is deployed to make these raw materials into the cutting-edge tools we use every day,” observed CSTMC CEO Alex Benay. “By gathering the experience and knowledge of leaders of the mining and metallurgy, and by making it accessible to all Canadians through the use of the new technologies they make possible, we hope to close that knowledge loop with the general public.”

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INFORMATION:

Angela Hamlyn
CIM Director of Communications, Publications and Media
514-939-2710 (ext. 1303)

Olivier Bouffard
Media relations, CSTMC
613-410-5943

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