Queen’s partners with Kinross in new Mining and Sustainability Professorship

One of Canada’s leading authorities on sustainable development will serve as the university’s first Kinross Professor in Mining and Sustainability.

The professorship – established by Kinross Gold Corporation in partnership with the Department of Mining Engineering – brings renowned consulting engineer, government advisor and academic, Anthony Hodge, to Queen’s.

“Queen’s vision is one that emphasizes the need to strengthen our teaching and research capacity in ways that best contribute to society globally, particularly with respect to environmental, economic and social sustainability,” says Principal Karen Hitchcock. “A partnership such as this one with Kinross is a tremendous help to us in ensuring our success at doing so.”

The evolution of the Canadian mining industry over the last several decades and the global context in which it operates is “dramatic,” points out dean of Applied Science Kim Woodhouse. “The mining industry is facing a huge shortfall in skilled personnel. This contribution makes it possible for Queen’s to maintain and enhance its leadership position in responding to that change.”

Kinross has committed $100,000 per year over the next five years to establish the professorship, which will receive additional funding from the Faculty of Applied Science. This is considered a key step in the Faculty’s strategy for addressing the needs and issues of the minerals sector through holistic approaches to undergraduate teaching, graduate study, and research.

“We’re confident the teaching and research program of the Kinross Professorship in Mining and Sustainability will attract more top engineering students to the global opportunities of mining,” says Tye Burt, President and CEO of Kinross. “We also believe it will help to build Canada’s position as a leader in mining sustainability.”

An associate with the International Institute for Sustainable Development, Dr. Hodge is currently chair of the multi-interest Alternatives Assessment Team for closure of the Faro Mine, Yukon. He also serves as a resource person for the Gitxaala First Nation of northwestern British Columbia in their quest to build an effective relationship with mining interests, and facilitator for the Walter and Duncan Gordon Foundation in convening a multi-interest forum to review the sharing of benefits from non-renewable resource activity in Canada’s north.

While at Queen’s, Dr. Hodge will also hold the Helen and Arthur Stollery Professorship in Mining Engineering and Geological Sciences and Geological Engineering.

Kinross Gold Corporation is the fifth largest gold producer in the world by gold reserves, with mines and development projects in the United States, Brazil, Chile, Russia, and Canada, and head office in Toronto, Canada.