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Never Rest on Your OresBuilding a Mining Company, One Stone at a Time, Second Edition |
eBook Available
A lively story of luck and perseverance in the building of a major mining company, told with insight and humour.
More than a century ago, a prospector discovered gold at Ontario’s Kirkland Lake and a son was born to British immigrants in Saskatchewan. The boy - Norman Bell Keevil - went on to become a renowned scientist, teacher, and prospector, discovering a small but high-grade copper mine in Ontario. Parlaying that into control of the Kirkland Lake gold mine fifty years later, he formed the fledgling mining company Teck Corporation.
In Never Rest on Your Ores Keevil’s son Norman, also a geoscientist, recounts how over the next fifty years, a growing team of like-minded engineers and entrepreneurs built Canada’s largest diversified mining company. In candid detail he tells the story of a company and its makers, of the discovery and creation of mines, of the mechanics of industry financing, and of the role that mergers and acquisitions play in a volatile environment. Along the way he meets fascinating captains of industry and politicians not only in Canada, but in the United States and around the world. Finding an ore body - rock that holds valuable metals and minerals - and promoting its development in order to finance and create a mine, most often in hard-to-access wilderness, is complicated work, comparable to locating and extracting a needle in a very messy haystack.
Underlying this history is a constant need to replenish the ore, and this need drives the people involved. Drawing new lessons from the turbulent period between 2005 and 2023, this new edition of Never Rest on Your Ores is both entertaining and instructive, a rare insider’s account of an industry that has been crucial to the building of this country.
In Never Rest on Your Ores Keevil’s son Norman, also a geoscientist, recounts how over the next fifty years, a growing team of like-minded engineers and entrepreneurs built Canada’s largest diversified mining company. In candid detail he tells the story of a company and its makers, of the discovery and creation of mines, of the mechanics of industry financing, and of the role that mergers and acquisitions play in a volatile environment. Along the way he meets fascinating captains of industry and politicians not only in Canada, but in the United States and around the world. Finding an ore body - rock that holds valuable metals and minerals - and promoting its development in order to finance and create a mine, most often in hard-to-access wilderness, is complicated work, comparable to locating and extracting a needle in a very messy haystack.
Underlying this history is a constant need to replenish the ore, and this need drives the people involved. Drawing new lessons from the turbulent period between 2005 and 2023, this new edition of Never Rest on Your Ores is both entertaining and instructive, a rare insider’s account of an industry that has been crucial to the building of this country.
Details
Part of the Footprints Series (number 26 in series)
560 Pages, 6.25 x 9.25
29 colour and 12 bw photos, 8 figures, 3 maps
ISBN 9780228017783
April 2023
Formats: Cloth, eBook
“Never Rest on Your Ores contains many valuable lessons.” Gordon Davis, discoverer of Anvil mine in Yukon
“Never Rest on Your Ores is an inspiring story and a great general summary of fifty years of development of one of Canada’s core industries. It tells how the Keevil Family and their associates built Teck Mining into a leading international resource icon using the combination of great geological intellect, entrepreneurial drive, innovation and science. This should be a mandatory read for everyone with an interest in the Canadian mining industry and, in particular, the students. It paints a broad picture of the industry and how Teck, a Canadian champion, assisted so many industry participants in a wide range of projects in such a meaningful way.” Peter M. Brown, founder and former chairman of Canaccord Financial
"Clear, concise, and entertaining.” Pierre Lassonde, chief executive officer, Franco Nevada
"An insider’s recall of the development of one of Canada's most successful diversified mining companies." William "Bill" James, mining industry icon
"A truly fascinating read." Glen Clark, former Premier of British Columbia
“A must read for anyone in the mining industry.” Bryan A. Coates, president, Osisko Group
“Never Rest on Your Ores is an inspiring story and a great general summary of fifty years of development of one of Canada’s core industries. It tells how the Keevil Family and their associates built Teck Mining into a leading international resource icon using the combination of great geological intellect, entrepreneurial drive, innovation and science. This should be a mandatory read for everyone with an interest in the Canadian mining industry and, in particular, the students. It paints a broad picture of the industry and how Teck, a Canadian champion, assisted so many industry participants in a wide range of projects in such a meaningful way.” Peter M. Brown, founder and former chairman of Canaccord Financial
"Clear, concise, and entertaining.” Pierre Lassonde, chief executive officer, Franco Nevada
"An insider’s recall of the development of one of Canada's most successful diversified mining companies." William "Bill" James, mining industry icon
"A truly fascinating read." Glen Clark, former Premier of British Columbia
“A must read for anyone in the mining industry.” Bryan A. Coates, president, Osisko Group
Norman B. Keevil, a geoscientist with a doctorate from the University of California, Berkeley, is former board chair of Teck Resources, an officer of the Order of Canada, and a member of the Canadian Business Hall of Fame.
Colour section follows page 230
Preface • ix
Preface to the Second Edition • xi
Acknowledgments • xiii
List of Characters • xv
Maps • xxiii
Introduction • 3
PART ONE: BEGINNINGS • 7
1 Discovering Gold • 9
2 The Keevils from England • 22
3 Discovering Copper at Temagami • 38
4 What Happened to the Trilobites? • 50
5 From Temagami to Teck Corporation • 67
Epilogue, Part One • 78
PART TWO: INTERMEZZO • 79
6 From Silver to Lobsters • 81
7 The Texas Gulf Discovery at Timmins • 91
8 Early Prospecting in Chile • 101
9 When Teck Was an Oil Company • 110
10 Feeling the Stones in the 1960s • 114
Epilogue, Part Two • 124
PART THREE: THE NEW TECK TAKES SHAPE • 127
11 Evolving Strategy, People, and Prospects • 129
12 Divertimento: Tales from the Wild West • 139
13 Consolidation • 151
14 Building Two More New Mines • 155
15 The Song of Afton • 162
16 Dave Barrett and the “Socialist Hordes” • 173
17 The Turbulent Seventies • 181
18 Bullmoose Coal, Saving Order from Chaos • 198
19 China, a Giant Stirring • 214
Epilogue, Part Three • 227
PART FOUR: A SEA CHANGE IN THE WORLD • 231
20 Heady Days as an Era Nears Its End • 233
21 Managing through an Unprecedented Recession • 241
22 The Highmont Mine and Metal Prices • 247
23 Hemlo and the Gold Hustlers • 254
24 How Highland Valley Copper Evolved • 269
25 Acquiring Cominco, the First Stage • 280
26 New Mines at Red Dog and Louvicourt • 290
Epilogue, Part Four • 299
PART FIVE: THE 1990S, A SLOW ERA FOR MINING • 301
27 Returning to Chile with Quebrada Blanca • 303
28 Financial Problems in Cominco • 315
29 The More Things Change … • 321
30 Expanding in Metallurgical Coal • 324
31 Prospects Come and Go • 332
32 Bob Hallbauer, a Leader Gone • 344
33 The Saga of Diamond Fields • 346
34 Stranger Still, the Bre-X Tale • 359
35 The Sumitomo Connection • 371
36 Finding Antamina, a Jewel in the Andes • 379
Epilogue, Part Five • 398
PART SIX: BEFORE THE BOOM • 399
37 Noodling Strategy • 401
38 Biting the Bullet on Cominco • 406
39 Consolidating Canadian Coal • 416
40 Denouement • 426
41 The Changing of the Guard • 435
Epilogue, Part Six • 439
PART SEVEN: A ONCE-IN-A-LIFETIME PHENOMENON • 441
42 Life in a Super-Cycle • 443
43 Teck Rides a Roller Coaster, 2006-2020 • 456
Epilogue, Part Seven • 486
PART EIGHT: REFLECTIONS MOVING FORWARD • 489
44 Crossing the Stream by Feeling the Stones • 491
45 Riding into the Sunset • 497
Bibliography • 501
Index • 503
Preface • ix
Preface to the Second Edition • xi
Acknowledgments • xiii
List of Characters • xv
Maps • xxiii
Introduction • 3
PART ONE: BEGINNINGS • 7
1 Discovering Gold • 9
2 The Keevils from England • 22
3 Discovering Copper at Temagami • 38
4 What Happened to the Trilobites? • 50
5 From Temagami to Teck Corporation • 67
Epilogue, Part One • 78
PART TWO: INTERMEZZO • 79
6 From Silver to Lobsters • 81
7 The Texas Gulf Discovery at Timmins • 91
8 Early Prospecting in Chile • 101
9 When Teck Was an Oil Company • 110
10 Feeling the Stones in the 1960s • 114
Epilogue, Part Two • 124
PART THREE: THE NEW TECK TAKES SHAPE • 127
11 Evolving Strategy, People, and Prospects • 129
12 Divertimento: Tales from the Wild West • 139
13 Consolidation • 151
14 Building Two More New Mines • 155
15 The Song of Afton • 162
16 Dave Barrett and the “Socialist Hordes” • 173
17 The Turbulent Seventies • 181
18 Bullmoose Coal, Saving Order from Chaos • 198
19 China, a Giant Stirring • 214
Epilogue, Part Three • 227
PART FOUR: A SEA CHANGE IN THE WORLD • 231
20 Heady Days as an Era Nears Its End • 233
21 Managing through an Unprecedented Recession • 241
22 The Highmont Mine and Metal Prices • 247
23 Hemlo and the Gold Hustlers • 254
24 How Highland Valley Copper Evolved • 269
25 Acquiring Cominco, the First Stage • 280
26 New Mines at Red Dog and Louvicourt • 290
Epilogue, Part Four • 299
PART FIVE: THE 1990S, A SLOW ERA FOR MINING • 301
27 Returning to Chile with Quebrada Blanca • 303
28 Financial Problems in Cominco • 315
29 The More Things Change … • 321
30 Expanding in Metallurgical Coal • 324
31 Prospects Come and Go • 332
32 Bob Hallbauer, a Leader Gone • 344
33 The Saga of Diamond Fields • 346
34 Stranger Still, the Bre-X Tale • 359
35 The Sumitomo Connection • 371
36 Finding Antamina, a Jewel in the Andes • 379
Epilogue, Part Five • 398
PART SIX: BEFORE THE BOOM • 399
37 Noodling Strategy • 401
38 Biting the Bullet on Cominco • 406
39 Consolidating Canadian Coal • 416
40 Denouement • 426
41 The Changing of the Guard • 435
Epilogue, Part Six • 439
PART SEVEN: A ONCE-IN-A-LIFETIME PHENOMENON • 441
42 Life in a Super-Cycle • 443
43 Teck Rides a Roller Coaster, 2006-2020 • 456
Epilogue, Part Seven • 486
PART EIGHT: REFLECTIONS MOVING FORWARD • 489
44 Crossing the Stream by Feeling the Stones • 491
45 Riding into the Sunset • 497
Bibliography • 501
Index • 503
