Nine Canadian gold miners donated six gold bars to The Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation
Photo by: Henry Lazenby
TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Nine of Canada’s top gold producers on Wednesday donated six gold bars weighing 2 400 oz to the Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation (PMCF), giving the foundation’s Billion Dollar Challenge a $3.28-million boost.
During an official unveiling ceremony at the PMCF’s Toronto headquarters, Ian Telfer, a PMCF patient and Goldcorp chairperson, unveiled the stack of bars on behalf of the Canadian gold mining industry.
He likened cancer research to mining exploration, saying it was, in a sense, similar, owing to both looking ahead.
“I’ve benefitted personally from the extraordinary work being done by [the foundation]. The Canadian gold mining industry is the world leader and we are proud to support one of the world leaders in cancer research and care.
“The Canadian gold mining sector believes in [the foundation's] commitment to conquering cancer,” Telfer said.
The gold industry was represented by Agnico Eagle Mines, whose CEO Sean Boyd also serves on the PMCF board, Barrick Gold, Goldcorp, Iamgold, Kinross Gold, New Gold, Primero Mining, Silver Wheaton and Yamana Gold.
The donation kicked off the next phase of fundraising for the PMCF’s Billion Dollar Challenge.
“This is a golden day. We are halfway through the Billion Dollar Challenge and are well ahead of plan. Forty per cent of Canadians will be diagnosed with cancer during their lifetimes. It is the leading cause of death in Canada. Bold visions with big impact require big funding. This is not something we shy away from at the PMCF. We are so appreciative of the support from our community,” PMCF president and CEO Paul Alofs said.
The PMCF launched its Billion Dollar Challenge in April 2012. To date, this five-year challenge had raised $285-million through philanthropy, with $291-million secured through competitive grants for a total of $576-million, representing almost 58% of the target.
Alofs also on Wednesday announced a critical milestone in the fundraising drive to lead the way in personalised cancer medicine, with unprecedented investment in human capacity, purpose-built space and technology, to position the PMCF as one of the top five cancer research centres in the world. He said a significant expansion of the PMCF’s facilities in Toronto, an unmatched recruitment drive for top global cancer researchers and an expansion of the clinical capacity to improve its day-to-day services would be undertaken.