Ring of Fire miner exec Paul Semple dies suddenly

Paul Semple, a 30-year mining industry veteran and chief operating officer of Noront Resources, died suddenly on April 15.

Semple was considered the “face and voice” of the Ring of Fire junior miner since joining the company in 2009, and was regarded as a well-respected leader in the mining community.

“He was known and respected in the towns of Northern Ontario, First Nation communities and in the halls of government,” according to a statement released by the company. “Paul helped to shape the culture and philosophy of our company and his guidance and leadership will be sorely missed. As a company, we will honour his legacy by continuing to forge strong relationships and dealing honestly and inclusively with all our stakeholders.”

Born in Englehart and raised in New Liskeard, Semple graduated from Queen's University with a bachelor of science in mining engineering in 1983.

He spent much of his career on working globally on mine developments, from handling initial feasibility studies through to the construction and operations of precious and base metal deposits as vice-president and general manager of Kilborn Engineering Pacific and later vice-president at SNC-Lavalin until 2001.

Semple co-founded Penguin Automated Systems of Sudbury and was vice-president of projects with Western Goldfields. He was active with the Canadian Institute of Mining and received the Past-President’s Medal in 2005 in recognition of his teamwork and leadership.

Noront is developing the Eagle’s Nest nickel-copper deposit in the James Bay region.