The Association for Mineral Exploration British Columbia Jan. 27 awarded NovaCopper Inc. President and CEO Rick Van Nieuwenhuyse and former NovaCopper Vice President of Exploration Joseph Piekenbrock the 2015 Colin Spence Award for Excellence in Global Mineral Exploration.

Nieuwenhuyse and Piekenbrock are being recognized for their success in defining and significantly expanding the Donlin Gold deposit in western Alaska, the Arctic copper-zinc-silver massive sulfide deposit in northwestern Alaska and for exploration success at the Bornite copper deposit about 16 miles south of Arctic.

"Colin Spence was a person with a superb understanding of the science of ore deposits; massive sulfides to porphyries, precious and base metal deposits, and a determination to unearth mineral deposits using a combination of technical excellence and systematic diligence in areas of the world both accessible and remote. In my view, there can be no better nomination to exemplify this talent and success than that embodied in the exploration success of Rick and Joe," Alexco Resource President and CEO Clynt Nauman penned in a letter of support for Nieuwenhuyse and Piekenbrock's nomination.

In a separate letter of support, Pretium Resources President and CEO Robert Quartermain wrote, "Rick and Joe's success in exploration has resulted from recognizing opportunities, engaging with the local communities early in the process and completing agreements that benefit all parties involved. By focusing on only a few quality projects, their holistic approach of developing coherent geological, geochemical and structural models to build truly predictive models of ore controls followed up with targeted drilling to prove, disprove or further refine the model, has contributed to their success."

As part of the team at Novagold Resources Inc., Nieuwenhuyse and Piekenbrock received the Thayer Lindsley Award for the discovery of the Donlin Creek deposit from the Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada in 2009.

AME BC has established seven awards which are named in honor of eminent persons recognized for their distinguished service, leadership and contribution to the mineral exploration industry.

The Colin Spence award for excellence in global mineral exploration recognizes individuals who have made a significant contribution to enhance mineral resources through the original application of prospecting techniques or other geoscience technology.

The seven awards were handed out at the AME BC Awards Celebration of Excellence Gala held on Jan. 27 during the Mineral Exploration Roundup 2016 conference.

-SHANE LASLEY