Mila Besich
The 42nd Annual American Mining Hall of Fame Awards Banquet and Fundraiser, sponsored by the Mining and Minerals Education Foundation (MMEF), will be held Saturday, Dec. 7, at the Westin La Paloma Resort & Spa in Tucson. Event proceeds fund an Education Outreach Coordinator managed through The University of Arizona School of Mining & Mineral Resources.
Each year, the MMEF honors a slate of individuals and companies who have made notable contributions to the advancement of the mining industry.
Mila Besich, Mayor of Superior, will receive a Special Citation Award. She has been a strong advocate regarding the importance of the Resolution Project to the economy and to green energy transition. Besich is the Executive Director of the Copper Corridor Economic Development Coalition promoting the economic and community development of Arizona’s mining country. Elected Mayor of the Town of Superior in 2016, Besich serves on the Executive Committee for the League of Arizona Cities and Towns and is a member of the National League of Cities Energy, Environment, and Natural Resources Committee.
Mark Cutifani, CBE, an Australian businessman and current Chairman of the energy transition metals board at Vale Base Metals, is the Hall of Fame Inductee. He is the Senior Independent Director with Laing O’Rourke and chairs the board’s Sustainability Committee. He is also a non-executive director of Total S.A and chairs the board’s Remuneration Committee. Cutifani is the former chief executive of mining group Anglo American. He graduated from Wollongong University, New South Wales, with a BS in Engineering and holds two honorary doctorates awarded by Wollongong and the Laurentian University in Canada.
Ihor A. Kunasz is a world-renowned expert in lithium and is the Medal of Merit recipient. After graduating with a B.S. degree from Western Reserve University in Ohio, he completed his Ph.D. degree at Penn State University. Dr. Kunasz became chief geologist for Foote Mineral Company. He evaluated global lithium mineral and brine deposits and focused on defining the lithium resources of Salar de Atacama, which has become the world’s largest source of lithium. Kunasz has received many prestigious awards including SME’s Hardinge and Dreyer award and became an Honorary Member of AIME in 2024.
Jack Lundin, President and CEO of Lundin Mining, will receive the Medal of Merit for Young Professionals. Prior to joining Lundin Mining, Lundin was President & CEO of Bluestone Resources Inc. He was involved in the highly successful development of Lundin Gold Inc.’s Fruta del Norte Gold Mine in Ecuador. He began his career prospecting on various early- stage projects in Canada, Russia, Ireland, and Portugal. Lundin holds a BS degree in Business Administration from Chapman University and a master’s degree in Mineral Resource Engineering from The University of Arizona.
WOMEN IN MINING (WIM) USA will receive the Industry Partnership Award. WIM is a nationwide organization of supporting the mining industry and was founded in Denver, Colorado, in 1972. The first National Board Meeting was held in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1981 when the first national officers and committee chairs were elected. WIM USA has multiple professional and student chapters in the USA providing opportunities for personal and professional growth. WIM USA supports their chapters by enabling organizational growth with a commitment to educate, advocate, empower and inspire.
Four individuals who played key roles in mining’s history also will be recognized at the event:
- James P. Lindsey (1843 – 1910) is remembered for his discovery in 1878 of rich copper deposits now known as the Lone Star mining district of Graham County, Arizona. He christened his lode claim the “Lone Star of Texas.” It would take Lindsey some 20 years of patient prospecting and development to finally realize a profit on the Lone Star property. In 1899, Lone Star was sold to a New York firm for what in today’s equivalent would be well over $400,000. This is now the site of Freeport-McMoRan’s Safford open pit copper mine.
- Mary (Mollie) Cathleen Gortner (1851 – 1917) noticed an interesting rock formation showing pure gold laced in quartz In September of 1891. Consequently, she became the first woman in the Cripple Creek District to discover gold and strike a claim in her own name. She owned the mine and relied on her son who kept an office at the mine. Being superstitious, the miners would scramble up out of the tunnels whenever she was on site.
- John Michael Callow (1867 – 1940) was a British mining engineer and metallurgist. In 1925, He was awarded the Douglas Medal by the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers for achievements in non-ferrous metallurgy. He is best known for the invention of the Callow flotation machine, one of the leading flotation machines for the first few decades of flotation.
- Richard Graeme (1941 – 2021) served in senior positions with several companies including Lumina Copper SAC and Gold Fields La Cima in Peru.; Gold Fields Venezuela; Gold Fields Ghana, Ltd; Sharon Steel Natural Resources in Denver; and Golden Queen Mining Company in Mojave, California. A native of Bisbee, Arizona, Graeme’s interest as a mineral collector started in his youth. Graeme worked as an underground miner at Bisbee for a dozen years. He graduated from The University of Arizona in 1972 with a BS in Geological Engineering. The mineral Graemite was named in his honor in 1975, as the discoverer of this material in 1959.
MMEF, formerly known as the Mining Foundation of the Southwest (MFSW), is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting education and public understanding of the mining industry and its related disciplines. MMEF seeks sponsors to advance its mission, raising funds designated to support the Foundation’s education program managed through The University of Arizona School of Mining & Mineral Resources. Chris Earnest serves as the Educational Outreach Coordinator (K-12th) creating educational materials, and leading demonstrations and activities for students and the public to help stimulate interest in and understanding of mineral resources and the mining industry.