Robert (Bob) has worked at Kettle River since 1992 and has been a part of the mine through its start-up, operations  and transformation to reclamation. Bob started his career at Kettle River as a mill operator and was promoted to supervisor in 2015. In 2017, he took on the responsibility of managing the mill, providing oversight and guidance as the mine transitioned into closure.

While Bob worked in this complex role, he challenged himself to continue improving our reclamation process. He worked alongside the engineering team to develop an evaporative system to manage critical water treatment from Buckhorn that involved installing new evaporators at the tailings facility. This new system resulted in savings on maintenance and labour.

Bob was also responsible for installing HydroFLOW units that greatly diminish environmental and safety risks by removing antiscalants from the system to reduce regular maintenance, pipe replacement and labour requirements. This initiative resulted in cost savings of  approximately US$115,000 per year and has since been implemented across several of Kinross’ operations. 

As the team at Kettle River has become smaller since closure, Bob makes himself available to all remaining departments to provide an extra hand when needed. He recently worked with his team to assist with the underdrain water treatment plant at the mill and the concentrate management facility design. Bob has shared his knowledge across Kinross’ sites, in particular Kupol, with their evaporation and chemical plans, searching for areas to find improvements and cost savings.

“Bob is a valuable member of the Kettle River team who continues using his skills and expertise to improve our site,” said Gina Myers, General Manager, Kettle River Operations. “He is not afraid to step outside his comfort zone and has grown from an operator to an innovator over his time at Kinross. We are proud to see him win this award and are lucky to have him on our team.”