The 2019 NWT Mining and Exploration (MAX) Award for Indigenous Achievement was awarded to Shayne Paul, senior mining manager who led the Gahcho Kué mining team through construction and the first two years of operations, De Beers said in a press release yesterday.

Paul, who is Métis, was born and raised in Yellowknife and has worked many years in the mining industry in the NWT, the United States and Mongolia, the company said. He is currently on a one-year leave of absence from De Beers Group, taking time off to spend with his wife and family.

The MAX awards have been presented since 2017 by the NWT & Nunavut Chamber of Mines and the Government of the Northwest Territories. This year the winners were felicitated at a sold-out gala banquet held on November 21 in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories.

Originally an aircraft technician, Paul went back to school to earn a civil engineering degree, training put to work during construction of Diavik Diamond Mine. While at Diavik, he worked his way up the ranks of the mining team to becoming mining superintendent.

After working for Rio Tinto in the U.S. and Mongolia, he returned to the NWT for De Beers Group in early 2014, shortly after construction began at Gahcho Kué Mine, the company said.

“I coached Shayne when he was a bantam hockey player in Yellowknife and he was a leader then,” said Erik Madsen, Lead, Corporate Affairs for De Beers Group in Canada. Madsen worked with Paul at Diavik and now at De Beers and was asked to present the award. “When people heard Shayne was back in the North (to work at Gahcho Kué) – he was flooded with resumes – people eager to have the opportunity to come back and work with him from his days at Diavik.”

Paul was grateful for the recognition: “It’s very special to not only be recognized for work in the mining industry, but also for indigenous achievement.”

Gahcho Kué won additional recognition indirectly when Det’on Cho Management LP, which has been a long-time business partner with De Beers Group in the NWT, won the award for Economic Leadership.

Det’on Cho is the economic development arm of the Yellowknives Dene First Nation and provides a range of services at Gahcho Kué and Snap Lake Mines, including catering services and logistics support.

Det’on Cho employs 800 people and generates $50 million in revenue annually.