Welcome to the Canadian Mining and Metallurgical Foundation!
The Canadian Mining and Metallurgical Foundation (CMMF) came to life in 1972 sponsored by a Group of enlightened CIM Members. They recognized that there was a need to encourage students to be involved in the Mining Industry, to have ongoing education of the participants in the industry and also to educate the general public on the need for mining to sustain our way of life.
This was the purpose for CMMF as it was stated in the 1972 Charter, “to create and support a strong program of educational and charitable activities directed towards improving the contribution of the Canadian mineral industry to the progress and well being of Canada”.
The CMMF has sought to uphold this purpose and has supported many initiatives over the years. The Distinguished Lecturers Program was mentioned in the CMMF Charter and the Foundation has been a strong supporter of this educational initiative. It is currently supported by CMMF and Atlas Copco.
enlightened CIM Members. They recognized that there was a need to encourage students to be involved in the
Mining Industry, to have ongoing education of the participants in the industry and also to educate the general public
on the need for mining to sustain our way of life.
CMMF is a supporter of the Mining For Society program. This program reaches the younger students and their teachers, however it also reaches older students and the adult population.
Initiatives by other groups are supported by CMMF. PDAC Mining Matters and the Mineral Resources Education Program of B.C. (MREPBC) have received support from the CMMF. These programs, designed to reach elementary school children, are thought to be particularly important to the well being of the Mining Industry.
CMMF has a number of Scholarships that it awards annually to University and Technical College students. These Scholarships have been funded by generous donations from Caterpillar and its Canadian Dealers, Scotia bank and Capital Markets, Mr. Arthur W. Foley (bequest) and McIntosh Engineering. They are directed toward mining and geology students. Scholarships that are available from other sources for Mineral processing, Maintenance Engineering etc. are also listed on our web pages.
CMMF would like to be able to expand its scholarship base to include many of the disciplines that are needed in the Industry and we will expand when the opportunity exists.
CMMF has entered into a 10 year agreement with the Saskatoon Student Chapter of CIM and the Saskatoon Branch of CIM to help fund the Chapter’s educational activities and to supply the Funds for an annual Chapter Prize known as the McIntosh Prize. This is the first collaboration with a Student Chapter and the local Branch and we hope that we can enter into similar projects with other Student Chapters. One of the keys to this is that the Chapter has to be open to all students who wish to be involved. The Chapters are encouraged to have multiple disciplines in the Chapter in keeping with the needs of mining.
CMMF is separate from CIM and has its own volunteer Board of Trustees. CIM has helped CMMF in the past and, since last year, they have supplied an office and other facilities for CMMF. Serge Major the CMMF Secretary-Treasurer volunteers his services to CMMF.
We have a conservative investment policy with the accounts being managed by professional groups. Our budget is not to exceed 10% of our funds at the end of June the previous year. You are aware that investment incomes do not easily average 10% so we are counting on further donations to sustain CMMF and grow the programs as soon as possible. Our objective is to have a responsible program that can be carried on even through the down years in the economy. Any new programs will depend on our ability to sustain them.
Last summer Deborah Smith-Sauvé joined us as our Manager. If you have been aware of CMMF in the past you will have noticed the change for the better with more communication to the supporters of CMMF and increased communication with the schools and other interested parties.