TORONTO and VANCOUVER — Three well-known Canadian mining financiers and philanthropists have agreed to donate their time and support to the latest Canadian mining industry social cause. Frank Giustra, Rob McEwen and Eric Sprott have agreed to meet with the winners of a Meet the Mining Mogul contest being organized by Women in Mining (WIM).
The initiative, launched on Dec. 15 by WIM networks (www.Women-in-Mining.com) in Toronto and Vancouver, aims to raise $250,000 by March 2009 to benefit impoverished people in South Africa. WIM's latest corporate social responsibility initiative builds on its successful fundraising campaign for breast cancer research. Members raised over $232,000 in 2007 primarily from private donations and companies in the mining industry.
Rob McEwen, who is CEO of US Gold, comments about his reason for supporting this fundraiser: "I believe in the concept of instilling confidence, causing people to believe in themselves and to strive towards financial independence. Microlending exists for that purpose."
The 600 members of WIM are seeking donations to The Townships Project, a registered Canadian charity that supports microfinance institutions (MFIs) in township areas in South Africa. These MFIs help to break the cycle of poverty by making modest loans to entrepreneurs (primarily women) so they can operate self-sustaining small businesses. Examples of small businesses that have succeeded because of The Townships Project can be found at www.TheTownshipsProject.org.
With a remarkably generous donation of $50,000 from Stephen Coates, who is CEO of Canadian coal miner Homeland Energy (www.HomelandEnergyGroup.com), the WIM initiative is well on the way to reaching its ambitious goal of $250,000.
WIM is a powerful network of 300 women in Toronto and 300 in Vancouver who are associated with the mining industry. It includes engineers, geologists, lawyers, human resources professionals, recruiters, stockbrokers, investor relations consultants and students. There are WIM groups around the world, with total membership numbering in the thousands.
For more information about Women in Mining and to donate to The Townships Project go to www.Women-in-Mining.com or contact Halo Resources president and CEO Lynda Bloom at lbloom@halores.com, CHF Investor Relations CEO Cathy Hume at cathy@chfir.com or Beth Kirkwood of Mountain Province Diamonds at info@women-in-mining.com.
Contest winners will be announced during the International Women in Mining Reception on March 3, 2009, at the Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada convention in Toronto.
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