Noront COO dies suddenly – by Carol Mulligan (Sudbury Star – April 20, 2015)

The Sudbury Star is the City of Greater Sudbury’s daily newspaper.

The man who was the face of Noront Resources Ltd. in Northern Ontario died suddenly last week.

Paul Semple, Noront’s chief operating officer, was known and respected in the towns of Northern Ontario, First Nation communities and in the halls of government, the company said in a news release.

Semple helped shape the culture and philosophy of Noront, and his guidance and leadership will be sorely missed,” Noront said in a news release.

“As a company, we will honour his legacy by continuing to forge strong relationships and dealing honestly and inclusively with all our stakeholders,” the company said.

Noront is focused on developing the high-grade Eagle’s Nest nickel, copper, platinum and palladium deposit, and the high-grade Blackbird chromite deposit, both located in the James Bay Lowlands of Ontario in the Ring of Fire.

It recently purchased Cliffs Natural Resources’ chromite assets in the Ring of Fire for about $20 million.

Semple has been the chief operating officer of Noront since 2009. Before that he was vice-president of projects at Silver Bear Resources Inc. from May 2006.

He served as vice-president of projects at Western Goldfields Inc., and was responsible for managing the feasibility study and engineering/construction required to restart the Mesquite Mine.

Semple had 27 years of experience in the mining industry, focusing on feasibility studies, project development and operations of precious and base metals deposits.

From 2001 to 2006, was president of PG Semple Consulting and Penguin Automated Systems Inc.

Much of his career was spent with Kilborn (later SNC-Lavalin) where he was involved in all aspects of project development from initial studies to construction and operations. He was vice-president and general manager of SNC Lavalin Engineers and Constructors and held various positions.

A member of the First Nations advisory board at Noront, Semple was a professional engineer.

At a meeting in Sudbury in March, at which the Ontario Chamber of Commerce released a progress report on development of the Ring of Fire, Semple spoke about how his company had been working with first nations.

He called the framework agreement reached by the Government of Ontario with the Matawa chiefs a commendable exercise, but said it didn’t mean projects with benefits for first nations couldn’t be going ahead on their own.

Referring to how government officials have called the framework historic, Semple said it would be an historic day when his company is operating and hiring a workforce.

For the original source of this article, click here: http://www.thesudburystar.com/2015/04/19/noront-coo-dies-suddenly