To celebrate the life of Peter Munk (1927-2018), founder of Barrick Gold and recipient of The Northern Miner’s Lifetime Achievement Award, we have prepared this video tribute (see detailed slide notes below).
Read Trish Saywell’s feature story on the life of this remarkable man, “Mining titan and philanthropist Peter Munk’s lifetime of achievement.” https://bit.ly/2Fhdv6V
Peter Munk slide notes and timeline:
1927 – Born Nov. 8 in Budapest, Hungary, to a wealthy Jewish family.
1944 – Munk family flees Nazi-occupied Hungary, ultimately arriving in Switzerland on the Kastner train, which carried roughly 1,700 Jews to safety.
1948 – Comes to Canada on student visa.
1952 – Earns Electrical Engineering degree from University of Toronto.
1958 – Founds stereo and TV maker Clair Tone Corp., which closed in early 1970s.
1970s – Builds hotel chain in South Pacific and Australia. Southern Pacific Hotel Corp. sold in 1981 for $130 million.
1983 – Initial public offering of American Barrick Resources shares on Toronto Stock Exchange, with company headquarters in Toronto.
1984 – Barrick acquires Camflo Mines, with its excellent operating team joining Barrick.
1987 – Barrick debuts on the New York Stock Exchange in 1987. (William Birchall is center left, beside Munk and Bob Smith.)
1987 – Barrick completes purchase of Goldstrike gold mine in Nevada, which from humble origins proves to be North America’s most valuable gold mine and deposit.
1988 – Barrick opens Holt-McDermott gold mine in Ontario.
1990 – First autoclave at Goldstrike mine.
1992 – Company builders Peter Munk, Bob Smith, and Brian Meikle survey the Betze-Post pit at Goldstrike in Nevada.
Mid-1990s to late 2000s – Barrick’s flurry of gold discoveries, mine construction and acquisitions, including: Meikle mine in Nevada; Pierina in Peru; Pascua-Lama in Chile-Argentina; Bulyanhulu in Tanzania; Alto Chicama in Peru; Laguna Norte in Peru; acquisition of Homestake Mining in 2001 with its Australian assets; acquisition of Placer Dome in 2006.
1994-2006 – Building Trizec Corp. to become real estate trust with 61 U.S. office towers. Sold for US$4.8 billion in 2006.
2008 – Peter Munk speaks to guests at Barrick Gold’s 25th anniversary celebration, with Barrick reigning as world’s largest gold miner by production and market capitalization.
2010 – Named a Companion to the Order of Canada – the nation’s highest civilian honour – after having been named an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1993.
2012 – With Mountie and gold coin at the Museum of Nature in Ottawa.
1996 – Munk family becomes one of University of Toronto’s largest benefactors, cumulatively giving more than $51 million, establishing the Munk Centre for International Studies in 1996, the semi-annual Munk Debates in 2008, and the Munk School of Global Affairs in 2010.
1997 – Munk family establishes the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre at Toronto General Hospital.
2017 – Group photo for $100 million donation to Peter Munk Cardiac Centre – the largest single gift ever made to a Canadian hospital. Back, from left: Toronto Mayor John Tory, Brian Porter, Tennys Hanson, Jim Leech, Health Minister Eric Hoskins, Dr. Barry Rubin, Dr. Peter Pisters; Front, from left: Melanie Munk, Peter Munk, Amie Munk, Anthony Munk.
2018 – Dies on March 28 in Toronto, age 90.