Kirk Woodman was described as a talented geologist — part of a wider community of Nova Scotia-trained geologists who helped find mines around the globe
Government officials in Burkina Faso have confirmed a Canadian mining company employee has been found dead after being kidnapped in the west African country.
An official with the Ministry of Security says Kirk Woodman, a Halifax man who worked for the Vancouver-based Progress Mineral Mining Company, was found dead late Wednesday in Oudalan province.
Jean Paul Badoum said from Ouagadougou, the country’s capital, that the body was found with bullet wounds. Badoum said Woodman was kidnapped by armed gunmen from a mining camp, but officials have not yet identified the kidnappers. He said no group has taken responsibility for the kidnapping.
Badoum said the body was found alone. Acadia University professor Sandra Barr said in an email late Wednesday that Woodman was quite well-known among geologists in Nova Scotia, where he was based, and had worked in Africa for decades. “He was very passionate about the work that he was doing there,” she said.
David Duncan, a veteran exploration geologist based in Windsor, N.S., said he worked with Woodman on projects in Nova Scotia and overseas for more than four decades. In an interview Wednesday, he described Woodman as a talented geologist — part of a wider community of Nova Scotia-trained geologists who helped find mines around the globe.
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