32 - Sunday, June 21, 1992 ~ North Shore News Mining man: @ NAME: Tony Peizina @ AGE: 57 @ OCCUPATION: President, chief executive officer of Placer Dome Inc. @ RESIDENCE: West Vancouver - @ BORN: Sudbury, Ont. @ FAMILY: Wife Gloria, chifdren four HE’S ONE of the biggest names in the Canadian min- ing industry. And while his business is strictly mining, he makes a substantial con- tribution each year to the airline industry. By Surj Rattan News Reporter West Vancouver resident Tony Petrina, president and chairman of gold producer Placer Dome Inc., is a frequent flyer, and he hates being one. But having to put up with airline flights and airline food are two of the chores an executive like Petrina is forced to put up with as head of one of the largest mining companies in Canada. in September, Petrina will step down as president and CEO of Placer Dome, though he will con- tinue to serve as the company’s director. He says he will aspects of his job, won't be one of them. “TI think | travelled about 250,000 miles last year. It works out to about 500 hours a year in a jet aircraft and that doesn't count helicopters and small aircraft. “If you add up all the time you spend getting to and from the plane and the time you: spend on the plane, I think that’s one part -_ of the job I’m not going to miss,” says Petrina. . miss some but flying PLACER DOME inc. president and chief executive Tony Petrina will be stepping down as the boss HIGH PROFILES Placer Dome’s Tony Petrina ne NEWS photos Neil Lucente TONY PETRINA is the true definition of a frequent fiyer, having spent 500 hours in planes last year while commuting 250,000 miles. He has worked in the mining business most of his life and liter- aly learned the business from the ground up. After graduating from high school, Petrina worked in a mine in northern Ontario for five years. And while the thought of work- ing in an underground mine may not appeal to most people, Petrina says he enjoyed the work. “fC liked it a lot. In northern Ontario, working underground is warm in the winter compared to working outdoors,’’ says Petrina. When Petrina steps down as Placer Dome’s boss, he will con- tinue to play an important role in the company’s operations as well as acting as a voice for the Cana- of one of the world’s largest gold producers in September. SHARE YOUR FAMILY? BCJ Services Canada Inc. together with our parent company BCJ (Japan) invite you and your Canadian family to enjoy the unique experience of sharing your home with a Japanese student of high school to university age. Japanese students are known for their polite behaviour, and many student/family visits develop into lasting relationships. If you are interested or would like more information, please call Makito at 689-5722. dian mining industry. Petrina’ was recently elected chairman of the Mining Associa- tion of Canada for a two-year. term. The Ottawa-based national organization is supported by most mining companies in Canada. Petrina says the organization deals mainly with the federal gov- ernment on a variety of issues, ranging from taxation to en- vironmental legislation. “The chairman,’’ he says, ‘‘is the representative of the mining companies and sets the tone for the activities of the association.” He adds that Canada’s mining industry is not in the best of shape right now. Placer Dome was created in Vancouver in 1987 by the amalgamation of Placer Devel- opment Ltd. and Dome Mines Ltd. and Campbell Red Lake Mines Ltd. of Toronto. Placer Dome is now one of the largest international gold mining companies in the world and in 1991 a record 1,680,000 ounces of gold was produced from Placer Dome mines in Canada, the Unit- ed States, Australia, Papua New Guinea and Chile. Placer Dome also produces sev- eral base metals such as silver, copper and molybdenum. As the company’s head, Petrina oversees an operation that includes 19 mines, 15 of them gold mines, and a world-wide workforce of 5,250. Prior to his appointment as Placer Dome’s president and chief executive officer, Petrina was the company’s vice-president and chief operating officer and a director. He has worked for Placer Dome Tony Petrina: In How did you get into the mining bDusiness?: ‘“‘My father was a miner. Although I was born in Sudbury, Ontario, our family moved to a place called Geraldton, Ontario, when f was about a year old. It used to be a gold-mining town. “That’s where I grew up and went to elementary and high school. My first job when | grad- uated from high school was work- ing underground in the gold mine. I did that for about five years.” Why have you decided to step down as president and chief exec- utive officer of Placer Dome?: “One reason is that I've been at it for a long time, and I've been in this business for a long time, 41 years. LAWRENCE B. O’NEILL LAWYER Personal Injury and Motor Vehicle Law 11 Years Experience (Free initial consultation) 294-8311 4729 E. Hastings St., Burnaby JHARRIS THRELFALL O’NEILL and its predecessor for 32 years. Before coming to the company, Petrina, who graduated in mining engineering from Queen’s Univer- sity in Toronto, worked as a mine manager in Merritt. He says the move to the 16th floor corporate offices in downtown Vancouver was a major transition for him and his family. “It was certainly a big change from heading up a company that is a major employer in a small town where everybody in town . knows you and moving to the city where you’re just another pretty: face. “But it didn’t take very long. 7 felt a little lost at first, but we had a lot of friends in Vancouver when we came here and that’s what friends are for. I think the first winter that 1 spent in Van- couver, | think that was the winter that it rained 52 days in a row,” says Petrina. his own words “IT think [ want to do some things that are more relaxing than running a mining company. I will still maintain an involvement with the company and the board of directors, and | will maintain an involvement with the mining in- dustry through the mining association.”’ Darlene Redenbach Php. (UBC - Anatomy) A Happiness is being finished! Congratulations on your graduation. from dak, Kari, Kathi, Jason