2010 Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Saskatchewan (APEGS) Outstanding Achievement Award
DR. KLAUS LEHNERT-THIEL, P.ENG., P.GEO.
The Outstanding Achievement Award was created in 1998 to honour members who show technical excellence and achievement in engineering and/or geoscience in Saskatchewan. This year’s recipient is Dr. Klaus Lehnert-Thiel, P.Eng., P.Geo.
Although Klaus hails originally from Austria, he has a relationship with northern Saskatchewan that is longer than many APEGS members have been alive. He spent his first summer in the La Ronge gold belt at Waddy Lake as an exchange student in 1966.
After settling permanently in Saskatchewan in 1969, he was employed by contracting and consulting firms and active in uranium, base metal and gold exploration. In 1974, he joined Uranerz Exploration and Mining Limited and was on the Key Lake discovery team.
He subsequently became responsible for Uranerz's Canada-wide exploration efforts. In 1986, Uranerz ventured into exploration for gold (the Star Lake and Contact Lake mines with Cameco Corporation) and diamonds. Uranerz's gold exploration resulted in the discovery of the Bingo deposit during the 1991-92 field seasons.
Klaus is perhaps most famed for having led the team that made the original kimberlite and diamond discovery at Fort à la Corne in 1988-1989. This project is still the subject of advanced evaluation by De Beers and other diamond exploration companies.
Klaus is a highly regarded expert with numerous scholarly publications to his name. He serves as a consultant to the uranium and gold exploration industry. He is a director of Golden Band Resources Inc., a gold exploration firm. Since 1993, he has been responsible for all of its exploration programs in Saskatchewan. During this period he has developed an in-field gold grain recovery method that has been central to Golden Band's continued--and successful--exploration efforts.
Klaus has also been extremely active volunteer with professional associations. From 1982 to 1986, he served as Chair of Saskatchewan Mining Association subcommittee to advise the Saskatchewan government on the revision of The Crown Minerals Act and The Mineral Disposition Regulations. In 1985-86, he was Chair of the exploration section, Saskatchewan Mining Association. From 1993 to 2009, he was the director of the Saskatchewan Mining Association and from 1998 to 2002, he was the director of the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada.
Klaus's achievements as an exploration geologist were recognized in 2006 by the Saskatchewan Geological Society when he was placed on the society's Saskatchewan Honour Roll. This award is awarded annually to geoscientists who have made significant contributions to geoscience in the province. In the same year, he received the Saskatchewan Centennial Medal for his contributions to the province.
(text from the APEGS Awards booklet)
