Selwyn Gwillym Blaylock (February 18, 1879 – November 19, 1945) was a part of starting the mining industry in western Canada. He was president of

Teck Resources Teck Resources Limited, known as Teck Cominco until late 2008, is a diversified natural resources company headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, that is engaged in mining and mineral development, including coal for the steelmaking indust ...

, recipient of several international awards for his work in metallurgy, and was the President of the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum in 1934–35. For his work he was inducted into the

Canadian Mining Hall of Fame The Canadian Mining Hall of Fame was conceived by Maurice R. Brown as a way to honor Canada's mine finders and builders, in recognition of accomplishments by leaders in the Canadian mining industry. The Hall was established in 1988; in 2022 it ha ...

Early life

He was born in Paspébiac, Quebec. Blaylock attended

Bishop's College School Bishop's College School or BCS is an English-language non-profit independent boarding prep school in Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada for students in Grades 7 to 12.Thomson, Ashley; Lafortune, Sylvie (1999). Handbook of Canadian Boarding Schools. To ...

Lennoxville, Quebec Lennoxville is an ''arrondissement'', or borough, of the city of Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada. Lennoxville is located at the confluence of the St. Francis and Massawippi Rivers approximately five kilometres south of downtown Sherbrooke. Lennoxvi ...

. In 1899, he obtained a B.Sc. from

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...

Career

After graduating, he moved west and obtained work as a surveyor for the Canadian Smelting Works in

Trail, British Columbia Trail is a city in the West Kootenay region of the Interior of British Columbia, Canada. It was named after the Dewdney Trail, which passed through the area. The town was first called Trail Creek or Trail Creek Landing, and the name was shorten ...

. Two years later, he became the company's chief chemist, but soon moved to

Nelson, British Columbia Nelson is a city located in the Selkirk Mountains on the West Arm of Kootenay Lake in the British Columbia Interior, Southern Interior of British Columbia, Canada. Known as "The Queen City", and acknowledged for its impressive collection of resto ...

to become general superintendent of the Hall Mines Smelter, then general superintendent of the St. Eugene mines. In 1908, Blaylock joined the Consolidated Mining and Smelting Company (Cominco). In 1919, he became Cominco's general manager. In 1922 a director, vice-president in 1927, managing director in 1938 and president in 1939. Blaylock worked at the Cominco smelter until six months before he died in Trail in 1945. He was buried at

Danville, Quebec Danville is a city in the administrative region of Estrie, in the Canadian province of Quebec. As of the 2016 Canadian Census, the population was 3,836. History Danville is on a stretch of the Chemin Craig, a road built in the 19th century connec ...

Honours

*inducted into the

*awarded the McCharles Prize from the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

for outstanding work in Canadian Metallurgy *1928, awarded the James Douglas Medal for Metallurgy by the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgy *1930, presented with an honorary degree by the

University of Alberta The University of Alberta, also known as U of A or UAlberta, is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford,"A Gentleman of Strathcona – Alexander Cameron Rutherfor ...

*1935, awarded the Inco Medal by The Canadian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy for outstanding work in mining and smelting *1944, made an honorary member of the

American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers The American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers (AIME) is a professional association for mining and metallurgy, with over 145,000 members. It was founded in 1871 by 22 mining engineers in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, Uni ...

*1944, Gold Medal of the Institute of Mining and Metallurgy of Great Britain *1948, the

Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum The Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM) is a not-for-profit technical society of professionals in the Canadian minerals, metals, materials and energy industries. CIM's members are convened from industry, academia and go ...

established the Selwyn G. Blaylock Medal. It is presented annually to an individual that has demonstrated distinguished service to Canada through exceptional achievement in the field of mining, metallurgy, or geology *1961, Blaylock Creek was named in his honour

References

Blaylock EstatesBlaylock CreekMilestones of Canadian Chemistry

External links

History of Bishop's College SchoolSelwyn G. Blaylok MedalAIME Honorary MembershipTrail, BC Historical SocietyMineralogical Association of Canada

Early life

Career

Honours

References

External links

See also