At the heart of IAMGOLD’s work as a global mining company is its core purpose: to enrich the lives of its stakeholders. In this spirit, IAMGOLD has built a partnership with the University of Toronto Department of Psychiatry to create the Miner’s Lamp Award.
In the early days of mining, many miners died when their lighting devices ignited invisible, unstable gases. These fatalities devastated communities whose prosperity depended on sending their young men to extract minerals from the earth.
Over time, thanks to the courageous determination of many to improve perilous working conditions and protect the most vulnerable, safety lamps were introduced. Their flames changed colour when deadly gases were detected, helping save countless lives.
Today, we are spared the everyday challenges our mining ancestors faced. But with one in five Canadians likely to suffer mental illness at some point in their lifetime, we must remain vigilant about a disease that will touch us all, directly or indirectly, and affect the quality of our lives.
We created the Miner’s Lamp Award Campaign to fund new research into mental illness that will give young people the hope they need and the help they deserve. In presenting the Miner’s Lamp Award, we honour the achievements of today’s leaders in the field of mental health who are improving outcomes for those who suffer from mental illness and eroding its stigma – and we encourage others to follow in their footsteps.