Remembering mining legend Lukas Lundin

Lukas Lundin's passing was announced on Wednesday.

On Friday Lundin Gold CEO Ron Hochstein shared his rememberances with Kitco correspondent Paul Harris and mining audiences manager Michael McCrae on Kitco Roundtable.

Lundin Gold's flagship asset is its Fruta Del Norte Mine. In 2014 Lukas Lundin acquired Fruta Del Norte project for $240 million. The company (TSE: LUG), which Lukas chaired, now has a market cap just under $2 billion and is set to produce 420,000 ounces at around $900 a ounce.

Lukas Lundin led the development of many resource projects. He was a dealmaker and a mine builder.

"Over the past 40 years, Lukas has been a driving force behind the tremendous successes of companies within the Lundin Group. Lukas started his career in the international energy and mining sectors in the early 1980s working side-by-side with his father, the late Mr. Adolf H. Lundin," wrote the company in a news release announcing Lukas Lundin's passing.

"Under the leadership of Lukas and his brother Ian, and in close cooperation with the rest of the Lundin family, the Lundin Group has grown into an internationally recognized portfolio of energy and mining companies with operations spanning the globe. The eleven companies that comprise the Lundin Group today have a combined market capitalization in excess of USD 11 billion, directly employing more than 15,000 people and creating opportunities for tens of thousands more."

Lukas Lundin founded Lundin Mining together with his father in the mid-1990s for more than 25 years until he stepped down in May 2022. In his role as chair, Lukas oversaw Lundin Mining's development from an exploration-stage company into a global mid-tier producer with a strong copper focus and a portfolio of world-class assets.