2009 Montana Mining - Montana Mining Association

For 24 years, Elton Chroney has championed
the Montana Mining Association as
a member, past-president and board director.
His many contributions include helping to
save the association from near dissolution in
1999, when he and a handful of other members
met regularly to continue the work of
the MMA and develop a new Charter.
“We almost lost the association in the late
‘90s, but resurrected it in a meeting held at
Graymont’s Indian Creek facility,” Chorney
says. “It was a grassroots effort by association
members who volunteered their time. It was
pretty tough, but we were stubborn and
wanted to keep the association alive. We continued
to lobby and kept up regulations in
order to be good stewards of the land.”
Mark Cole, a principal at Shelby-based Dick
Irvin Inc. and a director of the MMA, remembers
those struggling years and Chorney’s
invaluable contribution to the association. “At
one time, there were just a handful of us trying
to keep the association going,” he says.
“Elton is a firm believer of supporting the
industry in both good times, and bad.”
Today, as Graymont’s director of production
for Western Canada, Chorney is also a
director of the association. Prior to his recent
move to Graymont’s Calgary office in Canada,
Chorney spent 24 years working as plant
manager at the company’s Indian Creek lime
mine in Townsend. His 34 years with the company
have included working in both Canada
and the U.S. Chorney was instrumental in
transitioning and modernizing the Cutler
Magner’s lime operations in Wisconsin, when
MEMBER PROFILE
ELTON CHORNEY
One of the MMA’s
greatest cheerleaders
By Lisa Fattori
Graymont purchased the company in 2007.
“I had a team of 20 people working to revamp
operations so that they were more in
line with Graymont’s methods,” Chorney says.
“We modernized the office and accounting
systems by installing J.D. Edwards’s software,
and had them online within months. We also
commissioned a brand new kiln and offered
expertise about running a pre-heated kiln,
which is much more efficient.”
During his tenure as president of the MMA
from 2002 to 2005, Chorney began a tradition
which has become a favourite event for association
members. Sponsored by Graymont,
each fall a golf tournament attracts members
to Townsend, where they enjoy a day of golf
complete with lunch and a BBQ – which are
personally prepared by Chorney, his co-workers
and friends in the area.
“Elton goes above and beyond at this
tournament, even barbequing the steaks
himself,” says Mike Mullaney, current president
of the MMA. “The event raises money
to help fund the Political Action Com -
mittee, as well as the day-to-day operations
of the association.”
Described as a man with unlimited energy,
Chorney is happy to lend his time and expertise
where it is needed. “Elton has a ton of
energy and tackles any project easily, so I can
see why he’d advance so well in his career,”
says MMA’s executive director Debbie Shea.
“He’s a forward thinker and a very positive
person who can do great things for both his
company and the association.”
A family-owned company headquartered
in Richmond, B.C., with 17 lime plants located
throughout the United States and Canada,
Graymont is the third largest producer of lime
in North America. Principle products include
limestone, quicklime, construction stone,
ready-mix concrete and asphalt. Many of the
company’s products are used for environmental
remediation and to protect the environment,
and Graymont is committed to
reducing its own environmental footprint.
“It’s important to educate the public on
why we need to be mining,” Chorney says.
“The mining footprint on the world is less
than one-tenth of one per cent, and those in
the industry are very conscientious about
social and environmental responsibility.” �
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Montana Mining Association www.montanamining.org 9