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HALIFAX — Canadian officials are condemning the killers of a Halifax mining executive praised as a much-loved family man and highly talented geologist with a knack for spotting producing mines.

Kirk Woodman, who worked for Vancouver-based Progress Minerals Inc., was found dead Wednesday in Burkina Faso’s Oudalan province.

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He had been shot multiple times, Jean Paul Badoum, an official with the west African country’s Ministry of Security, said from the capital Ouagadougou.

The geologist had been kidnapped a day earlier by gunmen as he worked on a gold mining project, but officials have not yet identified the kidnappers, Badoum said.

Woodman was vice-president of exploration for Progress Minerals, according to his LinkedIn page.

“Kirk was a loving and hardworking husband, father, son and brother,” Woodman’s family said in a statement.

“Not a day will go by that he won’t be missed. Our family would like to thank everyone for the love and support we’ve received, but we ask for privacy while we grieve during this difficult time.”