Energy & Mining International - Spring 2011 - (Page 45)

SPRING 2011 CAN ADA F L A D G A T E E X P L O R A T I O N C O N S U LT I N G E M I From Bush to Boardroom In the junior mining boomtown of Thunder Bay, Ontario, Fladgate Exploration Consulting Corp. provides one-stop expertise for mining companies. [ BY RUSS GAGER ] “I anticipate the commodity boom will continue for years to come.” // MICHAEL THOMPSON, president Copper gold mineralization is documented extensively by Fladgate Exploration Consulting.. When raising money for mining, size matters. The bigger a mineral deposit is, the easier it is to raise funds to extract it or to attract a suitor to buy the strike. So in this beauty contest, exploration companies try to enlarge their deposits as much as they can by using consultants who can ﬁnd additional minerals in the ground at the potential mine sites. That is just one of the many services provided by Fladgate Exploration Consulting Corp. Founded by a core group of three – Michael Thompson, Neil Pettigrew and Caitlin Jeffs, who met while at Placer Dome, which was taken over by Barrick and Goldcorp in 2006 – the company now numbers 34 full-time employees. When contract specialists in technical services are included, the total number of employees can swell to 50. In a sense, the core samples taken by Fladgate’s employees and contractors at a potential mine site provide the “dots” taken, the more accurate the model. of mineral deposits that sophisticated Some strikes undergo 100,000 meters computer programs use to connect into a 3-D map of where the mineral deposits or more of drilling. “If you only drilled a couple holes, we may lie. The more core samples that are can look at the rocks and tell whether PROFILE you are in the right environment, or Fladgate Exploration Consulting Corp.. should you be over there and continue 2010 revenue: $7 million | Headquarters: exploration, or should you pull out?” Thunder Bay, Ontario | Specialty: Mineral Vice President Neil Pettigrew declares. exploration | Employees: 34 “We can do that based on a few holes, but whether or not you’re going to mine, that’s not in the cards – that requires signiﬁcantly more drilling.” Fladgate Exploration Consulting Corp. does its best to provide the hard data needed to reduce the risk in making a decision whether to spend millions or even billions extracting a mineral deposit. “You try your very best to quantify this risk so you don’t have any unpleasemi-magazine.com 45 http://www.emi-magazine.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Energy & Mining International - Spring 2011

Energy & Mining International - Spring 2011
Contents
Clean Fuel
Satellites Are Key
Good Vibrations
News
Latin America Focus
Minera Andres
Ventana Gold Corp.
Zincore Metals
AQM Copper Inc.
Canada Focus
Jacobs Engineering Group Inc.
Fladgate Exploration Consulting Corp.
Aurizon Mines
JV Driver
Alderon Resource Corp.
Detour Gold Corp.
Prairie Machine & Parts
Pumps & Pressure Inc.
Yukon-Nevada Gold Corp.
Explor Resources Inc.
Trelawney Mining and Exploration Inc.
Advantage Valve Maintenance Ltd.
Silverman Oilfield Services
Rhino Resource Partners LP – Hopedale Mining LLC
Kimble Cos. Inc.
McVay Drilling Co.
MaXfield Inc.
Ellicott Dredges
Scientific Drilling
Becker/SMC Corp.
GasSearch Drilling Services
Crossrock Inc.
Frontier Services Inc.
Fulcrum BioEnergy Inc.
Summit Midstream Partners
Black Hills Bentonite LLC
Energy Companies
The Final Shot

Energy & Mining International - Spring 2011