Mineral Exploration is the official publication of the Association of Mineral Exploration British Columbia.
Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/264766
16 s p r i n g 2 0 1 4 photograph : Mark Kinskofer/ Vision Event photography 1974 with the combination of their respective companies, Bear-X and Manex Mining, to form Bema Industries. Bema was a highly regarded geological consulting firm in its own right, but was only a precursor to what this pair would accomplish over the next 40 years in helping launch Bema Gold, Eldorado Gold and Adriana Resources, as well as other junior companies. Beley obtained a B.Sc. in Geology from UBC in 1965, whereas Barclay gained his experience prospecting and running field crews in the bush. Beley had the technical acumen and was the negotia- tor, communicator and salesman for the pair, while Barclay was the quiet partner who made sure projects were executed well and who supported Beley with his keen business and financial skills. In 1988, they amalgamated three companies and started their first mining project, a small heap leach gold-silver operation in Idaho that taught the two how to finance and operate a mining company. This launched Bema Gold, which, under the direction of one of their first employees, Clive Johnson, experienced steady growth. It was eventually taken over by Kinross for $3.3 billion in 2007. Meanwhile, Beley and Barclay co-founded Eldorado Gold with Gary Nordin, initially producing gold from small heap leach operations in Mexico. They added mining assets in Brazil and Turkey and, following the strategy they used with Bema Gold, added a prudent CEO in Paul Wright, who guided Eldorado into an intermediate gold producer with a market capitalization approaching $5 billion. In more recent ventures, Barclay and Beley founded and financed Adriana Resources to develop a large iron ore deposit in the Labrador Trough of Quebec, now in joint venture with WISCO, China's third-largest steel company. Their remarkable career is based on an unshakable partner- ship and a family-like corporate culture that attracted loyalty, positive thinking and measured risk-taking to incubate not one but three very successful mining companies. Based on their career-long record of nurturing and developing mining compa- nies, these two individuals exemplify the entrepreneurial attri- butes of the award's namesake. Michael McPhie and Ed Kimura flank Hugo Dummett Diamond Award recipients Rod Davey and Robert Gannicott. Pottinger Gaherty Enviro.indd 1 13-03-19 10:47 AM p12-23_Awards.indd 16 14-02-14 3:08 PM