It’s an indication of just how international this business has become that a geologist, born and trained in Chile, who has worked most of his professional career in the U.S., is appointed to the top exploration post for a Canadian mining company.
A further reflection on the industry is that Placer Dome’s new vice-president of exploration, Elisio Gonzalez-Urien, is no academic. He has a degree in geology from the University of Chile, but no post-graduate degrees. He spent his time out in the field, not in the classroom.
That, apparently, is just what Placer Dome wanted. Today’s exploration specialist is no pencil pusher. Top priorities are contacts, people skills and the ability to cut deals. Or at least that’s how Placer Dome sees it. That’s evident in its increasing reliance on junior exploration companies to do what they do best — the initial exploration to develop a grassroots property into something it can then help take to the next stage.
The future may hold great things for juniors after all.
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