The Howe Street investment community is grieving the loss of industry veteran Stuart ‘Tookie’ Angus.
Angus, who leaves a deep mark after a 50-year career in the industry, peacefully passed surrounded by loved ones on Mar. 24 at the age of 74.
Those who knew Angus say his empathy for other people, deep understanding of finance and mining, and exceptional work ethic made him indispensable in the tightly knit Vancouver mineral exploration and mining industry.
“Tookie put people together, he mentored and advised a whole generation of geologists and promoters on how to make good deals, and he was integrally involved in mergers valued at over $8 billion,” says industry heavyweight Ross Beaty, who first met Angus in 1978 and says he was ultimately involved in more than 5,000 transactions.
“He got deals completed, something few lawyers know how to do. He was a vibrant, dynamic and brilliant business lawyer who was an integral part of the Vancouver and Canadian mining scene for decades.”
Beaty, who counted Angus as a close friend as well as a business colleague, credits Angus, who was a director of his first company, with helping him sell it to a U.S. mining firm in 1994.
Angus integrated himself into the industry because he was interested in it, Beaty says. “He voraciously read mining publications such as The Northern Miner, got to know the dealmakers, and was smart and enjoyable to work with,” he says.
Angus had an extensive legal and mining background, including him graduating with a Bachelor of Law degree from the University of British Columbia, and was a retired member of the Law Society of British Columbia. During his career, he founded Fasken’s Global Mining Group, leading the practice for five years before moving to Endeavour Financial where he served as managing director of mergers and acquisitions. He also sat on the boards or acted as an advisor to countless juniors over the years.
Beaty especially liked Angus’s enthusiasm for deals and for people in the mining industry, recalling that he loved telling stories about his travels, helping people make deals, and talking about the colourful characters in the industry. “He was fun to be with and never shy about telling people his thoughts. I really loved spending time with Tookie and will miss him tremendously,” Beaty says.
Seattle-based investment guru and exploration speculator Rick Rule says Angus was a rare bridge between the finance and mining communities. He often acted as the mediator between quarrelling parties and resolved situations bound for arbitration or worse.
“He was, more often than many people realize, the mechanism for settlement for disputes between the tribes in the mining industry,” he tells The Northern Miner. “Otherwise, those issues would have found themselves at least in arbitration, if not in court. Tookie had the ability because he was trusted and liked by all sides,” Rule says.
Rule says Angus was deeply interested in mining, which meant that he learned the topic with exceptional depth.
“He became, in his own way, not merely one of our lawyers, but rather one of us,” Rule says. “I don’t think Tookie ever really worked a day in his life because he was so involved in what he was doing,” he adds.
“And don’t get me wrong, he had a black belt in billing – he got paid. But there was an empathy and an enthusiasm there that let you know that, while he wouldn’t have done it for free, he wasn’t just there for the money.”
In fact, Angus was often so enthusiastic that he tried to do too many things at once. “Tookie had a distressing habit of saying ‘yes.’ And very often, he said, yes in ways that exceeded anybody’s human capacity,” Rule says.
A family man for the deal
Angus was born in 1949 in Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic. When he was four, the family moved to Nova Scotia and settled in Lethbridge on a sugar beet plantation. The nickname ‘Tookie’ was a baby name given to Angus by his mother, Mary — a throwback to the family’s Scottish heritage.
Angus’s son Hamish says that as a young boy watching his dad in front of the mirror preparing for the endless multitude of promoters, dealers, corporate executives, and explorers visiting his family home, he knew he wanted to be like his dad one day. Somebody who in his eyes always knew the truth, was respected in business circles and had an exceptional way of communicating with everyone.
“His passion was to do deals. He absolutely was committed to finding the maximum value for shareholders, no matter how dire the situation,” Hamish says.
At home, Angus was an avid angler and family man who enjoyed spending time outdoors, kicking rocks. Hamish remembers when he and his dad reeled in a 135 lb. prize sailfish on Christmas Eve, a proud accomplishment of providing enough food to feed a festive family gathering.
Hamish says Angus succumbed to complications associated with a complex heart surgery and fought for his life for 64 days in the intensive care unit. “Since he first encountered some heart issues three years ago, Tookie developed a strong spiritual component to his character to which I attribute his several miraculous recoveries since then,” he said. “He accomplished everything he wanted to in life.”
Hamish tipped his hat to the late stock promoter Murray Pezim, who he says played an integral part in his dad’s early days.
Most recently, as the chairman of K92 Mining (TSX: KNT) since its inception, Angus helped it acquire the transformational Kainantu project in Papua New Guinea in 2014.
“Considered a giant of the mining industry for over 40 years, Tookie brought a tremendous passion to everything he did, including structuring, financing and advising on many significant business ventures,” K92 said in a Mar. 27 statement.
He also served as managing director of mergers and acquisitions for Endeavour Financial and was previously chairman of the Board of B.C. Sugar Refinery. In addition to chairing the K92 board, Angus was chairman of Sun Summit Minerals (CSE: SMN) and Kenadyr Mining (TSXV: KEN), and Nevsun Resources, and was a strategic advisor to Falcon Resources (TSXV: FG). During his career he served as a director of First Quantum Minerals (TSX: FM), Canico Resource, Bema Gold, Ventana Gold and Plutonic Power Corp. following its acquisition of Reservoir Minerals in 2017.
A celebration of life ceremony will be held in Angus’s honour on May 3 in Vancouver.
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