Tag Archives: James Rogers

CSE Issuer Stories, Magazine

Clarity Gold: Unearthing big value in overlooked projects

Founded in 2019 and publicly listed on the CSE in July 2020, Clarity Gold (CSE:CLAR) has the objective to acquire and develop gold projects that have been “overlooked or underfinanced.”

Headed by Chief Executive Officer James Rogers, Clarity’s management team has certainly proven its ability to identify, evaluate and execute transactions, having collectively completed over 100 resource project deals.

In November 2020, the company acquired an option on 100% of the Destiny Project, a gold project located in the prolific Abitibi Greenstone Belt, which extends from Wawa, Ontario to  Val-d’Or, Quebec.

In addition to Destiny, Clarity has three 100% owned projects on its books in British Columbia: Empirical, a gold, copper and molybdenum project located 12 kilometres south of Lillooet; Tyber, a gold, copper and silver project located 18 kilometres south of Parksville; and Gretna Green, a gold, copper and silver project located 24 kilometres southwest of Port Alberni.

Rogers spoke recently with Public Entrepreneur about his views on building a company in the resource sector and what the future holds for his industry and Clarity shareholders.

Let’s start by delving into Clarity Gold’s mission statement and your guiding principles. 

Clarity’s objective since inception has been pretty clear – we’ve been entirely focused on gold in North America, with an emphasis on Canada. Our mandate has been to become an explorer concentrated on discovering and building ounces in stable jurisdictions within North America. 

British Columbia was our starting point, and we’ve grown by establishing a strong foothold in Quebec with the Destiny Project. 

Destiny is a project you acquired in November and it is in the famous Abitibi Greenstone Belt. Tell us about your decision to obtain a 100% option on this project.

Destiny is an exciting gold project on a lesser-known structure in the belt. The Abitibi is an important jurisdiction in Canada, and in the world, really. It is one of the most prolific greenstone belts there is.

The Abitibi is comprised of six dominant structures. The 400-kilometre-long structure that the Destiny Project is located along is called the Chicobi. It is a less-explored structure that is proving to have gold mineralization associated with it, just like on the Cadillac and other well-known structures through the Abitibi. This is one of the reasons we were attracted to it. Dominant structures play an important part in controlling gold mineralization within the Abitibi.

When we look at the main structures in the south, they are largely near surface. Nobody really found the Destiny Project until 1998 because it has a thin veneer of overburden and till – it is just not on surface.

It started in 1998, which kicked off multiple campaigns totalling over 50,000 metres of drilling, culminating in a historic resource in 2011. And it has basically lain dormant since 2012. Our mandate is to take a fresh look at this, peeling back the previous data and thinking more about this project’s optionality as a high-grade, structurally controlled gold deposit. 

You also have three projects in British Columbia. How do these fit into your near-term plan?

We started with Empirical, which was our flagship project in British Columbia. We then acquired two more grassroots projects in the province. My background is in project generation and one of my strengths is keeping an eye open for new opportunities and projects. When our team saw Destiny, we recognized the opportunity for a more advanced project to create value in a jurisdiction that we’re comfortable working in and understand really well. We see the best opportunity to create near-term value for the company in advancing Destiny, but will continue to maintain and advance the rest of our portfolio.

How are you funded to move forward with the planned work following your recent private placement? 

We just finished a $4.5 million financing. The next step for us is two-fold. We are financed to carry out exploration to advance Destiny but are also on the lookout for more projects with a similar profile where we could add value with our expertise. Destiny is a foothold – it is really our first step into a large gold camp where we have experience operating. 

You have somewhat of a different background than the typical junior company CEO in that you run a large services company for the industry as well. What do you consider is your main strength as head of Clarity Gold? 

I’d say looking at data and coming up with an idea. A cool stat is during the hunt for Destiny, I compiled 200,000 drill holes in Quebec and Ontario inside of the Abitibi and started thinking a bit about why the Chicobi structure just hadn’t been looked at the same as the others and why this is an important and underexplored part of the Abitibi story. 

Bear in mind, the Abitibi has produced more than 180 million ounces of gold, which is an incredible number. It’s actually hard to keep track of the number of headframes you pass as you drive from Val-d’Or to Timmins. One of my strengths is definitely looking at data but also in executing. 

I come from an exploration background, running a services company where our specialty is grassroots exploration and running drill programs, up to say 70,000 to 100,000 metres of drilling in a year. But when we get in and take a look at data, and we’re able to manipulate and think about things differently, that’s where we find things that get exciting. Where things have been overlooked or interpreted in a different way. Then we’re able to bring a fresh perspective to something and bring it to life. 

Let’s finish up with a look at what investors should expect from Clarity in 2021.

This year is going to be big. It will include our maiden drill program on Destiny, which should be kicking off before winter’s end. We’ll start with about a 10,000-metre program, which will then carry on into subsequent drilling as we get results and continue to move it forward.

This story was featured in the Public Entrepreneur magazine.

Learn more about Clarity Gold
at https://claritygoldcorp.com/

CSE Issuer Stories, Magazine

Developing sustainable projects for the next generation of mining exploration

Participants:

Anne Turner, Executive Director, Yukon Mining Alliance

James Rogers, President and Director, Global UAV Technologies; President and Director, Longford Exploration Services

Angela Johnson, Corporate Social Responsibility, SSR Mining

Shauntese Constantinoff, Senior External Project Relations Advisor, New Gold

To the outside eye, mining is often seen as an ossified industry, with visions of backhoes digging and drills turning.

But that’s not the whole picture. And the picture is evolving quickly thanks to millennials.

There are a host of millennials behind the scenes influencing change: enabling the industry to be more efficient and sustainable, alongside working with local Indigenous communities.

Public Entrepreneur spoke to four millennials who are part of the wave of change.

To register for an exclusive CSE Talks session at PDAC 2019 featuring the new faces of mining, click here: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/cse-talks-new-faces-of-mining-tickets-57041685216

How is new technology changing modes of work in both exploration and development?

JR: What we’re seeing is a trend towards safer, more efficient data collection. In particular, new technologies are being fostered by large corporations that have health and safety protocols that are far more robust than, say, a junior miner.  I think that’s driving a lot of the technology and where it’s going. That’s not just about reducing cost but also reducing working hours in the field, such as data collection in inclement environments. Risk management is definitely one of the biggest drivers.

AJ: I think one of the biggest things I’ve seen in exploration is increased efficiency. So, even on our drills, the drill foreman has his iPad, and data that used to be captured on pen and paper in the field is now all streamlined and bluetoothed in real time.

AT: Low-impact technology, like droning, is critical, especially for early stage. If you’re in these areas and you’re not really sure what’s happening, it’s great to use low-impact tech and get that initial assessment. At the more advanced stage, you’re starting to see things like directional gyro-drilling, where you are able to send the gyroscope down the drill and get instant readings. This kind of tech is useful but costly. The tech is there. But it’s not always in the budget.

For people considering getting into the mining industry, what career opportunities are there? What are the best growth sectors from an employment perspective?

AJ: If I was to give anyone advice, I would say data analytics. I think that’s becoming huge in the mining industry as far as re-targeting, or looking at data for exploration projects, compiling data, or looking at data in a new way. That’s a new and exciting field.

JR: I agree that data analytics and data management are huge. Lessening impact is also important.  When you consider coming into the industry, think about how you’re going to reduce the impact of your work. The use of drones is just one example.

AT: I think our industry needs to do a better job of communicating the benefits of working in the industry in our day-to-day lives and in our communities. We’re not communicating all the benefits of this new tech and safety. There’s a lot of room for people in social media, corporate social responsibility (CSR) and relationship-building. Anyone that can build a strong relationship will be able to have a strong hold in this industry.

SC: The opportunities in this industry are many, enabling people to provide for their families and support their communities in a substantial way. Communicating these opportunities and benefits is key.

Further to that, resource exploration and development must take into account local communities, such as First Nations, and any impact it may have. How do we do a better job of communicating the benefits from an employment perspective?

SC: I would say get out into the communities, hold information sessions, etc. so that people not only understand the impacts, but the many benefits as well.

As an example, we helped facilitate an Indigenous-led Training and Employment Strategy with several of the local First Nation communities near the project I work on to get everyone better prepared for future opportunities and start to identify and address any barriers to employment.

AT: I think what you’re doing from a company perspective is incredible. We’re working on an initiative that will launch this spring, to go into communities to host a mining day. We’re also working to get mining-related curriculum into schools as well. Connecting with that age group of 5-18 is really important.

We’re also trying to work really closely with politicians and influencers. When you talk about it to media, about green technology and clean jobs, there’s this sentiment that mining doesn’t have that. The fact is you’re not getting clean tech without mining, as you need these minerals to come from safe, regulated parts of the world to truly have clean industries and products – like electric cars. Lastly, one of the things we forget to communicate is if you want to stay and work in or near your community, mining is going to be an option for high-paying, rewarding, growth careers.

SC: Having a local workforce, at the end of the day, in their own territories, can benefit an entire community. It is crucial to start learning about the communities and what is important to them at an early stage. It’s a good idea to find out where people’s skill levels are, having transferable skills is important too in a finite industry, and the potential to work with and train in local Indigenous communities could be one of the biggest assets for a project.

So where’s the gap?

JR: I feel like the biggest gap is the juniors, because they are jumping on and off of projects and there’s a short period of engagement. Or they go test the water with a 1000-meter drill program and expect to come back the next year with a fully funded drill program but it doesn’t happen.

How can we mitigate that? Sometimes these projects just aren’t feasible. Even if a junior is responsible and tries to engage the community, there is just a general fickle nature of the finance community around resources and the ability to advance a project.

AJ: On that point, that’s the challenge that we face as explorers, is that social chain of custody. We’re all told, engage early, engage often, continue engagement even when you’re not exploring. But it boils down to funds. This is a real challenge and it’s a real debate and topic we have to tackle in the industry.

I do think it’s getting more noticed. We’re talking about it far more.

What haven’t we talked about?

AJ: One thing I find interesting is governance, in terms of what investors are asking us to disclose. That’s a huge part of something that is changing, right as we speak. ESG, or governance scores, are becoming increasingly important for investors. Investors are now calling companies, asking about disclosures: from climate change to human rights policies. They’re asking for that. I had no idea a few years ago that this would become so important and is an evolving piece of the industry.

AT: One of the initiatives we just launched is Virtual Yukon, which is a virtual reality tour of the Yukon. We’re using it both as a CSR and engagement education tool as well as an investor tool. We’re going to be taking drones over most of the major communities and you’ll be able to visit different places. You can see some of the individual mining projects and companies can use it. We will also use it in the communities. Overall, using digital tools will be a huge asset to companies, investors and communities.

To register for an exclusive CSE Talks session at PDAC 2019 featuring the new faces of mining, click here: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/cse-talks-new-faces-of-mining-tickets-57041685216