The sale of Canadian company, Arizona Mining Inc., last summer grabbed headlines in the business press. The price – C$2.1 billion – represented an increase of 6,100 percent on the initial investment made by West Vancouver’s Richard Warke.The deal added more luster to the image of Warke, who led Arizona Mining as its Executive Chairman.
Arizona Mining showcased Richard Warke’s investment strengths on several fronts. The West Vancouver entrepreneur was able to identify a location with potential for a significant discovery,and assembleda strong management team to lead the project. Arizona Mining’s Taylor project, carries the name of Chief Operating Officer Don Taylor, who was instrumental in the discovery of the now famed deposit.
In 2018, Don Taylor was recognized with the prestigious Thayer Lindsley Award, given by the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada for the best global discovery.
Warke believes that the Taylor zinc, lead and silver project near the U.S./Mexico border could become one of the top five zinc producers in the world, with a 29-year mine life and district exploration potential.
Once constructed, the mine has been projected to achieve an annual production of almost one billion pounds of zinc equivalent at industry-leading costs in the first five years, with production expected to start in 2020.
Arizona Mining was part of the Augusta Group of Companies, a collection of public and private businesses,founded by Warke in 2005.
Given the potential of the Taylor project, the decision to sell Arizona Mining to South32 was difficult at the time, Warke said,but,as he told the Financial Post, given the uncertainties about metal pricing and the economy, the cash offer was “very compelling, with much less risk.” And ultimately, Warke said, his responsibility was to its shareholders.
Arizona Mining is the latest in a string of successes for which Warke has become known.In 2014, Augusta Resource Corporation, which owned the Rosemont copper project in Arizona and had Warke as Executive Chairman, was acquired by HudBay Minerals for C$666 million. Warke’s team led another mining venture, Ventana Gold Corp., through the discovery of one of South America’s larger high-grade gold deposits. When the company was sold in 2011, several years after its initial public offering, the price of C$1.3 billion represented a 13,000 percent increase in share price from the initial shareholder investment.
In West Vancouver, throughout Canada and across North America, Richard Warke has gained attention for his achievements. What’s equally important, though, is that he is someone people appreciate knowing and working with because, as one mining executive put it, “he’s a genuinely nice guy who works very hard to make sure we all land on the right space.”
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