Fireside Chat With George Read & Ewan Mason of Star Diamond
Join this Fireside Chat featuring George Read and Ewan Mason of Star Diamond. Gain exclusive insights, industry wisdom, and valuable lessons as these seasoned leaders share their perspectives in this engaging recorded session.
Tue, February 6, 2024 at 1:00 PMendedReplay
Investor webinar replay
Meeting Overview The meeting featured a discussion with George Reid, Senior Vice President of Corporate Development for Star Diamond Corporation. The conversation focused on Reid's extensive experience in diamond exploration, his career journey, and the unique aspects of diamond geology and exploration methods across different global environments. Key Discussion Points - George Reid's 39-year career in diamond exploration and his academic background. - The significance of mantle rocks and their relationship to diamond formation. - Differences in diamond exploration techniques based on geographical environments (e.g., Southern Africa vs. West Africa vs. Canada). - The importance of understanding economic factors in diamond mining, including carat size, grade, and market prices. - Reid's transition to Star Diamond Corporation and the factors that attracted him to the company. Decisions Made - No explicit decisions recorded Action Items & Next Steps - [Unassigned] : Further exploration...
Mr. Mason has extensive experience in corporate financings, restructuring and advisory work. He has worked as a contract geologist for a number of mining companies. Following receipt of his MBA he was employed by Richardson Greenshields (which was acquired by RBC Dominion Securities), rising to the role of Managing Director with RBC. During his tenure at RBC, Mr. Mason spent two years in London England, initiating global coverage of mining conglomerates around the world. Following his time at RBC, Mr. Mason was recruited by TD Securities to start up and head the re-launch of a mining investment banking team. Clients which Mr. Mason brought to TD in lead relationships include amongst others Xstrata plc, BHP Billiton,Vale, Votorantim, Buena Ventura, IAMGOLD, Gammon Gold, Jaguar Mining, HudBay Minerals, Northgate Minerals, Equinox Minerals, Eurozinc and International Minerals. Since leaving TD, Mr. Mason has served as a director for mining and exploration companies. He is currently the owner, officer and director of private corporations that are engaged in retail, inventory management and personal training and wellness.
George Read
Senior Vice President Corporate Development at Star Diamond Corp.
Mr. Read is a diamond exploration geologist with over 39 years of international experience. After graduating in geology and geochemistry from the University of Cape Town (BSc. Hons., 1983), Mr. Read joined De Beers in South Africa. During his 12 years with De Beers, he worked on a wide spectrum of diamond exploration projects in Africa (South Africa, Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe, Mali and Tanzania), in addition to Canada and Brazil. Mr. Read came to Canada as a Landed Immigrant in early 1997 and worked as a consultant for several companies in Alberta, NWT, Nunavut, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec, in addition to projects in Greenland and Brazil. Mr. Read commenced with Star Diamond Corporation in late 2003 and since that time has led the team responsible for the exploration and evaluation of the Fort a la Corne kimberlites. During his career of almost four decades, he has encountered and solved many of the diverse problems associated with diamond exploration and evaluation programs. Mr. Read is a Fellow of the Geological Association of Canada and a Professional Geoscientist in the Provinces of Saskatchewan and British Columbia. Mr. Read became a citizen of Canada in September 2005.
Replay transcript excerpt
Speaker 1: I'm so pleased to be joined today by George Reid, Senior Vice President of Corporate Development for Star Diamond Corporation. Speaker 1: How are you today, George? Speaker 2: Oh, I'm very well, thank you. Awesome. Speaker 1: So we wanted to get into, we've got a number of questions that really Speaker 1: we think will help Speaker 1: look into both your past experience, but also how it illuminates what you do currently at Star diamonds. We wanted to start with, for 39 years, Speaker 1: that's more than I've been alive by a bit, diamond exploration globally. Speaker 1: Why diamonds over precious metals or base metals? Speaker 2: Yeah, interesting question. And it will be 40 years in at the beginning of March this year, which is, Speaker 2: I suppose, a fair milestone. Speaker 2: My final year at university was Speaker 2: December 1983, Speaker 2: or in 1983, Speaker 2: and I had 2 professors, Speaker 2: John Gurney and Tony Erlunk, both of whom have passed away, but Speaker 2: they were Speaker 2: mantle rock specialists, Speaker 2: and John Gurney particularly in the rocks and the diamonds and kimberlites, Speaker 2: and Tony Erlunk in mantle processes, And he was 1 of the initial movers with a concept called mantle metasomatism. Speaker 2: And mantle metasomatism Speaker 2: is now really the process that's probably Speaker 2: responsible for the creation of diamonds within mantle rock. So it was an early stage. And I was introduced to that there. And I became, Speaker 2: it was very keen because these mantle rocks, particularly peridotites, are basically the building blocks of the Earth. Speaker 2: And they formed under extremely high temperatures and pressures, Speaker 2: and Speaker 2: notably also the home for diamonds. But while we were introduced to...
