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Jack. M. Ashton is a graduate in electrical engineering from the University of British Columbia , a Member of the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of British Columbia, and a Member of the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum. Since graduation he has combined careers as an electrical engineering consultant, a mineral explorationist, and entrepreneur related to both these fields.
He entered the mining industry as an undergraduate working with Canex Aerial Exploration, the exploration arm of Placer Development Ltd. followed by working in Placer's open pit and underground Craigmont copper mine.
In his junior years he gained much knowledge in geophysics, geochemistry and geology by conducting myriads of exploration programs, which continues to this day. Later in his various corporate executive roles mostly with private start-up companies and junior mining companies he was usually the principal motivator and initial driving force for several mineral resource ventures including one significant oil and gas vnture. Several ventures achieved economic success or at the least technical success. He promoted and struck significant deals with major mineral resource companies including Selection Trust of Great Britain, Canadian Superior Exploration (the Canadian mineral exploration arm of Superior Oil Company of Los Angeles; who controlled Falconbridge), Shell Canada Resources, Esso Minerals Canada, Corporation Falconbridge Copper (now Minnova) as a director of Rea Gold Corporation at the time of the rich Samatosum silver deposit discovery, and Societe General de Sucreries de Romanie (SGSR) (A Belgian company who owned the Bolzano magnesium metals manufacturing process). In the oil and gas business he had significant dealings with Union Oil Company of Canada Limited.
In the consulting engineering field he successfully completed a myriad of projects, mostly resource based. He started this part of his career working with M.A. Thomas and Associates Ltd., specialists consultants to the mining industry, who were often subconsultants to Wright Engineers Ltd., world reknown for their mining and mineral processing expertise. With M.A. Thomas/Wright Engineers significant assignments included Noranda's Brenda Mine and Placer's Endako Mine. Later projects with his own consulting company included: Texada Lime's quicklime manufacturing plant, Selection Trust's cement manufacturing plant, SGSR's magnesium metals manufacturing complex. He has also completed several significant hydroelectric projects. | 