Tapping a treasure trove
July 2005
In the typically male-dominated mining industry, Michele Ashby is a rare story.
Seventeen years ago, she started the Denver Gold Group - a nonprofit organization to help smaller gold companies market themselves to investors. The group turned into a big success, attracting scores of gold mining companies and investors at its conferences in Denver, San Francisco and Zurich.
Ashby, 50, resigned as the CEO of the Denver Gold Group on July 8. Within a week, she floated a new company - MINE LLC, short for Meetings International Natural Resources. Although she'll do the same thing at MINE, matching companies with investors at conferences, Ashby says she won't compete with the Denver Gold Group in the same markets. She'll also venture into other metals and energy industries.
Ashby says MINE will help her pursue two equally important goals: provide a forum to match companies with specific investors and find a cure for Ewing's sarcoma, a rare type of bone cancer that claimed her teenage daughter six years ago.
News: How did you get started in the gold mining industry?
Ashby: I started the Denver Gold Group in 1988. It was an idea I had as a stockbroker and a mining analyst. I thought the mining industry could do a better job of marketing itself to investors. So I put together this group to help the companies.
I spent 17 years at that, and it became a very successful organization. Initially, the local companies that supported me felt like they needed more of a voice. As we grew over the years, we invited the major companies to participate. Currently, the Denver Gold Group has 65 members including the majors such as Newmont Mining, Placer Dome, AngloGold Ashanti, Goldfields, Barrick and others.
News: What prompted you to resign from the Denver Gold Group and start your own company?
Ashby: To answer this question, I have to tell you a bit about my family. My daughter died from cancer in 1999. Since then, I became more active in the Children's Hospital. Currently, I am the chair of the oncology board. Also, I am among the four trustees of the Children's Hospital Foundation. Because my daughter was a teenager, she was treated at the Children's Hospital. But there were some challenges. The food was a challenge, socialization was a challenge since most people around her were younger, and she had no one to relate to.
I have been working on (setting up) a new teen clinic. It is one of the first teen clinics in the nation. My daughter had Ewing's sarcoma, a rare type of bone cancer. Although 350 to 400 new cases are diagnosed in the U.S. each year, mostly among adolescents, the treatment has not improved or changed in the past 25 years. I am dedicated to trying to find a cure for this type of cancer.
During the 1 1/2 years of (my daughter's) treatment, I went through a hard time. I was grateful to the Denver Gold Group - they were very supportive and very understanding. That was a great gift to me. I am a type-A personality, it was important for me to give back, to show them that I appreciated what they had done for me. I feel like I gave back 150 percent in the subsequent years to build a more successful organization, with very successful conferences each year and a very successful team of people who work in the organization.
Along the way, part of my inward search was to figure out how to fit my desire to find a cure for cancer and also do what I love, that is, working with investors and the resource industry.
Ultimately, what I came down to is, if I do this as a private company, I'd have more opportunity and more freedom to pursue both worlds. Those are really the driving factor behind my making the decision to resign from the Denver Gold Group on July 8.
I have a lot of trust in God that what is meant for me is going to come. If it is my decision, I want MINE LLC to be twice as big as the Denver Gold Group. I can see doing three to six shows a year in different parts of the world.
News: Will you be doing the same type of work as you did at the Denver Gold Group?
Ashby: Actually, the work will be quite the same. I won't compete with the Denver Gold Group.
I am planning the first conference in oil and natural gas in Aspen in January 2006. I am in negotiations with other groups to do gold mining conferences in other parts of the globe, maybe one in Zambia. I'd like to do one in Asia as well.
There is a lot of synergy between the mining and oil and natural gas industries on the investor side. So this is a natural transition for me. Commodities like copper, zinc and lead will continue to be in high demand for 20 years. They will be a great marketing opportunity because we have got investors who are extremely interested in finding out what the next great thing is to make money on. I'd also like to pursue alternative energy sources.
News: How do you think MINE will help you achieve your goals in life?
Ashby: MINE is going to be entwined in the ultimate journey for me. If I utilize my business acumen and stay open, I am going to get some great ideas and great contacts. It might be someone I meet in Zambia or Australia - I won't know unless I get there. I could possibly put together the ultimate formula of people and connection to get the cure for cancer.
News: Mining and energy industries are typically male-oriented. What are some of the advantages and disadvantages of being a woman and making a living in those industries?
Ashby: One of the advantages of being a woman is that you stand out. The first mining conference I went to in 1984 had 600 men and me. I had a lot more opportunities as far as meeting executives of companies, I felt a lot of doors were opened for me, men were willing to meet with me, do interviews with me.
The disadvantage was that I was perceived as an outsider, not just for being a woman but also a stockbroker. It took a while to earn my way into the industry and get the trust of the people.
I approached it as, I am competing based on my intelligence and experience. I received a lot of respect from people who saw that I worked hard and did my homework. They understood I was serious about what I was going to accomplish.
Source: http://www.rockymountainnews.com
In the typically male-dominated mining industry, Michele Ashby is a rare story.Seventeen years ago, she started the Denver Gold Group - a nonprofit organization to help smaller gold companies market themselves to investors. The group turned into a big success, attracting scores of gold mining companies and investors at its conferences in Denver, San Francisco and Zurich.
Ashby, 50, resigned as the CEO of the Denver Gold Group on July 8. Within a week, she floated a new company - MINE LLC, short for Meetings International Natural Resources. Although she'll do the same thing at MINE, matching companies with investors at conferences, Ashby says she won't compete with the Denver Gold Group in the same markets. She'll also venture into other metals and energy industries.
Ashby says MINE will help her pursue two equally important goals: provide a forum to match companies with specific investors and find a cure for Ewing's sarcoma, a rare type of bone cancer that claimed her teenage daughter six years ago.
News: How did you get started in the gold mining industry?
Ashby: I started the Denver Gold Group in 1988. It was an idea I had as a stockbroker and a mining analyst. I thought the mining industry could do a better job of marketing itself to investors. So I put together this group to help the companies.
I spent 17 years at that, and it became a very successful organization. Initially, the local companies that supported me felt like they needed more of a voice. As we grew over the years, we invited the major companies to participate. Currently, the Denver Gold Group has 65 members including the majors such as Newmont Mining, Placer Dome, AngloGold Ashanti, Goldfields, Barrick and others.
News: What prompted you to resign from the Denver Gold Group and start your own company?
Ashby: To answer this question, I have to tell you a bit about my family. My daughter died from cancer in 1999. Since then, I became more active in the Children's Hospital. Currently, I am the chair of the oncology board. Also, I am among the four trustees of the Children's Hospital Foundation. Because my daughter was a teenager, she was treated at the Children's Hospital. But there were some challenges. The food was a challenge, socialization was a challenge since most people around her were younger, and she had no one to relate to.
I have been working on (setting up) a new teen clinic. It is one of the first teen clinics in the nation. My daughter had Ewing's sarcoma, a rare type of bone cancer. Although 350 to 400 new cases are diagnosed in the U.S. each year, mostly among adolescents, the treatment has not improved or changed in the past 25 years. I am dedicated to trying to find a cure for this type of cancer.
During the 1 1/2 years of (my daughter's) treatment, I went through a hard time. I was grateful to the Denver Gold Group - they were very supportive and very understanding. That was a great gift to me. I am a type-A personality, it was important for me to give back, to show them that I appreciated what they had done for me. I feel like I gave back 150 percent in the subsequent years to build a more successful organization, with very successful conferences each year and a very successful team of people who work in the organization.
Along the way, part of my inward search was to figure out how to fit my desire to find a cure for cancer and also do what I love, that is, working with investors and the resource industry.
Ultimately, what I came down to is, if I do this as a private company, I'd have more opportunity and more freedom to pursue both worlds. Those are really the driving factor behind my making the decision to resign from the Denver Gold Group on July 8.
I have a lot of trust in God that what is meant for me is going to come. If it is my decision, I want MINE LLC to be twice as big as the Denver Gold Group. I can see doing three to six shows a year in different parts of the world.
News: Will you be doing the same type of work as you did at the Denver Gold Group?
Ashby: Actually, the work will be quite the same. I won't compete with the Denver Gold Group.
I am planning the first conference in oil and natural gas in Aspen in January 2006. I am in negotiations with other groups to do gold mining conferences in other parts of the globe, maybe one in Zambia. I'd like to do one in Asia as well.
There is a lot of synergy between the mining and oil and natural gas industries on the investor side. So this is a natural transition for me. Commodities like copper, zinc and lead will continue to be in high demand for 20 years. They will be a great marketing opportunity because we have got investors who are extremely interested in finding out what the next great thing is to make money on. I'd also like to pursue alternative energy sources.
News: How do you think MINE will help you achieve your goals in life?
Ashby: MINE is going to be entwined in the ultimate journey for me. If I utilize my business acumen and stay open, I am going to get some great ideas and great contacts. It might be someone I meet in Zambia or Australia - I won't know unless I get there. I could possibly put together the ultimate formula of people and connection to get the cure for cancer.
News: Mining and energy industries are typically male-oriented. What are some of the advantages and disadvantages of being a woman and making a living in those industries?
Ashby: One of the advantages of being a woman is that you stand out. The first mining conference I went to in 1984 had 600 men and me. I had a lot more opportunities as far as meeting executives of companies, I felt a lot of doors were opened for me, men were willing to meet with me, do interviews with me.
The disadvantage was that I was perceived as an outsider, not just for being a woman but also a stockbroker. It took a while to earn my way into the industry and get the trust of the people.
I approached it as, I am competing based on my intelligence and experience. I received a lot of respect from people who saw that I worked hard and did my homework. They understood I was serious about what I was going to accomplish.
Source: http://www.rockymountainnews.com
Read more articles about Michele L. Ashby >>
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