SUDBURY, Ont. (February 24, 2020) - Mining students from far and wide descended on Sudbury earlier this month for the annual (GGC). A unique and realistic mining investment case competition, the participants came from seven different universities across Canada. The teams were tasked with evaluating business cases made by three companies, and justifying which would make the best investment.
Organized by the Goodman School of Mines at 黑料吃瓜不打烊, Kinross Gold had the honour of presenting the event as the title sponsor for the fourth consecutive year. Three gold mining companies, namely Lundin Gold, Maritime Resources and Marathon Gold Corporation, vied for the competitors’ favour.
The students put the companies through their paces over a two-day period. Things kicked into high gear on Friday the 7th of February, as the CEOs from each company took turns pitching themselves as the ideal investment to the assembled students. Each team then met the CEOs individually for 10 minutes in a one-on-one session. Students peppered the CEOs with a mix of hard-hitting questions and requests for hard data to help determine the winner.
These valuable exchanges with industry experts continued after the initial meetings. Gold-level GGC sponsors, including Canaccord Genuity, Dundee Corporation, Kinross Gold, Nighthawk Gold Corp., Orix Geoscience, Osisko Mining, RBC Capital Markets, Technica Mining and Wesdome, sent executives to judge the competition. The teams got to meet these judges for additional one-on-one sessions where they could receive guidance, feedback and ask questions from these highly experienced individuals.
The teams laboured late into the night on Friday, perfecting their presentations for the following day. On Saturday, the eight, the teams were split up into three leagues; the top team from each league then advanced to the final round of presentations.
During Saturday night’s awards gala, INV Metals Chairman Terry MacGibbon gave a rousing presentation on green mining. As a 2018 Canadian Mining Hall of Fame inductee, this was a cause close to Mr. MacGibbon’s heart.
The top three teams for the 2020 Goodman Gold Challenge were McGill University, University of British Columbia, and the University of Manitoba. However, there can be only one winner, and this year it was the University of British Columbia; their solid, in-depth analysis of Marathon Gold Corporation set them over the edge. For their efforts, the team went home with the cash equivalent of four ounces of gold.
“A big congratulation goes to the University of British Columbia, winners of the 4th Annual Goodman Gold Challenge and another congratulation to all of the participants whose hard work and presentations humbled those of us who have spent many years in the investment business. The students never fail to impress me and this year was no exception. It gives me great comfort to know that any financial problems of the future will be in great hands with this next generation”, said Jonathan Goodman, Chairman of the Goodman Gold Challenge and Chairman and CEO of Dundee Corporation.
This learning experience would not be possible without the generous financial and in-kind support from industry partners: title sponsor Kinross Gold, opening gala sponsor Dundee Corporation, Thursday Evening Social sponsor Canaccord Genuity. We also thank XPS Expert Process Solutions and Sudbury Integrated Nickel Operations for sponsoring lunch, PDAC for sponsoring snacks, and the Greater Sudbury Development Corporation for sponsoring the gold coins that were given to all teams. Norcat provided mine tours during the packed three-day experience. Lundin Gold, Marathon Gold Corporation, and Maritime Resources were the case company sponsors. Last but definitely not least, we thank the Gold Sponsors who judged the competition: Kinross Gold, Nighthawk Gold Corp., Dundee Corporation, Canaccord Genuity, Orix Geoscience, Technica Mining, Osisko Mining, Wesdome and RBC Capital Markets.
The Goodman Gold Challenge organizing committee would also like to thank all of the teams that traveled across the country to participate in this year's competition. The teams that participated were: University of British Columbia, McGill University, University of Manitoba, 黑料吃瓜不打烊, Ted Rogers School of Management at Ryerson University, The Robert M. Buchan Department of Mining from Queens University, and York University.