A Vancouver miner hunts red rocks in Greenland

1 of 2Nick Houghton of True North Gems at the location in Greenland where the company is opening a ruby mine. — Photo courtesy True North Gems

2 of 2Nick Houghton atop a glacier in Greenland in September 2011. — Photo courtesy True North Gems

Nick Houghton didn’t expect to be hunting rubies in Greenland—fate just sort of took him there. A studied gemologist from England, Houghton’s background is in designing, manufacturing and creating jewelry. He completed his training and apprenticeship just outside Birmingham, England, but left in 1982 to see the world—starting with Bermuda.

“I went for work and fun but ended up staying,” he said.

In Bermuda, Houghton worked in jewelry management, purchasing and manufacturing. After 11 years of island life, he said, it was time to for a change of scenery.

“We wanted to see more of the world,” said Houghton. “There is plenty of it out there.”

In 1993 Houghton and his wife, Nina, moved to British Columbia; they’d vacationed previously in Vancouver and Whistler.

“We’d visited and it hadn’t rained,” said Houghton, jokingly. “We applied for landed immigrant status and when it came through, we came to Vancouver with just a couple of suitcases, no jobs and no regrets.”

After his first week in Vancouver, Houghton went back to the bench, manufacturing jewelry for Brinkhaus Jewelers. Within a year he was diamond brokering.

But part of Houghton’s long-term vision was to open his own business, something he could never do in Bermuda because he was an expat. In 1994 he started his own diamond broker company, and in 2000 he entered into a partnership with a diamond polishing factory based in downtown Vancouver.

“Ray and David Cohen shared their knowledge and it was a fantastic learning experience,” said Houghton. “In this industry you never stop learning. The person who thinks he knows everything is probably going backward.”

There were some economic ups and downs with the company and Houghton took over the space after an amicable split. Not long afterward, in 2001, True North Gems made an emerald discovery in Yukon and was looking for secured premises in downtown Vancouver. Houghton had such a place, and his career with True North Gems was born.

The company was under the stewardship of then-president and CEO Andrew Lee Smith, who had a background in gold.

Because of his gemology roots, Houghton was asked to be on the company’s advisory board. He later became a director and eventually took over as president and CEO. Back in 2004, the company explored and defined a ruby deposit in Greenland that surpassed the sapphires on Baffin Island and the emeralds in Yukon.

The find was, and is, first class, so True North shifted its focus to rubies, which now take up 85 per cent of the company’s attention. The deposit has been sampled and drilled and the production permit has been applied for.

“We made a conscious decision in October 2010 to focus on getting the permit, putting all of our efforts into it, and that is how we stand now,” said Houghton. “We are in regular discussions with government representatives and local authorities in Greenland about sourcing local employment and supplies. We obviously can’t source processing equipment locally, but food, energy and 85 to 90 per cent local workforce are definitely possible. We’ve also been strong believers in opening a sorting facility in Nuuk.”

The development will be an open-pit mine and will use a crush, screen and wash production process. The property is on a peninsula that juts into a glacial lake and two years of water samples have indicated no likelihood of damage to wildlife, as the lake is inert. True North will berm off the lake and when the mine life is completed, it will remove the berms so the lake refills and no footprint is left behind.

“We try to respect the landscape and work on projects that are environmentally safer,” said Houghton. “Too many people hang their hats on projects having not done true due diligence.”

Learning to bridge into mining and getting up to speed about what is required in the industry was a challenge, Houghton said. The biggest change in the industry over the years has been the awareness of environmental requirements, which have changed considerably and for the better, he added.

“People cannot just go in and do things. People are realizing that the industry has changed,” he said.

There has been a quantum shift in the precious gem industry because of the need for traceability, and the honesty of these products has to be accountable. Houghton said that although diamonds get all of the attention, coloured gems have their share of ethical dilemmas attached.

“Recent reports state that Burma produces 80 per cent of the world’s rubies, though the country is under embargo,” said Houghton. “Whereas only three per cent of the world’s diamond production is considered blood diamonds, 80 per cent of rubies are produced under harsh and unfair conditions."

Houghton said his company is able to answer all the questions of diamond consumers.

“We see the desire for product awareness—how they are extracted, where they come from—and we can offer a solution to that,” said Houghton. “As we can control 100 per cent of the process, True North Gems can extract the rough from the ground and take it through to a polished stone, offering seller and buyers peace of mind.”

Drilling down

NameNick HoughtonFamilyMarried, no children.CompanyTrue North Gems.Greatest career momentStarting my own business and actually doing it—saying and doing are two different things.QuotableI like to enjoy life. It is all about laughter—if you can’t do something that makes you happy, quit and find something that does.