Positioned to be a player

Bill Sheriff's lifelong fascinations with the North and gold have been realized in his companies' Yukon interests. — Tanya Laing Gahr photo

The Yukon is the new Nevada.

So says William Sheriff, the chair and CEO of Golden Predator Corp. (TSX:GPD), the chair of Copper Ridge Explorations Inc. and Silver Predator Corp., and a director of Western Lithium Corp. Sheriff knows of what he speaks. For almost 20 years in his early career, he worked primarily in Nevada, where he was part of the gold boom in that state. His main focus now is the potential in Canada’s Far North, where he’s seeking to position his company as a leader in exploration.

“We’re drilling six projects,” said Sheriff, “Gold Dome, Clear Creek, Brewery Creek, Antimony, Eureka and Cynthia . . . We expect to see projects rank themselves after this year and see the opportunity to be a big player in the emergence of the Yukon’s next gold rush.”

Although Sheriff was born and raised in Texas—Dallas and El Paso—and spent many of his formative years in Colorado and Nevada, the Yukon has captured his attention. He and his wife and business partner, Janet Lee-Sheriff—herself a Yukoner—were recently married aboard the SS Klondike in Whitehorse, and they split their time between their home in the Yukon and Vancouver.

Sheriff’s love of the North is evident in his hobbies as well. Like most rockhounds, Sheriff is a collector—over the years, he has acquired placer gold and other mineral samples, mining memorabilia and White Pass and Yukon Route playing cards.

“I was always fascinated by the Alaska Highway and the gold rush history in the North,” said Sheriff. “So the opportunity to come to the Yukon to work—and on gold—is magical, especially seeing the dawn of what I believe will be a world-class gold boom.”

Sheriff credits the Yukon government with making the jurisdiction friendly to exploration and mining operations, saying that he believes the over-regulation in other provinces has a negative impact on development and investment. He also cited the environmental policies of the territory as being balanced in their approach.

“(That’s) increasingly rare as more jurisdictions tend towards environmental extremism,” he said. “Here again the Yukon is a very balanced jurisdiction. We always put the environment at the front of the list—after all, we work where we live and we live where we work.”

Sheriff has an extensive background in the exploration industry. After receiving a bachelor of science degree in geology, and completing post-graduate studies in mining geology and mining economics, he co-founded and served in the capacity of director and chair of Energy Metals Corp., which was acquired by Uranium One in 2007. He has also been involved with Evolving Gold Corp., Quincy Gold, Midway Gold, Eurasian Minerals Inc. and Uranium One Inc. His priority is now on the Golden Predator holdings.

Sheriff enjoys the creative aspects of the exploration industry and, like many prospectors, is motivated by the thrill of discovery.

“I love to build something from an idea—from nothing but an idea,” he said. “I love putting all the pieces together, building a concept—a mandate that will create wealth for shareholders, staff and the community . . . It is great to be out on the land, kicking around rocks and thinking about how the property can develop.”

Drilling down

NameWilliam M. SheriffFamilyWife, Janet Lee-SheriffCompanyGolden Predator Corp., Copper Ridge Explorations Inc., Silver Predator Corp., Tigris Uranium Corp., Western Lithium Corp. (director)Must readsLords of Finance: The Bankers Who Broke the World, by Liaquat AhamedQuotableI strongly and adamantly believe and forecast the Yukon to be the Nevada of the next three decades