The rock ’n’ roll rockhound

Sean Kennedy can see the forest for the trees, and the gold among the minerals. — Photo courtesy Sean Kennedy

Sean Kennedy is one of the heirs apparent of the prospecting royal family of British Columbia; his father, Craig Kennedy, and brothers Tom and Mike, are all prospectors whose names have been associated with some of the most exciting projects in Western Canada in the last 30 years. With roots that deep in the industry, it was almost assured that Sean would become a prospector like his father before him.

“You don’t have much of a choice in your career when you’re brought up with him,” laughed Sean. “As young as I can remember, every summer holiday and weekend, I was heading off into the bush with the old man and my brothers.”

Not that following in his father’s footsteps was any great hardship. Sean recalled a golden summer shortly after graduating high school when he realized he was able to make some spending money hiking through B.C.'s Kootenay backcountry with his dog. His course was set. Of course, he said, he’s not alone. The industry is full of enthusiastic explorers like him.

“It’s not a typical business,” said Sean. “You have to be self-motivated and driven and love what you do. If it were a real drudge and a nine-to-five job, I don’t think a lot of us could handle it.”

Like his dad, Sean has had some training in geology and has worked alongside some of the country’s top geologists, and he’s soaked up knowledge like a sponge. But like his father, he also has a keen sense of observation and has learned to listen to his instincts when he’s prospecting. Those instincts pay off now and again.

A number of years ago, Sean and his brothers were prospecting in an area in southeastern B.C. that he said had been picked over extensively in the past. It was a cool, rainy afternoon in the West Kootenay, and the notion of slogging through the underbrush was unappealing. So the Kennedy brothers stuck close to a new logging, road where Sean noticed some quartz veins on the road cut. He took a closer look when he thought he saw some visible gold among the samples.

“We sat there and debated because we couldn’t really fathom that it would just be sitting there like that,” said Sean. “We started looking around and, lo and behold, every piece of rock that we picked up and broke had visible gold in it.”

The property ended up being optioned by Kootenay Gold and is now part of Astral Mining's resources near the Jumping Josephine target.

Sean’s dream is to be involved in a discovery closer to home, in the East Kootenay region. Eagle Plains’ recent find in the Iron Range near Creston has confirmed what explorers in the area have been saying for years—the potential is great and still largely untapped. That’s exciting for Sean, whose ties to the area run deep and who wants others to be able to live and work nearby.

“Most of my friends have had to move away to get work—not that they wanted to—or moved back and couldn’t make a go of it,” said Sean. “So this has the potential for them to have work that isn’t just working at a golf course for minimum wage.”

Of course, being able to work close to home has another advantage for Sean—he is the guitarist in a Kimberley-based band called MSB (short for Mythic Slaughter Beast). His brother Mike plays harmonica in the funk band as well. MSB is about to release their second album, Phantom Ascension, making the brothers true rock stars of the exploration industry.

Drilling down

NameSean KennedyFamilyWife SarahMust readsFor Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest HemingwayGreatest career momentFinding visible gold in a quartz seam in B.C.'s West Kootenay on a property that is part of the greater Jumping Josephine project.QuotableWe started looking around and, lo and behold, every piece of rock that we picked up and broke had visible gold in it