(Kitco News) - Not many 3-year-olds are able to boast any kind of financial portfolio, outside of Play-Doh, some of the dog’s hair and an unidentifiable object found under the couch.
McEwen Mining Inc.’s (TSX:MUX)(NYSE:MUX) president, 32-year-old Ian Ball, who was promoted to his current position at the age of 31, can say otherwise.
“My parents had me buying gold stocks at the age of 3,” he told Kitco News.
Born in Oshawa, Ontario, Ball lived in and around the region growing up, where a family friend began to peak his interest in the world of mining.
“It was a fellow who always had an interest in mining. He had invested big in some discoveries, like Corona, which had Hemlo, and a few others,” Ball said. “Just hearing him talking about the industry – he wasn’t involved in mining but was investing in small juniors, and it was the idea that a discovery that can multiply your wealth is what got me interested.
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| Ian Ball, President McEwen Mining Inc. |
“I remember I doubled my money on my first stock that I invested in, and I was pretty much hooked at that point,” he said.
Ball attended Ryerson University and graduated with a slew of honors before setting his sights towards the mining industry after a chance meeting with then Goldcorp Inc. (TSX:G)(NYSE:GG) juggernaut Rob McEwen.
“I had met Rob literally on the elevator when I was in university and went through this process of trying to find out where he was speaking, at industry events, Goldcorp was doing luncheons, making myself known and trying to get an interview with him to try and get a job,” Ball said.
“That wasn’t working out very well, so the long story short on that is I had to wait three hours one day outside of a hotel for him to come out.
“Eventually he came out. I gave him my resume and a project I had done on Goldcorp when I was at school,” he continued. “He said he’d contact me by the end of that week, but he contacted me that night, set up the interview, we had a three-hour interview, and about two hours through it, he had given me the job, without any real defined role. So, that was saying something on his part.”
Ball began working in investor relations for Goldcorp, but the real whirlwind of experience came with the Goldcorp-Wheaton River-Glamis merger in 2005.
“When we were trying to take over Wheaton River, and then there was the hostile bid from Glamis, at the time, being involved in the day-to-day management meetings that were going on to defeat that bid, and make the Wheaton one go through, that was quite a learning experience being six months out of university,” Ball said.
Rob McEwen ended up resigning as chairman of Goldcorp in late 2005, right before Barrick Gold Corp. (TSX:ABX)(NYSE:ABX) announced their hostile bid of Placer Dome, which Goldcorp facilitated by buying some of Placer Dome’s assets.
Despite McEwen leaving the company, Ball stayed on to complete projects, but would essentially be out of work once they were finished. And that’s where McEwen came up again and Ball would be on the path that led him to today.
“He was looking to invest in innovation, he was interested in the biomedical field, so he had me working on a number of projects, and then he said he was going to invest into this small company called US Gold,” Ball said. “It started off as a small investment, then he took over management, and then he told me there’d be a role there, and if I wanted to join him full time – that’s how we got onto the US Gold path.”
US Gold Corp. acquired Minera Andes Inc., and the company was renamed McEwen Mining in early 2012. From there, Ball has seen his role grow to president of the company, and has already seen some success under his watch.
“Discovering El Gallo 2 would be the biggest one, then I would say followed by building and now expanding El Gallo 1 (in Mexico),” he said.
But Ball cautions all this wasn’t easy for him, he had to earn people’s respect.
But Ball cautions all this wasn’t easy for him, he had to earn people’s respect.
“You’re obviously dealing with people who have a lot of experience, people who have their bachelor’s degree, their master’s degree and their Ph.D.s in a specific program, and basically, on your own, trying to get up to speed so you can challenge them,” Ball said. “Getting the respect of those people is tough, because initially they dismiss you. One, you’re young, and two, you’re not brought up in the industry, so it takes a lot of work.”
Looking back, Ball takes it full circle as he references his family friend that initially sparked his interest in the mining industry.
“The one I think about the most is the family friend that got me into mining told me, at a very early age, that it’s no longer good enough to be good, you have to be exceptional to get ahead,” Ball said.
He made the comparison to two-time Olympic sprinting gold medalist Usain Bolt.
“He has tons of marketing, many promotions, he’s a celebrity worldwide, but do you remember who finished second?”
The answer, after a quick Google search, is Yohan Blake.
“He was only a tenth of a second slower, but that margin has given humongous benefits to one guy,” Ball said. “By being exceptional, the rewards are 10 times bigger.”
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