Working between rocks and hard places—and loving it

Carl Schulze's career positions him in a prime location to see new and exciting discoveries

There are a multitude of reasons why Carl Schulze's name may be familiar. It could be from his work as a current director and past president of the Yukon Chamber of Mines. It could be from his 28 years of work as a geologist—he has his professional designation from both the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of British Columbia and the Association of Professional Geoscientists of Ontario—and his involvement in projects such as Northern Tiger's Sonora Gulch and 3 Ace properties, Aben Resources Ltd.'s Justin Gold Project or Ethos Capital's Betty Project. Or, it could be through his company, All-Terrane Mineral Exploration Services.

Schulze started All-Terrane in 2003; the Whitehorse-based company provides high-quality independent contracting to a limited number of clients. His services involve everything from geologic mapping to project management at the field level, including reconnaissance traversing and drilling. Often, he is the designated qualified person, interacting with a range of professionals to decide on the future of project sites.

"I’ll work with geophysicists and geochemists to try and synthesize (the information) into as concise, solid and objective a description as possible," said Schulze. "In the end, I have to be the guy who says it's worth moving forward or it isn’t."

One project that is definitely worth moving forward is the Louise Lake Property, a copper-gold-molybdenum deposit located near Smithers, B.C.  The property is owned by North American Gem, which recently entered into an option agreement with the Hunter Dickenson Group.

Schulze was the qualified person for the project; he designed and executed five programs, taking the property from a drill prospect to a verifiable resource. Seeing the transition of Louise Lake from one of hundreds of mineral prospects to a project with potential compliant with NI 43-101 standards is a career highlight that is a source of great pride for Schulze.

"It’s being picked up by a company that has a good reputation for picking up deposits that might be able to go into production,” he said. “It’s the recent developments that have happened in the last few months that have pleased me the most."

What's next for Schulze and All-Terrane? After more than a quarter-century, Schulze still loves getting out and about in the project sites for hands-on work.

"I’m looking forward to going back into the field—in whatever capacity—to try to develop a prospect," said Schulze. "If it’s a grassroots one, I hope we can identify drill targets, possibly drilling them. If it’s an advanced one, I hope we can start towards accessing a deposit."