From Western Australia to Ecuador: Geologist Melanie Leighton's Career in Mining

Dig Deep – The Mining Podcast Podcast

In this episode, we chat with Melanie Leighton, CEO of Titan Minerals, a junior miner focussed on discovering and developing Tier One copper-gold deposits in Ecuador’s southern Andean copper-gold belt.

Melanie is a geologist with over 20 years of experience in the resource sector, spanning multiple commodities, deposits, and jurisdictions. She has held senior management and geological roles with Hot Chili Limited, Harmony Gold, Hill 50 Gold, and Northwest Resources, gaining practical and management experience within the areas of exploration, mining, resource development, stakeholder engagement, and investor relations. Melanie gives us an overview of Titan Minerals and its flagship Dynasty Gold project, how she got into the mining industry and what Ecuador is like as a mining jurisdiction, and much more.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Titan Minerals is primarily focused on exploring and developing tier one copper gold deposits in Ecuador's southern Andean copper gold belt.
• The company boasts a team with extensive experience in the resources sector, including geologists with backgrounds in major mining companies like Newmont and Barrick.
• Titan Minerals utilises various exploration techniques such as collecting foundation data sets, systematic soil geochemistry, and regional aeromagnetics to drive their exploration efforts.
• Despite past challenges, the current Ecuadorian government is supportive of mining as a means to revitalise the economy, offering incentives and guarantees to attract foreign investment.
• The company's main focus is on the Dynasty project, aiming to double the current 3 million ounces of gold to 5-6 million ounces through resource drilling efforts and feasibility studies. Additionally, they are seeking joint venture partners for their copper projects.

BEST MOMENTS

"Ecuador, I guess the geology and the metallogenic belts are the same as what we see in sort of Chile, Peru and Colombia to the north, but Ecuador is kind of like a gap in the middle there."

"I entered the industry because I never wanted an office job, which ironically now a lot of my work is office based, but I really loved the idea of exploring adventures."

"The government do see mining as a big part of the future for Ecuador. They do see it as part of their strategy to revitalise the economy."

"I think there's a critical mass now that's building in terms of those majors and in a royalty streaming groups that are all invested significantly in Ecuador in recent years."

VALUABLE RESOURCES

Mail: [e-mail]

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-tyson-3a26a68/

X: https://twitter.com/MiningRobTyson
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/DigDeepTheMiningPodcast

Web: http://www.mining-international.org

https://www.linkedin.com/company/titan-minerals-ltd/

https://twitter.com/MineralsTitan

https://www.facebook.com/titanmineralssas/

www.titanminerals.com.au

[e-mail]

[e-mail]

ABOUT THE HOST

Rob Tyson is the Founder and Director of Mining International Ltd, a leading global recruitment and headhunting consultancy based in the UK specialising in all areas of mining across the globe from first-world to third-world countries from Africa, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Australia. We source, headhunt, and discover new and top talent through a targeted approach and search methodology and have a proven track record in sourcing and positioning exceptional candidates into our clients' organisations in any mining discipline or level. Mining International provides a transparent, informative, and trusted consultancy service to our candidates and clients to help them develop their careers and business goals and objectives in this ever-changing marketplace.

CONTACT METHOD

[e-mail]

https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-tyson-3a26a68/

Podcast Description

Rob Tyson is an established recruiter in the mining and quarrying sector and decided to produce the “Dig Deep” The Mining Podcast to provide valuable and informative content around the mining industry. He has a passion and desire to promote the industry and the podcast aims to offer the mining community an insight into people’s experiences and careers covering any mining discipline, giving the listeners helpful advice and guidance on industry topics.