Success Story #5
WHEN IT COMES TO GOLD EXPLORATION IN THE RED LAKE AREA,
MICHAEL LABINE ‘KNOWS THE DRILL’
There’s gold in them thar hills! And Michael Labine aims to find it. No, this is not a story about one of those old tyme prospectors you might picture panning for gold in the Klondike River more than a century ago. But in some ways, the story is similar. Labine, like many in the Red Lake area these days, is busy searching for gold - and other precious metals. Recently, his company, Labine Brothers, has become part of the modern day ‘Gold Rush’ taking place in Northwestern Ontario. “Gold prices have gone up and there’s been an exploration boom for the last five years,” explains Michael, “so, we’re just starting to get into it now.”
The ‘we’ that Michael Labine is referring to is himself and Brian Labine. But despite the Labine Brothers company name, Brian is actually Michael’s cousin. It turns out the name they chose for their business is a bit of a throwback, too. Labine Brothers was Michael and Brian’s Grandfather’s old company. In the modern era, Labine Brothers does diamond drilling and general mining exploration related work. Brian handles the financial aspect of the business, while Michael does what he terms the ‘project work’. “We’re just acquiring a camp now from our parents, and we have access to bush planes,” Michael tells us, adding “I’m a commercial pilot. I have a Norseman bush plane, and I’ve done all this kind of work around here for a long time. I just got a diamond drill to kind of further our business.”
The Labine family has long been a part of the local community, owning several businesses over the years. Michael proudly relates that his Grandfather was one of the first diamond drillers in the area, and that he started the Cochenour mine, performing underground surface drilling there. “We’re just kind of carrying on the way things have happened in the past,” says Labine of his link to the earlier days of mining. Michael, who began work as a fishing guide when he was ten, has lived in Red Lake all of his life, and says he enjoys life in the area. “Red Lake is a pretty convenient place to work out of,” he says, “you can get all your shopping done in about ten minutes around here, whereas in the city, you can’t. People are pretty friendly most of the time. It’s just a really nice place to be. There are a lot of things that happen here that just won’t happen in the city, like sports nights, and you can go play basketball or volleyball or whatever at the school there and chum around with all the people you used to hang out with in high school, and the summertime here its great seeing lots of boating. It’s just a nice place to end up.”
In spite of any romantic notions many may have about the search for gold, Labine is quick to lay those thoughts to rest. “It’s just a business,” he shrugs, allowing that it’s “just on a lot bigger scale. And there is a lot more money involved than most businesses that people normally start up.” The way it works, according to Michael, is that people in his line of work are directed where to drill by the mining companies. “They tell you where to go,” says Labine in a matter-of-fact manner, “and then you give them back the core samples that they can study and determine if it’s feasible to go and mine an area. They go approve an area and then it becomes a major project.” All of which means it is nothing like the days of old when prospectors found the gold and kept it.
Michael has a few words of advice for those thinking about going into business for themselves. “You just have to make sure you have a market first. And you really have to think about the details before you go into business,” says Labine, adding that “you can have a good idea, but if you don’t research it far enough, you’ll find yourself in some pretty tight spots, and then you really have to become resourceful. That’s the way business is. And, when bills aren’t paid or whatever, then it gets really bad.” However, the man who searches for gold says there IS a silver lining to being your own boss. “Well, most of the stuff you need is paid for by the business for one thing,” he recounts, “and you kind of get to dictate where you’re going to go next. And you can make a lot more money, of course, but then you’ve got a lot more responsibility, so it all equals out. Either you run a business or you don’t...you pay for it either way, but you get the satisfaction of doing something.” And for Michael and the Labine Brothers company, it might turn out to be the satisfaction of seizing a golden opportunity.
If you’d like to take the opportunity to use the services of Labine Brothers - whether your needs are up in the air or deep down in the rock - call Michael Labine at 727-0470, or email the company at .
