From floundering to fun, every company name tells a story

“At first we floundered around a bit,” confides the mining executive. A harebrained financing scheme that never stood a chance? A bungled start-up with nothing but one headache after another? A down-in-the-dumps stock price?

That’s not what John Ivany is talking about. Not at all. As president of the new public company which has the Golden Giant mine as its asset, he’s referring to one of the most necessary ingredients in business and one of the most important: what to name the company.

As even the cynics are learning, there is much in a name and it mostly has to do with image. It’s the first contact anyone has with a company and it conveys a lasting impression. Quite simply it sets the tone.

So it’s understandable if there is some floundering around in the naming process. Yet sooner or later the penny drops. Mr Ivany continues: “But then we thought the world knows Hemlo and the world knows gold.” Put that way, what could make more sense for a name than Hemlo Gold Mines Inc.?

The folks at Kerr Addison are letting everyone have a kick at the can of renaming their recently acquired Corporation Falconbridge Copper. “We’re going right to the employees of CFC and asking for their suggestions,” says President Ian Bayer. The top three names will be chosen by mid-January and the employees who suggested them will receive a prize. After that, says Mr Bayer, the top name will probably be altered somewhat depending on such legalities as what the title search turns up. After that it’s a matter of shareholder approval in April. Then it’s bye-bye CFC, hello new name.

Some company names have historical significance. Kerr Addison itself is named after the two prospectors, Bill Addison and and H. L Kerr who staked the original Kerr property back in the early 1900s. Falconbridge Ltd. takes its name from Falconbridge Twp., the site of the company’s first nickel discovery in 1928.

Some names have the darnedest origins. Take the case of recent Toronto-listed Canacord Resources. President Guy Charette explains three criteria were necessary for any name chosen: First, the name had to reflect that the company operated Canada-wide and second that it was involved i n joint ventures. Thirdly, the name had to convey a certain respectability.

To reflect the company’s national presence, the word Canadian was abbreviated to Can. That was the easy part. After that, Mr Charette says, several options were thrown on the table. One of them was Canadian Joint Venture or CJV for short.

It was around this point that Stuart Lee, secretary-treasurer of the company, spied the solution to the name problem amid the papers on the desk. A pack of cigarettes, Mr Charette’s favorite brand, called what else, but Accord?

“We dropped one of the c’s in Accord,” says Mr Charette. And hence the name Canacord. Can for Canada and acord for agreement.

Sometimes it’s very easy to tell how a company was named. Often companies are named for the metal or mineral they search or produce. So it’s not surprising that gold figures in many names. Indeed in The Canadian Mines Handbook, 1986- 87 edition, there are 105 names that start either with the word gold or golden. And that doesn’t count the companies which throw these words in the middle or at the end of their name.

And when a company redirects its search for another mineral, it often changes its name. Silver Lake Resources, for example, earlier this year became International Platinum Corp. to reflect its interest in platinum and the search thereof.

But there are some companies which seem to be keeping their options wide open. Take Many Metals Mines for instance.

There are a surprising number of companies dubbed with female names. Madeleine Mines and Cindy Mae are just two examples. But Montreal-listed Audrey Resources is named after a very special young lady: President Guy Hebert’s infant daughter, Audrey. And as it turned out, Mr Hebert explains, the choice was a good one. “We wanted to have a name that was easy to say in French and in English.” Though not a critical point, to have the name which starts with the letter A was a plus in terms of the company’s position on the listing table. Also, the combination of A and U spells Au, the chemical symbol for gold.

Coniagas owes its name to the chemical symbols of cobalt, nickel, silver and arsenic. And Agnico- Eagle Mines’ name stems from the chemical symbols for silver, nickel and cobalt. There’s no special significance attached to Eagle. That was tagged on in the early 1970s when Agnico Mines amalgamated with Eagle Gold Mines.

Sometimes there is more than one story floating around about a company name, as the case of St Andrew Goldfields aptly illustrates. Was the company named after the president’s son? Or could it have taken its name from the St Andrew’s subway station near the office, the Toronto Transit Commission, being the better way and all?

Don’t believe a word of it, says Harry Michie, vice-president of exploration. The facts are these: “The company was named after my alma mater St Andrew university on the coast of Scotland,” he says.

The vice-president confesses that consideration at first was given to the name Michie Mines. But that was not to be, he says. As only a “true Scot” would know how to say the name properly, the company would be cursed with a constantly mispronounced name.

Whether or not intentional, some companies simply have nice names with an almost romantic ring to them. Echo Bay Mines is one that springs to mind. Other names convey a no-nonsense, almost aggressive tone. Ramm Venture Corp., Fury Explorations and Rambo Exploration.

At times a company name seems so clever that one would think weeks or months were spent coming up with the perfect name. This is especially s o when two companies with clever names team up on a joint venture. Ican Resources and Canu Resources seem to be two such companies. Though the combination of Ican-Canu seems to be an intentional pun, Canu President G. Liedtke assures that this is not the case at all. Canu is a combination of Canada and U.S. And in any event, the pun’s days are numbered: Canu and Ican are amalgamating and will have a new name: Ican Minerals. File: dasher:res

A $415,000 winter exploration program is planned on Dasher Resources’ Casa Berardi claims in Montgolfier Twp., Que.

The program is to be funded 70% by Dasher and 30% by American Barrick Resources which optioned the property earlier this year.

MVP Exploration and Co., Limited Partnership has agreed to provide up to $290,360 to Dasher to incur CEE, pursuant to which the company will issue up to 89,342 shares on the basis of $3.25 per share. A finder’s fee of 4% will be paid to a third party.,