About us

Lenard first started prospecting and mining with this father Andrew Diduck on the Finley and Skookumchuck rivers near Cranbrook, B.C. when he was only 12 years old. They hand shovelled gravel out of the creek banks into sluice boxes and used small suction dredges to recover the gold in the bed of the creek. Andrew did most of the work as Lenard loved to catch the beautiful cutthroat trout that inhabited these clear mountain creeks. Lenard and Andrew enjoyed this hobby for about six years.

In 1978 Andrew Diduck went to Atlin for a holiday to investigate the Atlin gold fields, that he had often read about. Andrew loved the beautiful countryside and purchased mining leases on Wright Creek, a small alpine creek, 14 miles east of Atlin.

In 1979 Andrew returned to Atlin and began mining and for the next 14 years mined on Wright Creek, making friends with many of the old retired miners who lived in Atlin. One miner in particular, Alan Matson who had spent all his life mining in Atlin, used to come up and frequently visit with Andrew. Over the next few years Alan and Andrew became very good friends. Alan was fond of Andrew and had spent many years mining on Wright Creek. One evening Alan told Andrew if he ever got a chance to purchase leases opposite the old town site of Discovery to do so, as there was an incredible amount of fine gold left in those tailings especially in what was called the Old Willow Creek Drain. He also talked of the portions of virgin ground that had never been mined and how poorly the gravels were processed leaving an incredible amount of gold in the tailings. Six months later Alan died of a heart attack.

While Andrew was mining in Atlin, Lenard started his own logging company in Fort Nelson and was logging in Fort Nelson in the winter months and Stewart in the summer. In 1979 Lenard had one employee working with him and by 1982 formed his own limited company, and by 1983 had nearly one hundred employees and sub contractors working for him.