Aurum Exploration

What Aurum Exploration does

Aurum Exploration Ltd is a privately held, Irish-domiciled mineral exploration consultancy founded in May 2002 by Vaughan Williams and Wilson Robb, headquartered in Kells, County Meath, Ireland, with a second office in Whitby, Ontario, Canada. The firm delivers a comprehensive suite of professional geological services covering the full mineral exploration lifecycle: exploration management, geological and technical field services, target generation, GIS services, petrographic services, resource estimation, geophysical surveying, exploration project auditing, and project generation. Its client base spans major mining companies (First Quantum Minerals, Ma'aden), junior explorers, governmental agencies (Geological Survey Ireland), and the investment community, with operations delivered across Africa, the Middle East, Europe including Arctic regions, and the Americas by a team of P.Geo and EurGeol accredited geologists.

The company's underlying technology stack combines industry-standard geological software (Datamine StudioRM, Leapfrog GEO, MapInfo Professional, ArcGIS Desktop, QGIS) for 3D modelling and resource estimation with a proprietary bespoke digital data capture system developed for the Tellus Geochemistry Programme, built on Esri ArcGIS technology. This system replaced paper-based geochemical surveying with real-time digital workflows that achieved the lowest client sample quality rejection rates in the programme's history. The SafetyCulture mobile platform is deployed across field teams for safety inspections and asset management.

Aurum generates revenue through three streams: (1) contract mineral exploration services billed on a project-based professional services model with multi-year contracts; (2) project generation and joint venture partnerships that monetize proprietary deal flow through option agreement payments, operatorship and management fees, and share issuances; and (3) specialist technical consulting including independent competent person reports under JORC, NI 43-101, and PERC codes. Pricing is bespoke, quote-based, and not publicly disclosed. Go-to-market relies on direct enterprise sales, senior geologist-led relationship management, and consistent presence at 8+ global mining conferences annually (PDAC, Mining Indaba, VRIC, Future Minerals Forum, AME Roundup, Raw Materials Week, MINEX Europe, Fennoscandian). Notable affiliated entities include LRH Resources Ltd. (co-founded by Aurum's founders in 2018 to pursue battery metals opportunities) and Adventus Exploration Ltd. (where Aurum has held a management and target generation role since 2012).

Name

Aurum Exploration

Legal name

Aurum Exploration Ltd

Website

https://aurumexploration.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2002

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Aurum Exploration is an Irish-domiciled mineral exploration consultancy delivering contract exploration management, geological field services, target generation, GIS, resource estimation, and project generation to major miners, junior explorers, governments, and investors across Africa, the Middle East, Europe, and the Americas.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Mineral Exploration Services

NAICS

Geophysical Surveying and Mapping Services (541360), Support Activities for Metal Mining (213114), Support Activities for Mining (213)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYIMAKAKAA

Mineral Exploration & Geoscience Services (Geology, Geophysics, Geochemistry, Resource Modeling)

Industrials, Manufacturing & Construction/Metals & Mining/Mining Services & Contracting (Exploration, Drilling, Blasting, Mine Operations)

SECONDARYIMAKAOAG

Project & Construction Management (EPCM, Owner’s Engineer, Scheduling/Controls)

Industrials, Manufacturing & Construction/Metals & Mining/Mine Development, Engineering & EPC (Design, Construction, Closure & Reclamation)

Keywords

• Mineral exploration services
• Geological consulting
• Target generation
• Resource estimation
• Geophysical surveying

Headquarters

HQ city

Kells

HQ country

Ireland

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Contract Mineral Exploration Services: Aurum provides high-quality, professional, and innovative geological services to the global mineral exploration industry on a contract basis. Services include exploration management, geological and technical field services, target generation, GIS services, petrographic services, resource estimation, geophysical surveying, exploration project auditing, and project generation. Revenue is generated through service fees for project-based contract work ranging from desktop due diligence to full mineral exploration services and project management.
2. Project Generation and Joint Venture Partnerships: Aurum evolves as a project generator for battery metals, zinc-lead, copper-nickel and gold, developing a portfolio of projects via independent generative work and through cooperative partnerships. Projects are funded by creating joint-venture partnerships or companies with third parties in return for cash payments in the form of option agreement payments, operatorship and management fees (to recoup development costs), or share issuances in the case of a joint venture company formation.
3. Specialist Technical Consulting: Aurum provides specialist consulting services including independent review and auditing of mineral exploration projects, geological/ore deposit modelling, mineral resource modelling and estimation, independent competent person reports (JORC, NI 43-101, PERC codes), and recommendations for future drill and mining programmes. Also includes petrographic services using state-of-the-art equipment for detailed mineral identification.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Aurum Exploration provides contract mineral exploration and geological consulting services to global mining and exploration clients from offices in Ireland and Canada. The firm delivers exploration management, geological and technical field services, target generation, GIS services, resource estimation, petrographic services, geophysical surveying, exploration project auditing, and project generation services. It has also partnered with the Geological Survey of Ireland on the Tellus Geochemistry Programme.

Product overview

Aurum Exploration is a mineral exploration consultancy offering a suite of interlinked professional services rather than a packaged software product. Its core service portfolio spans Exploration Management, Geological and Technical Field Services, Target Generation, GIS Services, Petrographic Services, Resource Estimation, Geophysical Surveying, Exploration Project Auditing, and Project Generation Services. Supporting these, Aurum also delivers the Tellus Geochemistry Programme Services for Geological Survey Ireland, and employs the SafetyCulture mobile platform for field safety management. The services are delivered by a team of professional geologists and operate across Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and the Americas, with offices in Ireland and Canada.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Exploration Management Services

Quantifiable outcome

• Ten-fold increase in gold resource from 260,000 to 2.69 million ounces at the Curraghinalt Gold Project over eight years of managed exploration programmes
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core, strategic and minor.

• Esri IrelandcoreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2025Aurum collaborated with Esri Ireland as part of the national Tellus Programme. Esri's ArcGIS digital mapping technology enabled Aurum to accelerate the survey of soil samples across almost 23,000 km² in Ireland, replacing traditional paper-based processes and streamlining field data capture workflows.
• Geological Survey Ireland (GSI)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Aurum has been successful in multiple contracts since 2020 with Geological Survey Ireland (GSI), a division of the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications (DECC), providing soil sampling acquisition services, data QA/QC, and project management to the Tellus Geochemistry Programme. This flagship national programme aims to map Ireland's geochemical baseline.
• Redzone Resources Corp. (TSX.V: REZ)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018LRH Resources (co-founded by Aurum's founders) signed a funding option agreement with Redzone Resources for the NW Leinster Lithium Project. Aurum conducted reconnaissance prospecting identifying lithium mineralization at five out of six high priority target areas. The project was subsequently incorporated into Technology Minerals PLC.
• First Quantum MineralscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018First Quantum Minerals entered an Earn-in & JV Agreement with Adventus Exploration Limited (AEL), with Aurum providing management and technical services, for staged regional targeting via geochemical sampling, mapping, and geophysical surveys on the 114,000 hectare West Cork licence block in Ireland. Work completed has been highly encouraging, identifying areas for secondary follow-up prior to potential drill testing.
• LRH Resources Ltd.coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Aurum's founders formed LRH Resources Ltd. in 2018 focused on cobalt, lithium, REE and copper-nickel opportunities. LRHR has successfully signed funding agreements for NW Leinster Lithium Project with Redzone Resources and for cobalt play in north Spain with Altius Resources Inc and Generic Capital Corp. LRHR's St Patrick Cu-Co-Ni licence in Asturias, Spain is now a subsidiary of Technology Minerals PLC.
• Altius Resources InccoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018LRH Resources (co-founded by Aurum) signed an extensive regional cobalt play agreement in north Spain with Altius Resources Inc and Generic Capital Corp, alongside the NW Leinster Lithium Project funding with Redzone Resources.
• Adventus Exploration Limited (AEL)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2012Aurum took on a key role in management and target generation for Adventus Exploration Ltd. (AEL), a private Irish company seed funded by Callinan Royalties (now owned by Altius Minerals Corp TSX: ALS). In 2016, zinc exploration assets were vended into Adventus Zinc Corp (TSX.V: ADZN). Since 2015, AEL has partnered with First Quantum Minerals on West Cork sediment-hosted copper project.
• Ma'aden (Saudi Arabian Mining Company)strategicStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2011Aurum worked with Ma'aden around a decade ago (pre-2011) and returned again in 2021 as part of an Irish Government trade mission. Aurum completed a revised resource estimation on the Al Ghazala Magnesite deposit at Zarghat for IMC, a Ma'aden subsidiary. Aurum attended Future Minerals Forum 2026 in Riyadh to explore further Saudi Arabian opportunities under Vision 2030.
• Longonjo NdPr Project PartnerscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2006Aurum worked on the Longonjo NdPr Project in Huambo Province, Angola from 2006-2019, managing grassroots exploration and collaborating with client geologists on resource drilling programmes. The project is one of the world's largest and highest grade NdPr deposits adjacent to excellent infrastructure including railway, main road, power grid, and water source.
• Micon International LimitedminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMicon International Limited was recommended to a gypsum consortium as the preferred exploration partner and worked with Aurum on the Curraghinalt Gold Project resource estimation, modelling Aurum's 3D geological model into a 2.69 million ounce resource (released January 2012).

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• CSA Global (now part of SLR Consulting): Global geological and mining consultancy offering mineral resource estimation, target generation, due diligence and Competent Person reporting — directly comparable to Aurum's exploration management and resource estimation services.
• Wardell Armstrong: UK-headquartered mining and geological consultancy with strong European and African footprints offering similar exploration management, due diligence, and resource work.
• SRK Consulting: International mining and exploration consultancy providing resource estimation, geological modelling, and project evaluation across all commodities — broadly overlapping with Aurum's service portfolio and global client base.
• AMC Consultants: Mining consultancy with deep expertise in geological modelling, resource estimation and feasibility studies; competes with Aurum for the same Competent Person and auditing mandates on international commodity projects.
• H&S Consultants: Independent geological consultancy providing mineral resource estimation, geological modelling and JORC/NI 43-101 reporting across precious, base and battery metals; comparable mid-size competitor in the same niche.
• Micon International: Mining consultancy focused on Competent Person reports, resource audits, and geological modelling — Aurum's named subcontractor on the Curraghinalt resource estimation, indicating direct service overlap and partnership.
• Snowden Optiro (now Datamine Mining Consultancy): Mineral industry consultancy delivering resource estimation, geological modelling, and audit services; tightly linked to Datamine/Leapfrog software stacks that Aurum also uses — competing for the same corporate-resource mandates.

Broad incumbents

• Boart Longyear: Larger global drilling and mineral services firm supplying rigs, drilling consumables and contract drilling to explorers; overlaps with Aurum only on drilling supervision but competes for overall exploration work packages from majors.
• WSP (incorporating Golder Associates): Global professional services firm (with Golder's mining consulting heritage) offering geological, geophysical and mine engineering services at significantly larger scale; competes on multidisciplinary mining mandates.

Others

• Geological Survey Ireland: Ireland's national geological survey — Aurum's customer on the Tellus Geochemistry Programme — and potential regional partner/competitor on government geoscience data and national mapping activities.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/AurumExplore
• Facebookfacebook.com/AurumExplorationServices
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/aurum-exploration-limited
• Instagraminstagram.com/aurum_exploration

Compliance10 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles17 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Aurum Exploration