West Perth exploration hopeful Sub-Economic, which remains a platinum sponsor of the annual exploration awards, has now won the prestigious lifestyle explorer gong on a record seven occasions.

Organisers of the black-tie event, attended by both staff and special guests of all those companies nominated, said the competition for the award committee’s highest accolade of lifestyle explorer was particularly stiff this year.

A record number of entries had been received – in particular with the nominations originating from aggrieved shareholders of the companies concerned.

“It seems many other ‘exploration’ companies have joined Sub-Economic in recent times in not actually drilling any holes, in raising their overall corporate administration spend – and in perennially tapping shareholders for funding to keep the lights on,” an awards committee spokesperson said.

Asked what made Sub-Economic stand out from the competition once again this year, chairman Paul Kingsley beamed over his champagne flute that the intrepid company prided itself on its well-appointed West Perth offices, that it had made several new board appointments in recent months – most notably of directors with scant experience of actual mineral exploration – and critically that the company had farmed out all of its exploration commitments to third-party companies, with the result that 100% of shareholder funds could now be directed towards Sub-Economic administration costs and corporate overheads.

An awards committee spokesperson said several special new exploration awards were flagged for introduction in 2015.

Given the overall downturn in the actual drilling of holes to test prospects and consequently of any meaningful discoveries, we are instigating new awards to recognise excellence in very early-stage exploration activity.

For example, 2015 will see the introduction of the following awards in addition to the ongoing pinnacle award for urbane exploration, the overall lifestyle explorer title.

Nominations in 2015 will include:

• The “rock-chip” award – for the highest grade rock-chip reported by an Australian Securities Exchange-listed exploration company for any eligible mineable commodity
• The “quad-bike” award – conferred to the company deemed to have located the best geochemical soil anomaly of the year
• The “pretty geophysics” award – conferred to the company publishing the most aesthetic – but still incomprehensible, magnetic image of the year (or selected other ground or airborne geophysical technique at the judges’ sole discretion)
• The “Midnight Cowboy fast peg” award – conferred jointly to the two most deserving exploration companies that engage in the acquisition and disposal respectively of exploration, prospecting or mining leases reported to be fully at arm’s length as unrelated companies – but for which alleged circumstantial evidence is overwhelming of an inside deal having been reached between the two companies to switch ownership of the ground
• The “wood ducks” award – conferred to the company making the most dilutive capital raising of the year; and finally
• The “directors profile” special medal – to be awarded to the company with the most pictures of the board of directors in its annual report.

Sub-Economic chairman Paul Kingsley said his company would make every effort to succeed once again in the coming year, both in the high-profile lifestyle explorer category and also in the newly introduced early-stage exploration categories.

Kingsley noted that “we’ve booked our corporate tables already and locked down a sponsor package for next year’s black-tie awards function”

The awards committee has called for additional suggestions for new awards to be conferred in their 2015 round of resources industry accolades – your suggestions for novel new exploration and mining company awards to recognise distinctive left-field achievement are most welcome.

Good hunting.

Allan Trench is not a director of Sub-Economic Resources.