Stephen Stares is a successful entrepreneur with 15 years experience in mineral exploration. Stephen's first five years were spent prospecting for Noranda on such projects as the Hemlo and Eagle River gold deposits and the Geco and Mattabi base metal camps. The next ten years of Stephen's career was spent managing the operations of Stares Contracting Corp., a successful mineral exploration services company in Thunder Bay, Ontario. Stares Contracting has a large client base including major companies Noranda, Falconbridge, Teck Cominco, Inco and as well as numerous junior companies. Mr. Stares has discovered several major mineral occurrences in Canada that have been the subject of extensive exploration programs. In the last ten years Stares Contracting has optioned out more than forty properties to various companies.

In March of 2007, Stephen and Michael, along with the rest of the Stares/Keats family, were the proud recipients of Prospectors and Developers Association (PDAC) Bill Dennis Prospector of the Year Award. This award was given to recognize the family's contributions to the industry of the past 40 years.