From Greyhound to CEO: Andy Wallace Named CEO of Allegiant Gold, Ltd.

By Desiree Cooper

Andy Wallace (BS 71) was recently named the first CEO of Allegiant Gold, Ltd., a gold exploration and development company. His involvement with Allegiant Gold began with Cordex Exploration Co., which Andy owns with business partner Bruce Delaney. “We have a unique business and likely one you have never encountered before,” explained Andy.

Cordex provides exploration expertise to “funding partners,” which are generally companies wishing to enter the mining business but with no current staff in the United States. The private company is charged with locating and acquiring lands with promising potential that allow funding companies to produce gold and silver. Cordex, which has found and developed five gold mines in Nevada, also tests these properties after acquiring them. They also execute geological mapping, surface sampling, geophysical surveys and drilling. They then carry the most promising properties to the feasibility study stage.

Past gold production from Cordex discoveries in Nevada exceeds 10 million ounces of gold, with another 10 million ounces remaining in reserves. The company has had 15 different “funding partners,” including several of the world’s major mining companies, as well as junior explorers just getting into the business. Their principal “funding partner” for the last 10 years is Columbus Gold Corp., based in Vancouver, Britsh Columbia. Out of Columbus, the new public company Allegiant Gold, Ltd. was created to concentrate only on the U.S. gold properties. Andy, who will direct all exploration activities on the Allegiant properties, says he enjoys his career in geology because he can “get out in the backcountry in the hills and mountains and not be confined to an office. I never do the same thing two days in a row. I enjoy visiting discoveries we have made in the past that employ hundreds of people now, and learning about how the employees now contribute to their local communities.”

When asked about his career goals, Andy explained that the “goal of any exploration geologist is to discover valuable mineral deposits. I have been lucky in that regard, but I continue to be driven to make new discoveries and hopefully bigger deposits than I have found in the past.”

Andy was born and raised in Clovis. He started his college career at New Mexico State University with a major in electrical engineering. He decided to change majors, and chose geology based on a recommendation from his brother-in-law, Ron Holcomb (BA 56), who was in the oil business.

“I knew nothing about geology, but it turned out to be a great fit. I was off and running after transferring to ENMU,” said Andy.

The alumnus, who is married to fellow Greyhound Jill (Yarborough) Wallace (BS 71), said his education at ENMU provided him with “very solid fundamentals necessary to become a professional geologist. I have taught at a university and have been associated with several others, and I know that my undergraduate education at ENMU was the best I could have received.”