Charles Edgar "Chuck" Fipke (born 1946) is a Canadian geologist and prospector who discovered the existence of diamonds around

Lac de Gras Lac de Gras is a lake approximately north east of Yellowknife, in the Northwest Territories of Canada. Lac de Gras was the centre of the diamond rush of the 1990s. There are two working, and one closed, diamond mines in the area, Diavik Diamon ...

in Canada's

Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories is a federal Provinces and territories of Canada, territory of Canada. At a land area of approximately and a 2021 census population of 41,070, it is the second-largest and the most populous of Provinces and territorie ...

. He is now a multimillionaire involved in geological explorations around the world. Fipke is also a prominent owner and breeder in North American thoroughbred horse racing.

Background

Fipke was born in

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

. Growing up, he was sometimes assumed to be stupid because of his "frantic stop-start mind". His nicknames include Captain Chaos and Stumpy. He occasionally stammers and is known for his use of the word "hey" at the end of sentences. In 1970, he graduated from

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a Public university, public research university with campuses near University of British Columbia Vancouver, Vancouver and University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, in British Columbia, Canada ...

(UBC) with a bachelor of science degree in

geology Geology (). is a branch of natural science concerned with the Earth and other astronomical objects, the rocks of which they are composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Earth ...

. Fipke received an honorary doctorate from

Okanagan University College Okanagan University College (OUC) was a public, post-secondary educational institution (c. 1990 to 30 June 2005) based in Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada. It evolved from Okanagan College (1965 to c. 1990), and the college's predecessor, the B. ...

in 1998. In 2006, Fipke donated to UBC to support the creation of the Charles Fipke Centre for Innovative Research. In 2012, the Fipke Laboratory for Trace Element Research (FiLTER) opened, with Fipke funding the purchase of imaging equipment including a

scanning electron microscope A scanning electron microscope (SEM) is a type of electron microscope that produces images of a sample by scanning the surface with a focused beam of electrons. The electrons interact with atoms in the sample, producing various signals that ...

. "To graduate excellent scientists, a university needs to have the best technology available," said Fipke. "My goal is to help UBC's Okanagan campus reach the leading edges of science, in order to recruit the top students and faculty from around the world." Fipke has also donated substantially to Alzheimer's research at UBC. Fipke was divorced by his wife Marlene (née Pyett) in 2000, who had been with him since he began searching for the diamonds. At the time, the divorce settlement was the largest in Canadian history, with her portion of the assets estimated to be approximately .

Career

Upon graduation, Fipke worked for companies such as

Kennecott Copper Kennecott Utah Copper LLC (KUC), a division of Rio Tinto Group, is a mining, smelting, and refining company. Its corporate headquarters are located in South Jordan, Utah. Kennecott operates the Bingham Canyon Mine, one of the largest open-pit c ...

and

Cominco The Consolidated Mining and Smelting Company of Canada Limited, and from 1966 onwards Cominco Ltd., was a Canadian mining company that existed from 1906 to 2001. Cominco was created by the Canadian Pacific Railway through the consolidation of a num ...

, performing mineral explorations in locations such as Papua New Guinea, South Africa and Brazil. He became an expert in the study of indicator minerals to identify potential strikes, the key to his later success. "Everyone now knows that G-10

garnets Garnets () are a group of silicate minerals that have been used since the Bronze Age as gemstones and abrasives. Garnet minerals, while sharing similar physical and crystallographic properties, exhibit a wide range of chemical compositions, de ...

with low calcium might lead you to diamonds, hey," he said in 2011. "But how do you distinguish between a group 1 eclogitic garnet that grew with a diamond and a group 2 eclogitic garnet that didn't? They look the same." Fipke uses custom software to help determine the difference. "No one else out there can distinguish between these similar tiny particles of minerals that grow with a diamond and ones that don't." In 1977, Fipke founded CF Mineral Research, a heavy mineral and diamond exploration research laboratory. In 1983, he founded Dia Met Minerals, which became listed on the Vancouver Stock Exchange in 1984. Dia Met was sold to BHP Billiton in 2001. In 1988, Fipke and partner Stu Blusson began a systematic search for diamonds in the

, leading to the discovery of the first diamond pipe in North America in November 1991 near

. The

Ekati Diamond Mine The Ekati Diamond Mine, often simply called Ekati, is Canada's first surface and underground diamond mine and is owned by Burgundy Diamond Mines. It is located north-east of Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, and about south of the Arctic ...

is now located there. Fipke maintained a 10% interest in Ekati until 2014, when he sold his share to Dominion Diamond Corp. for . "I'm not really a miner," he said. "I'm an exploration geologist. This sale gives me more ability to do exploration." Fipke is currently involved in multiple

greenfield project In many disciplines, a greenfield project is one that lacks constraints imposed by prior work. The analogy is to that of construction on greenfield land where there is no need to work within the constraints of existing buildings or infrastructure ...

s, involving searches for diamonds in Ontario with Metalex Ventures, for gold in the Yukon, Nevada and Yemen with Cantex Mine Development and for uranium along the Manitoba–Saskatchewan border with Northern Uranium.

Horse racing

Fipke bought his first

thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a list of horse breeds, horse breed developed for Thoroughbred racing, horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thorough ...

racehorse in 1981 and has subsequently become a significant owner and breeder. His major winners include: *

Forever Unbridled Forever Unbridled (foaled April 24, 2012) is a retired American Thoroughbred racehorse who was named the American Champion Older Dirt Female Horse, Champion Older Mare of 2017 after winning the Fleur de Lis Handicap, Personal Ensign Stakes and B ...

, winner of the 2017

Breeders' Cup Distaff The Breeders' Cup Distaff is a Weight for Age Thoroughbred horse race for fillies and mares, three years old and up. Known as the Breeders' Cup Ladies' Classic between 2008 and 2012, it is held annually at a different racetrack in the United Stat ...

, multiple graded-stakes winner and daughter of Lemons Forever * Perfect Soul, winner of the 2003 Shadwell Turf Mile *

Tale of Ekati Tale of Ekati (foaled March 31, 2005) is a retired Thoroughbred racehorse. Background The brown colt's sire is Tale of the Cat by leading sire Storm Cat. His dam, Silence Beauty (half sister to the champion mare Sky Beauty out of Maplejinksy ...

, named for his diamond mine, winner of the Grade I

Wood Memorial The Wood Memorial Stakes is an American flat Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds held annually in April at Aqueduct Racetrack in Ozone Park, Queens, New York. It is run over a distance of 1 1/8 miles (9 furlongs) on dirt. The Wood Memorial ...

and Cigar Mile in 2008 *

Not Bourbon Not Bourbon (foaled in Ontario in 2005) is a Canadian Thoroughbred race horse. He is owned and bred by Charles E. Fipke and ridden by Jono Jones. At age two, Not Bourbon set a new Woodbine track record in winning the Bull Page Stakes. Racing at ...

, winner of the 2008

Queen's Plate The King's Plate (known as the Queen's Plate from 1860 to 1901 and 1952 to 2022) is Canada's oldest thoroughbred horse race and the oldest continuously run race in North America, having been founded in 1860. It is run at a distance of for a ma ...

* Seeking the Soul, winner of the 2017

Clark Handicap The Clark Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually in late November at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. Among the oldest races in the United States, it was first run in 1875, the year the racetrack opened for business. C ...

and track record setter for miles at

Keeneland Keeneland Association, Inc. is an equine business based in Lexington, Kentucky. It includes two distinct divisions: the Keeneland Race Course, a Thoroughbred racing facility, and Keeneland Sales, a horse auction complex. It is also known for ...

Lemons Forever Lemons Forever (foaled May 24, 2003 in Kentucky) is an American Thoroughbred racehorse best known for winning the Grade 1 132nd Kentucky Oaks horse race on May 5, 2006. Her win was the biggest upset in the history of the Oaks. The Kentucky Oaks ...

, winner of the 2006

Kentucky Oaks The Kentucky Oaks is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbred fillies staged annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. The race currently covers at Churchill Downs; the horses carry . The Kentucky Oaks is held on the Frida ...

at odds of 47–1 * Unbridled Forever, winner of the 2015

Ballerina Stakes The Ballerina Handicap is a Grade I American Thoroughbred horse race for fillies and mares that are three years old or older over a distance of seven furlongs on the dirt track scheduled annually in August at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Spr ...

and full sister to Forever Unbridled * Perfect Shirl, winner of the 2011 Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf * Jersey Town, winner of the 2012 Cigar Mile * Java's War, winner of the 2013

Blue Grass Stakes The Blue Grass Stakes, currently the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes due to sponsorship by the Toyota Motor Corporation, is a horse race for 3-year-old Thoroughbreds held annually in April at Keeneland Racecourse in Lexington, Kentucky. The race is ru ...

* Internallyflawless, winner of the 2009

Del Mar Oaks The Del Mar Oaks is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually in mid August at the Del Mar Racetrack in Del Mar, California. Open to three-year-old fillies, it is contested at a distance of one and one-eighth miles (9 furlongs) on the tur ...

* Golden Soul, a longshot in the

2013 Kentucky Derby The 139th running of the Kentucky Derby commenced at 6:33 pm Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) on May 4, 2013, at Churchill Downs. The race was televised in the United States on the NBC television network. The favorite, Orb, won a purse of $1.4 millio ...

, who finished second and had a payout more than three times higher than the winner Orb (38.60 to place vs. 12.80 to win) * Tale of Verve, second to

American Pharoah American Pharoah (foaled February 2, 2012) is a Thoroughbred racehorse who won the American Triple Crown and the Breeders' Cup Classic in 2015. He was the 12th Triple Crown winner in history, and in winning all four races, became the first ...

in the 2015 Preakness Stakes at odds of 28–1 Fipke owns two farms in Kentucky where he houses roughly 75 broodmares. He breeds mainly to stallions Tale of Ekati, Perfect Soul and Jersey Town.

Honours and awards

Fipke has received multiple honors, including: * The ''Northern Miners Mining Man of the Year (1992) * PDAC's Prospector of the Year (1992) * H.H. "Spud" Huestis Award for prospecting and mineral exploration (1997) * Daniel C. Jackling Award for contributions to technical progress in mining, geology, and geophysics (2004) * Robert M. Dreyer Award for outstanding achievement in applied economic geology (2005) He was inducted into the

Canadian Mining Hall of Fame The Canadian Mining Hall of Fame was conceived by Maurice R. Brown as a way to honor Canada's mine finders and builders, in recognition of accomplishments by leaders in the Canadian mining industry. The Hall was established in 1988; in 2023 it ha ...

in 2013. Fipke's history forms a significant portion of the "narrative broth" from which author

Kathy Reichs Dr. Kathleen Joan Reichs (PhD) (née Toelle, born July 7, 1948) is an American crime writer, forensic anthropologist and academic. She is a professor emerita of anthropology at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. She is well known ...

formed the plot of the novel ''

Bones Are Forever ''Bones Are Forever'' is the fifteenth novel by Kathy Reichs starring forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan. The book was the 48th most borrowed from libraries in the United Kingdom in 2012–2013. Plot The discovery of three dead new-born ...

''.

References

External links