Dean Toye, BSc, BC Certified Assayer
Past-Chairman and Founder

Dean Toye graduated from the University of British Columbia (B.Sc. 1962), Vancouver, Canada where he majored in Physics and Chemistry. He obtained his BC certification as a professional assayer in 1972. Dean was an analytical chemist for major companies such as Warnock Hersey, Kennco Exploration and Amax Exploration prior to founding Acme Analytical Laboratories in 1971. In 2006 Dean received the Frank Woodside Past President’s Award presented annually in recognition of long and distinguished service to AME BC.

John Gravel, MScA, PGeo
Executive Chairman

John Gravel graduated from McGill University (M.Sc., 1985) Montreal, Canada specializing in Mineral Exploration (MINEX Program). John has worked as a professional geochemist for international companies (BP Minerals), government (British Columbia Geological Survey) and as a consultant. John joined AcmeLabs in 1994 as their quality system manager charged with designing and implementing their ISO 9002-compliant quality system. (Acme became the first ISO 9002 accredited lab in North America).

George Cartwright, BSc
President

George has been working in the minerals testing business for 30 years. He started as a Minerals Chemist in 1979 working for Bondar-Clegg Canada Ltd and has since held various positions in laboratory operations and management. More recently George’s positions were as President of Bondar-Clegg Canada Ltd., President of Intertek Testing Services Canada Ltd. George started with Acme Analytical Laboratories in 2006 as VP, Operations and has recently taken over as President.

Clarence Leong, DTech, BC Certified Assayer
General Manager, Vancouver

Clarence Leong graduated from the British Columbia Institute of Technology (D. Tech., 1980) where he specialized in Chemical and Metallurgical Technology and obtained his BC professional assayer certification in 1981. He was an assayer for Cominco from 1980 to 1987 then joined AcmeLabs and became Chief Assayer in 1989. Clarence reviews all inspects all incoming requests for analytical work to ensure that the laboratory can meet the provisions of each contract. Clarence also evaluates all completed analyses to ensure they meet quality criteria and that the analyses satisfy all of the provisions as stated in the request for analytical work.

Raymond Chan, BSc, BC Certified Assayer
Chief Assayer, Vancouver

Raymond graduated from U.B.C. in 1979 (Biochemistry major) and B.C.I.T. in 1980 (Extractive Metallurgy specialty) in the Chemical and Metallurgical Technology program. He obtained his BC provincial assayer certificate in 1987. His work experience in assaying includes Equity Silver Mine, BC Research, Chemex labs, Skyline Gold Mine, Vangeochem Labs, Kemess Mine and Mount Polley Mine. He joined AcmeLabs in 2006 inspecting all data for their quality before being sent out. Raymond also oversees the fireassay department to ensure that it is running smoothly and efficiently.

Joselito (Jojo) Alviar, BSc
Production Manager, Vancouver

With a Bachelor of Science degree from De La Salle University in Manila, Philippines, Jojo has 20+ years of experience in the mineral testing industry from various management positions at Bondar Clegg and ALS Chemex. Before formally joining the Acme team as Production Manager for Acme Vancouver in November 2010, Jojo has been working as a consultant for Acme South America since 2009. His expansive industry experience and strong technical knowledge will be a great asset in improving Acme’s overall performance and quality of production.

Marcus Lau, BSc, BC Certified Assayer
Laboratory Manager, Vancouver

Marcus joined AcmeLabs after receiving his Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry from Simon Fraser University in 1996. He received his British Columbia Certified Assayer certification in 2003. Originally hired as a laboratory technician, Marcus was promoted to the position of Laboratory Manager in 2004. In addition to overseeing all aspect of laboratory production, he is also involved in research & development as well as health & safety for AcmeLabs.

Scott Inglis
Fire Assay Manager, Vancouver

Scott Inglis graduated from the British Columbia Institute of Technology (Diploma in Chemical Science, Industrial Specialization) in 1994. Prior to joining AcmeLabs in 2008, Scott has over 13 years of Fire Assay experience from previous positions at Cominco Exploration, Westmin Resources, Bondar-Clegg and Kemess Mines.

Ken Kwok, BSc BC Certified Assayer
Senior Research Chemist

After receiving his Bachelor of Science in Chemistry and Biochemistry from Simon Fraser University, Ken has spent the past 33 years as a chemist and certified assayer specializing in many phases of analytical work in the mining laboratory. His work pioneered breakthrough flux strategies for Fire Assay and acid digestion techniques aimed to detect and measure levels of tantalum, niobium and tungsten.
With his extensive experience in analytical techniques, Ken has spent the last nineteen years as a chief assayer in management dealing with process troubleshooting, method development, and data evaluation and approval. His specialization in classical wet and fire assay, and cyanide extraction has led to several best-in-class detection methods in the industry. More recently, he serves as a senior technical advisor and continues to research for new analytical techniques.

Wai Szeto, BA
Human Resources Manager – North America

Wai Szeto graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of British Columbia in 1986. Since joining AcmeLabs in 1987, she has held various support and administrative positions including interim bookkeeper and assistant administrative manager. As Human Resource Manager, her current responsibilities include company policy compliance, employee relations and benefits administration.

Claus Severin, MEng
Senior Software Engineer

Claus Severin graduated from the Hamburg University of Applied Science with a Masters of Engineering degree in Computer Science. He worked as Senior Programmer at Bondar-Clegg and ALS Chemex before joining AcmeLabs in 2006 where he took over the position of IT Manager. Claus has since taken on the position of Senior Software Engineer to completely dedicate his time in maintenance and development of Acme’s in-house Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS), for sample tracking and data requisition, as well as respond to increasing customer demand for AcmeAccess, Acme’s Internet Web Portal for clients. Claus has over 18 years of experience in LIMS, Application and Database design.

Susie Woo
Client Services Manager

Prior to joining Acme, Susie has refined her expertise across many areas through 31 years with Teck Resources Ltd. Her specialties include lab data management, sample registration protocol, sample tracking and assignment, client liaison and services, staff administration and office management, as well as accounts payables and receivables. Susie will be the person to talk to for all client needs at Acme.

Fred Lo, MSc
XRF Manager

An expert in X-ray Fluorescence as applied to whole rock and minor element analysis, Fred brings 35 years of knowledge and experience. He leads the newly created XRF department to provide high quality X-ray Fluorescence data to our clients.

Chris Mansfield
Warehouse Manager

Chris moved from Nova Scotia to British Columbia in 1995, working with Bondar-Clegg until 2002 and later ALS until 2004. Chris then moved to China to teach English for 2 years where he gained multicultural experience in working with others and understanding their culture. Chris joined AcmeLabs in January of 2007 bringing 10 years of leadership and warehousing experience.

Stephen Tucker, BA, BEd
Sample Prep Manager, Vancouver

Prior to joining Acme Labs, Stephen acquired 32 years of experience with GDL/Teck. His specialties include Heavy Mineral Separation, as well as, overseeing all aspects of the sample preparation process.

Anthony Sikich, BA, CMA
Controller, North America

Anthony graduated from Simon Fraser University with a BA degree in Economics in 1995 and received his designation for CMA (Certified Management Accountant) in 2004. Prior to joining AcmeLabs in 2007, Anthony has worked as accountant for diverse companies such as Law Society of BC, Teresan Utilities Services, Chartered Accountants of BC & Yukon and Vancouver International Airport.

Steve Samotowka
Branch Manager, Acme Smithers BC and Acme Yellowknife YT

Steve joined the Acme team in May of 2007 as manager of the Smithers sample preparation facility. He has over 12 years of field experience in mineral exploration and a strong background in geology from his studies at UBC. In the course of his fieldwork, he was involved in camp management, prospecting, geophysical and geochemical surveys, and diamond drilling. Through these experiences, Steve has a gleaned a thorough understanding of the processes and value of collecting geological samples.

Derrick Hill
Branch Manager, Yellowknife, NT

Formerly with Global Discovery Labs of Teck Ltd. as sample registration supervisor, Derrick brings to Acme his years of management experience in sample preparation and sample registration protocol. Following additional training at Acmelabs in Vancouver, Derrick has relocated to Yellowknife where he will ensure the same high standards for sample preparation and client service as those provided throughout our global network.