Mr Bass worked as a geologist and then plant metallurgist at Patino Mines' copper-gold mine in northern Quebec. While there, he won the Canadian Mineral Industry Scholarship to study mineral processing at Queen's University. After Queens, in 1976, Charles joined AMAX Inc, an American mining company in their Head Office and came to Perth in 1978 for a two-year secondment to Mt Newman Mining. He then spent almost two years at the Twin Buttes copper mine near Tucson, Arizona. Charles returned to Australia and established a consulting and mining software company, Metech Pty Ltd in early 1982. He formed Eagle Mining Corporation in 1992 with Tony Poli and was responsible for the deal that led to the discovery of Nimary Gold Mine, now part of Northern Star's Jundee operation. Following an uninvited takeover Charles co founded Aquila Resources Ltd with Tony Poli in 2000 and helped transition it from a gold explorer to iron ore and coal before it too was subject to a $1.4 billion takeover in 2014 at the hands of a joint bid between Baosteel and ASX-listed Aurizon. Eagle Mountain Mining listed on the ASX in 2018 and shortly thereafter Charlie negotiated the deal to bring the Oracle Ridge copper project near Tucson out of receivership. In addition to his role as Managing Director of EM2, Charles is involved in his family businesses and is in philanthropy. He is the founder and Chairman of the Centre of Entrepreneurial Research and Innovation (CERI), a charitable organisation working with post-graduate researchers in fostering a start-up culture for knowledge and value industry in WA.
