The 30-year geology veteran will work alongside Maxwell officials to evaluate potential coal, gold and silver reserves. He will use a 1991 US Geological Survey authored by his late father, geologist Charles “Chuck” Pillmore.
That survey determined that the Basin contained more than $3.4 billion of coal. A 2005 survey of the same area found additional high-grade coal was possible.
Maxwell holds 170,000 acres of fee-simple mineral rights in the Raton.
“Roy was one of the first people we thought of to work with us on this project," president and chief executive officer Phillip Dias said.
“He’s worked in the Basin almost his entire career and knows it inside and out and sideways. Roy knows coal and he knows Raton…we'd be foolish not to ask him to join us and we're thrilled he said yes.”
Maxwell Resources announced earlier this month that it had picked up coal and other mineral interests in a deal with Sun River Energy.
It paid $US500,000 and issued 2,564,103 shares to SRE shareholders, all on a 12-month lock-up, for coal, gold, silver, iron, ore and copper interests in the Raton Basin.
The acquisition was completed in July, the company said, tied to a contract of sale with the seller.
Coal mining is actively conducted in New Mexico, though only one underground coal mine, San Juan, operates there.
