Mark Peterson and his brother had a passion for gold mining. However, they were frustrated by the fact that there didn’t appear to be any companies building equipment that worked well for small scale mining operations. As a result, they started building their own equipment and found the one thing they loved more than mining.
R&M was born in 1991 – a family-owned and operated manufacturer of mining equipment. With twenty-two years of combined experience, R&M knew what needed to be built to get the job done. They began building equipment the ideal size for small miners without complicated engineering, keeping it simple but effective.
With gold prices at historic highs, the small scale miner has returned in full force. The small one or two-man operation is now able to turn nice profits even with what once was considered low grade deposits. With the right equipment and hard work, these small scale miners may return to being the industry’s standard as they were over a hundred years ago. And with the return of the small scale operation, the increase in interest and demand for R&M’s small scale mining equipment exploded.
Having a desire to continue their focus on manufacturing, it quickly became clear that someone with business, marketing and sales experience was needed. In 2010, Jim D. Conger came on as a partner. Jim brings over 15 years of business management experience to the company. He found interest in R&M’s equipment was not limited to Idaho, but to other states in the United States, and other countries.
R&M became Global Mining Equipment to more clearly indicate the company’s focus – quality equipment for the small scale mining operation no matter where it is located; quality equipment built by miners for miners.