In 1986, Ben and David Jenkins formed the consulting firm of Ainsworth-Jenkins Holdings Inc. ("Ainsworth-Jenkins"). The first years of the practice focused on gold and silver in Nevada and northern tier states in Mexico, drawing on experience gained from working on similar projects for Placer. Ainsworth-Jenkins was involved with the reactivation of the Huckleberry porphyry copper/gold project financed by New Canamin Resources Ltd. in the period 1992 to 1994, which was placed into production in 1997. The Ainsworth-Jenkins team was also responsible for the concept, design and implementation of a 1995 exploration program that lead to the discovery of the first reported marine alluvial diamonds in the territorial waters of Sierra Leone, West Africa.