It's difficult to say how much money will be generated in next month's Whitehorse auction of heavy equipment, says the president of Golden Hill Ventures.

Jon Rudolph said this morning the value of big equipment around the world fell by 50 to 60 per cent during the recession and still has not recovered.

But there is room for optimism, he insisted during an interview.

Currently, Rudolph added, with increasing mining activity tied to a rebound in mineral prices, there is a growing demand for 100-ton rock trucks and large bulldozers.

He said if a company put in an order today for a new truck – valued at about $1.2 million – the wait period would be 42 weeks.

The D11 'dozer Golden Hill purchased three years ago at an Edmonton auction for $930,000 to work at the Ross Mining gold property outside of Dawson City has seen an additional $400,000 in rebuilding costs, he said.

"It only has 2,000 hours on all the components,” Rudolph added. "It's got another 10,000 to 12,000 hours before you have to rebuild it again.

"So what's it going to go for in the auction, it's hard to say.”

There are more than 100 pieces of equipment listed for the Oct. 13 auction. They range in size from the 16 rock trucks and two D11s – the largest bulldozers built by Caterpillar – right down to fork lifts and pressure washers.

The auction is being managed by Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers at Golden Hill's industrial yard situated along the Alaska Highway north of Crestview.

Ritchie Bros. representative Dean Lowry said today the company is expecting 200 to 300 bidders onsite, as well as those participating through the Internet.

"We are looking for a good sale,” he said, adding that about a dozen other companies have put up equipment to auction off.

He said there is still time to for individuals or companies to list goods for sale, though it's best to contact Ritchie Bros. sooner rather than later.

It was back in 1992 when the auction company was last here to hold a retirement auction to sell off the assets of E. Lobe, a heavy equipment company.

There is no minimum price for any items and all equipment will go to the highest bidder, Rudolph explained.

He said with the auction being broadcast across the Internet, and potential buyers allowed to bid through the Internet, interest should be high.

"We expect bids from Dubai, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, all over the world,” he said. "We expect some things will bring good value and other things will probably be a bargain buy because there is still a surplus out there. You never know.”

Among the largest heavy equipment companies in the Yukon, Golden Hill Ventures ran into dire financial straits in 2008 and 2009 as the recession hit the company full force.

Court proceedings under the Bankruptcy Act over the last year have seen Golden Hill and Rudolph reach settlement agreements with creditors.

The upcoming auction, he emphasized, is not part of those proceedings, and Golden Hill is not bankrupt.

The company is functioning, and currently has a payroll of about $100,000 every two weeks for approximately 30 staff members, he said.

Rudolph explained G.E. Financing, as the company which financed some equipment for Golden Hill, had the right to call in what it was owed – between $6 million to $7 million.

Golden Hill and G.E. agreed the best route was to hold an auction to sell off the equipment financed by G.E., and other gear owned by Golden Hill with no strings attached to G.E., he said.

Rudolph pointed out that of the two D11s, for instance, only one is under the security held by G.E.

It doesn't make sense for Golden Hill to have expensive surplus equipment sitting idle in the yard, Rudolph said.

He said Golden Hill has a lot more than 100 pieces of equipment and is currently working on the Mayo B hydro project as a subcontractor to Cobalt Construction, a company started by his son last January.

The company is also currently wrapping up some work on the north Alaska Highway as part of the Shakwak project, again as a subcontractor to Cobalt, which was awarded a two-year,

$5.9-million contract earlier this month, Rudolph pointed out.

He said Golden Hill's financial problems have hindered its ability to secure bonding for large projects, so it's been easier to work as a subcontractor under the umbrella of Cobalt Construction as the general contractor.

Still ongoing is the matter between Golden Hill and Ross Mining, the placer gold mining company purchased by Golden Hill but returned to Norm Ross through a court order after Golden Hill defaulted on payments.

Golden Hill is claiming it is owed $3 million by Ross Mining.