SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - Mark Brown walked into the Yellowknife Inn carrying a white sack over his shoulder and a rolled up map under his arm. And before he began his pitch to the Dragons' Den producer sitting behind a long table and a laptop, he unwrapped a number of rocks and placed them on a table in the middle of the audition room.

Mark Brown auditioned for Dragons' Den on Monday. His business, Rock of Ages, would market the oldest rock on the planet – Acasta River Gneiss, found 300 km north of Yellowknife. - Nicole Veerman/NNSL photo

Out of a sock came a five-pound polished piece of Acasta gneiss - the oldest found rock on the planet, at about 4 billion years old. Then out of a towel borrowed from the Northern Lites Motel, came a larger chunk. And from even deeper in his white sack, he pulled out gold boxes holding smaller pieces of the precious rock.

"Now I can say not only did I see a castle made of snow, I saw the oldest rock," said Molly Duignan, the Dragons' Den producer holding auditions in Yellowknife Monday.

Brown was at the audition asking for $50,000 to help market his business, Rock of Ages.

If Duignan and her associates pick Brown for the reality TV show, he will find out at the end of April and then fly to Toronto shortly after to meet the Dragons - six multi-millionaires who will decide whether or not to invest capital in his business.

"I'm the messenger and the delivery boy," said Brown. "I have the product to deliver."

Brown has 14 years of experience in the mining industry. He said the rocks are geologically and scientifically sound, it's just marketing them that he needs help with.

He said it's hard to put a value on the rocks, but he sells fist-sized pieces for $149.99, plus shipping.

"I've given away more than I've sold," he told Duignan during his audition.

So far, he said he's sold 27 pieces and given away more than 50.

"Well you gotta stop doing that," she responded. "That's the first rule of business."

Despite her advice, Brown gave Duignan a spherical piece of polished Acasta gneiss, which he would normally sell for $250.

"I advised him to stop giving them away and this is what I get," Duignan said with a laugh.

Brown was one of six people who had auditioned by 3 p.m. Monday afternoon. Auditions were open until 6 p.m.

Among the other five was TJ's Nut Hut owner Tony Procure, who was pitching a new line of "poop" products, among them, polar bear poop, bison poop and squirrel poop. He said they are made from

different mixtures of chocolate and nuts.

The pitch went well, he said. "They were tickled."

Procure said he is also looking to franchise his business, but wouldn't say how much money he'll ask the dragons for if he's chosen for the show. Luke Huntus, a pipe fitter for Fire Prevention Services, was also there to audition, asking for $50,000 to get his product off the ground.

During his audition, he stood with his tattooed arms crossed and his feet widely spread.

"There's a unique problem in the NWT," he told Duignan. "We're getting raped by heating costs.

"Heating oil is just beyond expensive up here."

To remedy the high prices, Huntus pitched a product to heat northern buildings - pellets made out of recycled cardboard and paper. He said the thing that will set him apart from the wood pellet producers already selling to Yellowknife's building owners, is the fact that he's local.

The idea came to him two weeks ago, so he doesn't yet have a prototype. He said he would love to make it to the show, whether his product is successful or not.

"If you get laughed at, well then I've still had my five minutes of fame," he said with a laugh.

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