Who we are — what makes this a different operation.

Company

Mile High Minerals is led by CEO Steven Hatcher and was built in partnership with Red Rock Resources. We combine national digital reach with deep energy expertise and a lean tech-focused back office.

We came up through years of operating and acquiring across multiple basins, learning what holds up through cycles and what doesn’t. Today, we run a focused minerals strategy built on direct sourcing, which means talking to owners first, buying clean, and keeping terms plain. Underlying it all, we’re supported by the Red Rock ecosystem – land, legal, engineering, and finance – so we can move quickly and close cleanly.

Leadership

Steven Hatcher, Partner

Land attorney and operator turned minerals buyer; founder and voice of Minerals Guy™.

A Louisiana lawyer who found his calling in the stories written in land records, Steven brings a unique perspective to Red Rock Resources' leadership team. Every case he encountered in his LSU law school days told a tale: homesteaders becoming dynasties, wildcatters striking it rich during the Great Depression, fortunes flowing through generations like oil through rock. While his classmates focused on torts and contracts, he found himself drawn to property law – the rules that determine who owns the dirt under our feet and the minerals buried deep beneath the surface.

  • While his career began in private law practice, the Shale Revolution created an unprecedented demand for legal expertise in oil and gas. As both an in-house attorney and head of land for an oil and gas company, he developed a deep understanding of exploration and development. But it was his entrepreneurial spirit that eventually led him to buying, selling, and developing oil and gas properties across the nation.

    What sets Steven apart is his unwavering commitment to transparency and fairness. "I will not sacrifice my integrity to make a buck," he states firmly. This principle guides every negotiation, whether he's working with small mineral owners or large operators. While he can't promise to beat every offer, his reputation for honest dealings has become a cornerstone of Red Rock Resources' approach to acquisitions.

    When he's not scrutinizing land titles or negotiating deals from his Colorado home base, Steven's world revolves around his wife and young boys. Despite the distance, he maintains strong connections to his Louisiana roots, still harboring a weakness for boiled crawfish and LSU football. You might find him teaching his sons the art of golf or standing mid-stream with a fly rod, finding peace in the rhythms of nature that echo the long-term perspective he brings to the energy business.

Tristan Farel, Partner

Energy finance and operations, runs the cadence and the numbers.

Born with a knack for numbers and blessed with an entrepreneurial spirit, Tristan's journey from auditor to CEO is a testament to how following your instincts can lead to extraordinary places. While his career started in the structured world of public accounting, his heart was always drawn to the dynamic nature of oil and gas operations.

  • After six years of peering into various energy companies as an auditor, he made the leap into industry, joining a private oil and gas company with public ambitions. His experience shepherding the company through a complex reverse merger and IPO in 2009 gave him invaluable insights into the intricacies of energy finance. But it was his next move that truly shaped his leadership philosophy.

    As Tristan's children were growing up, he chose to start a boutique back-office consulting firm, becoming a virtual CFO for numerous small companies. This unconventional path allowed him to be there for his kids during crucial years while simultaneously building deep expertise across multiple energy operations. It's this period that crystallized his belief that work should adapt to life, not the other way around.

    Today, he leads our diverse team that spans from California to Virginia, proving that the future of oil and gas doesn't have to look like its past. Working from a shared workspace office among tech startups instead of a traditional corporate setting, he's showing that even in an industry as established as oil and gas, there's always room for innovation. His vision is clear: build a lean, efficient operation that combines the best of traditional energy expertise with modern operational flexibility – an approach that's attracting both talented team members and savvy investors who recognize that the energy industry is ready for transformation.

David Martineau, Partner

Experienced energy executive guiding growth with discipline, strategy, and integrity.

A second-generation oil and gas professional, David brings over 30 years of E&P experience across East Texas, the Upper Gulf Coast, and the Rockies. He’s led operations, field optimization, and acquisitions through Martineau Petroleum, the company he founded in 2003, and in many other operations since then. Early in his career, he was a production engineer at Kerr-McGee (Oryx), managing waterfloods and gas assets, while contributing to the A&D and EHS teams. As his career progressed, he moved into the finance side of the industry, so he’s been involved at every level.

  • Known for his ability to bring calm to chaos, David is the kind of leader who rolls up his sleeves, joins daily ops calls, and ensures no detail goes overlooked. He loves being close to the work: the deals, the decisions, the people – that’s where the real impact is.

    David founded EnRes Capital in 2017 and continues to serve as Managing Partner, deploying capital into sub-$100MM energy transactions. He also leads Greenway Royalty Partners, focused on financing small to micro-cap E&P firms. With six management teams under his guidance, he’s built a reputation as a steady hand with a dealmaker’s instinct — one who respects the wells, trusts his people, and knows when to step back and let experts do their thing.

    He’s been recognized as a “Rising Star” by D CEO Magazine, named “Today’s Leader” by the Texas Alliance of Energy Producers, and inducted into the Ole Miss Engineering Hall of Fame. David holds a B.S. in Geological Engineering from the University of Mississippi and an M.S. in Geology from the University of Texas at Austin.

    Based in Austin with his wife Ali, David is a proud father of two Ole Miss students, Caroline and Katie. Outside work, he enjoys bird hunting, golf, and staying active in UT and Ole Miss alumni circles.

John Vassallo, Partner

Veteran energy and finance executive with more than 30 years of experience in futures, hedging, and asset acquisition. John has spent his career helping energy companies navigate markets, manage risk, and find opportunity.

John's career began in 1988 on the floor of the New York Mercantile Exchange with Rafferty Associates, where he learned the inner workings of the energy trading floor. He later moved to GPR, Inc., marketing energy-hedging programs, the firm's technical trading program, and executing trades for clients.

  • In 1990, John moved from New York to his home of Dallas, Texas, where he co-founded Coquest with Dennis Weinmann. The company quickly established itself in energy hedging and managed futures, securing major oil and gas accounts, including the State of Texas Treasury Department.

    As Coquest grew, John helped expand the business into physical and financial energy transactions, structured products, managed futures, and risk management. He also played a key role in the acquisitions of Mega Capital and divisions of Altegris, expanding Coquest's footprint in managed futures clearing, consulting, and allocation to Commodity Trading Advisors.

    John's experience extends beyond building businesses. He served for 10 years on the National Futures Association Board of Directors and remains actively involved in the regulation of the futures industry.

    John lives in Dallas with his wife, Kathy, and their two children, John and Bridgette.

Dennis Weinmann, Partner

Seasoned energy trader and co-founder of Coquest Inc., Dennis brings more than three decades of experience structuring hedging programs and trading energy markets. He also leads Buttonwood Investments and is a co-founder of Greenway Royalty Partners.

Dennis began his futures career in 1985 on the floor of the New York Mercantile Exchange with Rafferty Associates, working summers while in college. After graduation, he joined GPR, Inc., where he eventually met John Vassallo.

  • In 1990, Dennis moved to Dallas and co-founded Coquest with John. Since then, he has helped build the company into a recognized participant in the energy and commodity markets. In 1995, he led the formation of Coquest Energy Services, which brokered physical and financial natural gas and electricity transactions through the OTC markets.

    Over the course of his career, Dennis has held leadership and principal roles across the futures and investment-management industries, including Bishop Enderby Corporation, ArcFutures, and Toro Asset Management. His experience spans commodity trading, managed futures, energy markets, and investment management.

    In 2014, Dennis helped launch Buttonwood Investments, an energy-diversified CTA focused on spread arbitrage and directional trading strategies. The approach builds on a methodology Dennis has employed in the energy markets since 2008.

    From the NYMEX trading floor to building and leading businesses across energy and managed futures, Dennis has spent his career close to the markets, adapting as they evolve and looking for opportunity within them.

    Dennis lives in Dallas with his wife, Tracy, and their three children, Rachel, Collin, and Ruthie.