Daily Agenda with Panels & Speakers

Order and content is subject to change. 

Register Now! Space is limited and there are no onsite registrations.

T:1 Denotes Track 1, in the A&O Shearman Main Room

T:2 Denotes Track 2 in the A&O Shearman Conference Room

All CTMF 2026 activities will be in A&O Shearman's Conference Center located on the Second Floor of A&O Shearman's global headquarters, located at 599 Lexington Avenue, Manhattan

Conference Host: A&O Shearman

Lead Sponsors:  SLR International Consulting; SRK Consulting; SME Foundation

Monday, May 18, 2026: 
NY SME's Current Trends in Mining Finance Conference (CTMF 2026) 
Financing the Future: Funding for Mine Development 2026
Connecting Mining, Finance and Engineering Executives  ™

Welcome Reception with Guest Speakers

Registration for the Welcome Reception will open at 4:30 PM, Discussions will start at 5:45 PM, and the reception will end at 8 PM. 

Sponsors: Blake Cassels Graydon LLP; IMDEX Limited

5:45 PM Mike McGlone, Senior Commodity Strategist, Bloomberg Intelligence; Jeffrey Christian, Managing Partner and Founder, CPM Group; and Darrell Fletcher, Managing Director, Commodities, Bannockburn Capital Markets, will discuss "Commodity Pricing Trends and Volatility in 2026"

Tuesday, May 19, 2026:

NY SME's Current Trends in Mining Finance Conference (CTMF 2026) 
Financing the Future: Funding for Mine Development 2026
Connecting Mining, Finance and Engineering Executives ™

8:00 AM Registration, Breakfast and Networking: Sponsored by: Behre Dolbear; SGS: Global External; US Gold Corp.

T:1 8:30 AM Welcome by New York SME: Conference Chairs:  Alan Oshiki, Chairman, New York Section of the Society of Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration; Darwin Werthessen, Member, New York Section of the Society of Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration; Melissa Russell, CEO and Executive Director, Society of Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration, and Mary Korpi, President, 2026 Board Chair, Society of Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration; Cynthia Urda Kassis, Partner, Global Co-Head of Energy, Natural Resources and Infrastructure and Mining Sector Co-Lead, A&O Shearman; David Brulotte, Delegate General, Quebec Government Office in New York

T:1 8:50 AM Opening Remarks: "Current State of the Mining Finance Industry" from Don Marleau, Sector Lead, Corporate Credit - Metals and Capital Goods, S&P Global Ratings

T:1 9:20 AM "Overcoming Mine Finance Challenges in 2026" moderated by Grant Malensek, Technical Director - US Mining Advisory, SLR Consulting, and joined by Alvaro Belevan, Senior Director - Metals, Mining & Industries, Société Générale; Evan Musolino, Senior Vice President, Critical Infrastructure, Venn Strategies; Remco Meeuwis, Director - Energy, Infrastructure & Mining, ING Capital LLC; Jay Hemenway, Trader, Ocean Partners; Jon Lamb, Managing Partner, Orion Resource Partners

T:1 10:10 AM  "Securing Western Supply Chains for Critical Minerals" an interview of Andrew Timbers, Co-Head, Americas Metals & Mining, Goldman Sachs; interviewed by Grace Asenov, Base & Energy Metals Editor, The Americas, Fastmarkets

T:1 10:30 AM “Agnico Eagle: A Strategic Vision from Gold to Critical Minerals” a fire side chat with Ben Lam, Vice President, Treasury, Agnico Eagle, moderated by Cynthia Urda Kassis, Partner, Global Co-Head of Energy, Natural Resources and Infrastructure and Mining Sector Co-Lead, A&O Shearman

T:1 10:50 AM "Financing U.S. Copper Projects" moderated by David Rhodes, Managing Director, Endeavour Financial; Jordan Neeser, Chief Financial Officer, Ivanhoe Electric; Alvaro Belevan, Senior Director - Metals, Mining & Industries, Société Générale; Bela Onken, Director, Business Development North America, KfW IPEX-Bank

T:1 11:30 AM "Development and Advancement of an Arizona Copper Project" an interview of Craig Hallworth, CEO, Gunnison Copper, led by Adam Hawkins, President, Global External

T:1 11:50 AM "Partnerships with Australia and North America" moderated by Matt Johnson, Co-Head of Mining & Metals, A&O Shearman; Dan Smart, Country Lead, US and Canada, Export Finance Australia; Nick Kwong, President & CEO, Cygnus Metals; Lucas Dow, Managing Director & CEO, Elevra Lithium

T:1 12:30 PM "An Update on Mergers and Acquisitions in the Mining Industry" moderated by Steven McKoen, Partner, Blakes; Todd Sibilla, Commodity Product Specialist, Bloomberg; George Karafotias, Partner, A&O Shearman; Evan Straight, Partner, Blakes

1:15 PM Networking Lunch Sponsored by: The Government of Quebec and RESPEC Company, LLC

T:1 2:00 PM "Funding Instruments of the Future" moderated by Cynthia Urda Kassis, Partner, Global Co-Head of Energy, Natural Resources and Infrastructure and Mining Sector Co-Lead, A&O Shearman; Maryse Belanger, Chair of Board & Interim CEO, Torngat Metals; Sophie Bergeron, Managing Director, Iron & Titanium and Diamonds, Rio Tinto; Christine Burow, Chief Marketing Officer, Torngat Metals

T:2 2:00 PM "Young Professionals in the Mining and Mining Finance Industries: Continuing to Develop the Talent Pipeline" moderated by Lindsey Schultz, CEO, MRC Recruiting; Curtis Johnson, Founder, CEO & President, Scout Discoveries; Tyler Hall, Co-Founder & President, ExploreTech; Connor Olson, Associate - Natural Resources, ING Capital LLC; Emma Malensek, CPA; Daniel Rau, Founder, Kunin

T:1 2:45 PM "Appian/IFC Critical Minerals Fund: A New Funding Source for Emerging Market Mining Projects" moderated by Lachlan Poustie, Partner, Energy, Natural Resources and Infrastructure and Mining Sector Co-Lead, A&O Shearman; Annirudha Roy, International Finance Corporation; Neil Pereira, Principal Investment Officer, IFC; Timothy Mister, Head of Credit and Royalties, Appian Capital Advisory

T:2 2:45 PM "From Data to Dollars: How Advanced Analytics & AI Are Reshaping Mine Development Funding Decisions" moderated by Robert Michel, Principal, Robert Michel Enterprises; Aaron McMahon, Founder, Tacit Vision, LLC; Tyler Hall, Co-Founder & President, ExploreTech; Robert O'Leary, Partner, Projects, Energy, Natural Resources & Infrastructure, A&O Shearman; Jay Gillon, Sales Manager - North America, Deswik

T:1 3:30 PM "Developments in the Lithium Market" moderated by Andrew Frame, Managing Director, Strategic Advisory, Evercore; Keith Phillips, Executive Chairman, Q2 Metals; Roshan Pujari, Founder & Executive Chairman, Stardust Power; Dan Blondal, CEO, Director & Founder, Nano One Materials Corp; Chris Evans, Director, Li-FT Power

T:2 3:30 PM "Investor Relations: Its Critical Role in Project Finance" a presentation by Kimberly Darlington, Founder and CEO, and Annemarie Brissenden, Director of Investor Relations, Refined Substance

4:15 PM Refreshments: Sponsored by: CohnReznick LLP; Costmine Intelligence

T:1 4:30 PM "Priorities for US Government Investment in Metals & Mining" moderated by Evan Musolino, Senior Vice President, Critical Infrastructure, Venn Strategies; Leonardo Clavijo, Managing Director, U.S. EXIM Bank; Joe Mullin, Critical Minerals & Material Vertical Coordinator, U.S. DOE Office of Energy Dominance; Nils Mellquist, Senior Investment Officer, Contractor, U.S. DOE Office of Energy Dominance Financing (EDF); Brian Whitesides, Managing Director, Office of Infrastructure, U.S. International Development Finance Corporation; Suzanne Perry, Partner, White & Case, LLP

T:1 5:15 PM  "Geopolitics, Spheres of Influence and the China Factor: Effects in the Current and Future State of the Mining Industry" a discussion led by Keith Spence, CEO & Partner, Global Mining Capital, and joined by Greg McNab, Partner, Mining and Energy, Dentons, and Philippe Baudry, Global Practice Director, Mining Advisory, SLR Consulting

5:30 PM All are Welcome to Celebrate Women in Mining Hosted by: A&O Shearman in partnership with Quebec

6:00 PM to 8:00 PM: Reception Sponsored by:   Blake Cassels & Graydon LLP; CohnReznick LLP; IMDEX Limited; SRK Consulting

Register Now! Space is limited and there are no onsite registrations.

Revisit this site often, content is subject to change

Wednesday, May 20, 2026:

NY SME's Current Trends in Mining Finance Conference (CTMF 2026) 
Financing the Future: Funding for Mine Development 2026
 Connecting Mining, Finance and Engineering Executives  ™

8:00 AM Registration, Breakfast and Networking: Sponsored by: Behre Dolbear; SGS: Global External; US Gold Corp.

T:1 8:30 AM "The Updated Role of Reserves and Resources in the Financing Equation for Precious and Base Metals" moderated by Ben Parsons, Practice Leader - Resource Geology, SRK; Stuart Smith, Chief Operating Officer (North America) and Principal Consultant (Corporate Advisory), SRK; Patrick Wieck, Market Sector Lead, Metals, RESPEC; Jason Cox, Technical Director, Canadian Mining Advisory, SLR Consulting

T:1 9:15 AM "The Global Landscape for Securing Mineral Supply Chains and their Strategic Importance" a discussion with Tomasz Nadrowski, Portfolio Manager, Amvest Capital, Author of "Mineral War: China's Quest for Weapons of Mineral Destruction" led by Annemarie Brissenden of Refined Substance 

T:1 9:35 AM "Critical Minerals: Strategy and Policy"  moderated by Danielle Woodring, Staff Geologist - Geoscience Policy Lead, Burns & McDonnell; Dr. Kwame Awuah-Offei, Regional Innovation Officer, Critical Minerals and Materials for Advanced Energy Tech Hub and Union Pacific/Rock Mountain Energy Professor and Department Chair of Mining and Explosives Engineering, Missouri University of Science and Technology; David S. Abraham, Author of "The Elements of Power", and Senior Fellow, Institute for the Analysis of Global Security (IAGS) overseeing the Technology, Rare and Electronic Materials Center (TREM); Wilfredo A. Reyes, Partner, ARM Global Strategies Advisory LLC

T:1 10:10 AM "Building What's Next: Advancing Critical Minerals, Rare Earths, and Circular Supply Chains" moderated by David Anonychuk, Senior Vice-President - Advisory and Growth, North America, DRA Global ; Caroline Olsen, Director of Research and Development, Metallurgy and Consulting, Natural Resources, SGS; Gillian Holcroft, CEO, Green Graphite Technologies; Frank Dumas, VP Business Development, Director, Chairman, St-Georges Eco-Mining

T:1 10:50 AM "Propelling Québec’s Mining Sector : A Forward-Looking Strategy for Critical and Strategic Minerals" a presentation by Amyot Choquette, Portfolio Manager, Invest Québec

T:1 11:05 AM "Building Mines, Building Nations: Funding the Next Generation of Canadian Critical Minerals" moderated by Laura Konkel, Senior Counsel, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP; Charles-Olivier Tarte, CFO, Nouveau Monde Graphite; Kyle Frank, P.Geo, Vice President, Corporate Development, Troilus Mining; Bela Onken, Director, Business Development North America, KfW IPEX-Bank

T:1 11:35 AM "Risk Appetite Required: Public Finance in Minerals Projects" a Keynote from Abigail Hunter, Executive Director, SAFE's Center for Critical Minerals Strategy

T:1 11:50 AM "Critical Minerals: Financings and Market Dynamics" moderated by David S. Abraham, Author of "The Elements of Power", and Senior Fellow, Institute for the Analysis of Global Security (IAGS) overseeing the Technology, Rare and Electronic Materials Center (TREM); Matthew Rosales, Hartree Partners; Erasto Almeida, MINVEST Manager, SAFE's Center for Critical Minerals Strategy; Devin Hanrahan, Base Metals Trader, Glencore

T:1 12:30 PM "Industrial Minerals Pricing and Financing in 2026" moderated by Grace Asenov, Base and Energy Metals Editor, Fastmarkets; Gordana Slepcev, CEO & President, Lomiko Metals; John Passalacqua, CEO, First Phosphate Corporation; Greg Hall, Co-Founder & Director, CleanTech Vanadium

1:15 PM Networking Lunch Sponsored by: The Government of Quebec and RESPEC Company, LLC

T:1 2:00 PM "Regulation to Return: Aligning Permitting Strategy with Capital Allocation Decisions" moderated by Dr. Andrew Harley, Mining Director, SWCA Environmental Consultants; Ross Pilotte, National Policy Director, SWCA Environmental Consultants; Jeff Parshley, Corporate Consultant (Environment and Mine Closure), SRK; Gabriel Sweet, Vice President Operations, Big Rock Exploration; Mark Compton, Executive Director, AEMA; Michael Woods, President & Managing Member, Woods Capital

T:2 2:00 PM "Exploring Key Operational and Risk Mitigation Provisions in Cost-Plus Construction Contracts" moderated by Chris Ryan, Partner, A&O Shearman; Daniel Garton, Partner, A&O Shearman; Justin Norman, Managing Director, FTI Consulting; Chris Sullivan, Managing Director, Secretariat

T:1 2:45 PM "Tales from the Trenches" moderated by Briana Clark, Principal, Holbrook & Associates; Kevin Francis, Vice-President, Exploration & Technical Services, US Gold; Jean-Félix Lepage, President & CEO, Sirios Resources; Ken Darlington, VP Eastern North America, Sedgman; Adrian O'Brien, VP Business Development & Communications, Midnight Sun Mining

T:2 2:45 PM "Education and Research: A Cross-Border Perspective" moderated by Francis Fournier, President and CEO, COREM; Dr. Jocelyn Bouchard, Director of E4M, Université Laval; Dr. Mustafa Kumral, McGill University; Dr. Pengbo Chu, Columbia University; Dr. Aaron Noble, Virginia Tech

T:1 3:30 PM "Reducing Costs and Risks in Mining Projects Through Engineering and Software" moderated by Mike Sinden, Managing Director, Costmine Intelligence; Jason Cox, Technical Director, Canadian Mining Advisory, SLR Consulting; Reinis Sipols, Director, Behre Dolbear; Terry Schmidt, Vice President of Engineering, EARTHRES a Division of RESPEC; Jay Gillon, Sales Manager - North America, Deswik

T:2 3:30 PM "LMEs - Identifying Opportunities in the Face of Financial Distress" moderated by Kyle Arendsen, Senior Associate, Squire Patton Boggs; Joe Richman, Managing Director, FTI Consulting; Alice Nofzinger, Counsel, WilmerHale; David Hong, Partner, Paul Hastings; Fred Sosnick, Global Co-Head Restructuring; Executive Committee Member, A&O Shearman; Allyson Smith, Partner, Restructuring, Willkie

4:15 PM Refreshments: Sponsored by: CohnReznick LLP; Costmine Intelligence

T:1 4:30 PM "Canadian Vanadium and US Battery Technology: Use cases for military, industrial and mining equipment" moderated by Lisa Koch, Partner, A&O Shearman; Sean Cleary, CEO and President, Strategic Resources; Danie Dutton, VP Technical Services & Metallurgical Products and Processes, Strategic Resources; GJ la O', Ph.D., Co-Founder & CEO, Tyfast

T:1 5:15 PM "Advancements in Technology for Exploration and Operations" moderated by Tyler Hall, Co-Founder & President, ExploreTech; Ted Feldmann, Founder & CEO, Durin; Dr. Dave Lawie, Chief Geoscientist & Chief Technologist, IMDEX; Nate Shoemate, Business Development Manager, Alta Resource Technologies; Julia Greenwald, Director of Strategy and Partnerships, Rock Zero

6:00 PM to 8:00 PM: Reception Sponsored by:   Blake Cassels & Graydon LLP; CohnReznick LLP; IMDEX Limited; SRK Consulting

Conference Host: A&O Shearman

Lead Sponsors:  SLR International Consulting; SRK Consulting; SME Foundation

 

All CTMF 2026 activities will be in A&O Shearman's Conference Center at 599 Lexington Avenue in Midtown Manhattan.

*Monday welcome reception is limited to the first 150 registered attendees. You do not have to attend the CTMF conference to attend the Receptions. The fee to attend the Receptions only (not attending the conference) is $75 per attendee, per reception.

All attendees must register in advance for building access; No registrations onsite or walk-ins allowed. 

Conference Registration is US$600 per delegate.

Registration will be monitored. *Registration may close early, before the event.

Due to space, organizers may require some registered conference delegates to be present in an adjacent conference room(s) with flat screens, live video and audio feeds to the Main Conference Room.

Other rooms and space are places to relax, network, meet one-on-one for quiet shared conversations or work.

Register Now! Space is limited and there are no onsite registrations.