Daily Agenda with Panels & Speakers

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.

8:40 AM Welcome by New York SME: Conference Chairs:  Alan Oshiki, Chairman, NY SME; Cynthia Urda Kassis, Partner, Global Co-Head of Energy, Natural Resources and Infrastructure and Mining Sector Lead, A&O Shearman, Melissa Russell, CEO and Executive Director, SME and Mary Korpi, President, 2026 Board Chair, SME

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, 

9:30 AM "Overcoming Mine Finance Challenges in 2026" moderated by Grant Malensek, Technical Director - US Mining Advisory, SLR Consulting, and joined by Alvero Belevan, Director - Metals, Mining & Industries, Societe Generale; 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

10:30 AM "Appian/IFC Critical Minerals Fund: A New Funding Source for Emerging Market Mining Projects" moderated by Cynthia Urda Kassis, Global Co-Head of Energy, Natural Resources and Infrastructure and Mining Sector Co-Lead, A&O Shearman; Namratha Thapar, Global Director, Metals & Minerals, World Bank Group; Neil Peirera, Principal Investment Officer, IFC; Timothy Mister, Head of Credit and Royalties, Appian Capital Advisory

11:20 AM Refreshments: Sponsored by: CohnReznick LLP; Costmine Intelligence

11:30 AM "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; John Wilkin, Partner, Blakes; Evan Straight, Partner, Blakes

12:30 PM Networking Lunch Sponsored by: RESPEC Company, LLC

1:30 PM "De-Risking the Future: Challenges in Advancing Rare Earth & Minor Metals Projects" moderated by David Anonychuck, Global Vice President, Metallurgy and Consulting, SGS; Neils Verbaan, Senior Director, Technical Services, SGS; Jean-Marc Lulin, President and CEO, Azimut Exploration; Christopher Eager, CEO, Resouro Strategic Metals

2:30 PM "Priorities for US Government Investment in Metals & Mining" moderated by Evan Musolino, Senior Vice President, Critical Infrastructure, Venn Strategies; Leonardo Clavijo, Managing Director, US EXIM Bank; Joe Mullin, Critical Minerals & Material Vertical Coordinator, U.S. DOE Office of Energy Dominance; Danielle Montgomery, Vice President, Office of Infrastructure, U.S. International Development Finance Corporation

2:30 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

3:30 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

3:30 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, SRK Consulting; Mark Compton, Executive Director, AEMA

4:30 PM Refreshments: Sponsored by: CohnReznick LLP; Costmine Intelligence

Tomasz Nadrowski, Portfolio Manager, Amvest Capital, Author of "Mineral War: China's Quest for Weapons of Mineral Destruction" will give a Fireside Chat with Annemarie Brissenden of Refined Substance on the global landscape for securing mineral supply chains and their strategic importance 

5:45 PM Evening Reception Begins Sponsored by: Blake Cassels & Graydon LLP; CohnReznick LLP; IMDEX Limited; SRK Consulting

6:00 PM Andrew Timbers, Goldman Sachs will be interviewed by Grace Asenov, Fastmarkets

6:30 PM Keith Spence, CEO & Partner, Global Mining Capital, Greg McNab, Partner in Mining and Energy, Dentons, and Phillipe Baudry, Global Practice Director Mining Advisory, SLR Consulting in a Fireside Chat discussing "Geopolitics and Spheres of Influence: Affects in the Current and Future State of the Mining Industry"

8:00 PM Conclusion

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  ™

Register Now! Space is limited and there are no onsite registrations.
All CTMF 2026 activities will be in A&O Shearman's Conference Center.
Lead Sponsors: A&O Shearman; SLR International Consulting; SRK Consulting; SME Foundation

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

9:00 AM Abigail Hunter, Executive Director, SAFE's Center for Critical Minerals Strategy

9:30 AM "Critical Minerals: Strategy and Policy" Abigail Hunter, Executive Director, SAFE's Center for Critical Minerals Strategy; Olga Puntus, Executive Director, JPMorgan; Erasto Almedia, MINVEST Manager, SAFE's Center for Critical Minerals Strategy

9:30 AM "Canadian Vanadium and US Battery Technology: Use in the US military, industrial and mining equipment" Sean Cleary, CEO and President, Strategic Resources; GJ de la O', Co-Founder & CEO, Tyfast

10:30 AM "Critical Minerals: Financings and Market Dynamics" David S. Abraham, Author of "The Elements of Power", Tom McNamara, Head of Corporate Development & IR, Critical Metals Corporation;

11:30 AM "Advancements in Technology for Exploration and Operations" Tyler Hall, Co-Founder & President, ExploreTech; Ted Feldman, Founder & CEO, Durin; Dr. Dave Lawie, Chief Geoscientist & Chief Technologist, IMDEX

12:30 PM Networking Lunch Sponsored by: RESPEC Company, LLC

1:00 PM Kimberly Darlington, Founder and CEO, and Annemarie Brissenden, Director of Investor Relations, Refined Substance, will provide a presentation on "The Importance of Quality Investor Relations in the Mining Industry"

1:30 PM "Exploring Key Operational and Risk Mitigation Provisions in Cost-Plus Construction Contract" Chris Ryan, Partner, A&O Shearman; Daniel Garton, Partner, A&O Shearman; Meera Wagman, Managing Director, Secretariat; Justin Norman, Managing Director, FTI Consulting

1:30 PM "LMEs - Identifying Opportunities in the Face of Financial Distress" Kyle Arendsen, Senior Associate, Squire Patton Boggs; Joe Richman, Managing Director, FTI Consulting; Alice Nofzinger, Counsel, WilmerHale; David Hong, Partner, Paul Hastings 

2:30 PM "Reducing Costs and Risks in Mining Projects Through Engineering and Software" Mike Sinden, Managing Director, Costmine Intelligence; Jason Cox, Technical Director, Canadian Mining Advisory, SLR Consulting; Reinis Sipols, Director, Behre Dohlbear

2:30 PM "Education and Research: A Cross-Border Perspective" 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 Nobel, Virginia Tech

3:30 PM "Minor Metals Pricing and Financing in 2026" Grace Asenov, Base and Energy Metals Editor, Fastmarkets; Gordana Slepcev, CEO & President, Lomiko Metals; Terence Cryan, Executive Chairman of the Board, Westwater Resources; Hugues Jacquemin, CEO & Director, Northern Graphite 

3:30 PM "Tales from the Trenches" Briana Clark, Principal, Holbrook & Associates; George Bee, President & CEO, US Gold; Jean-Félix Lepage, President & CEO, Sirois Resources

4:30 PM "Developments in the Lithium Market" moderated by Mike Fox, Prospector News; David Park, CEO, Standard Lithium; Keith Phillips, Executive Chairman, Q2 Metals; Killian Charles, President & CEO, Brunswick Exploration

Reception: 5:45 PM to 8:00 PM: Sponsored by:   Blake Cassels & Graydon LLP; CohnReznick LLP; IMDEX Limited; SRK Consulting

   

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.

Lead Sponsors: A&O Shearman; SLR International Consulting; SRK Consulting; SME Foundation