Below are CTMF 2024 Panel Abstracts & Speakers' Bios
NY SME’s 9th Current Trends in Mining Finance Conference (CTMF 2024)
Seeking Certainty in an Uncertain World
Connecting Mining, Finance and Engineering Executives™
Monday, May 20 - Wednesday, May 22, 2024
7:00 AM Registration, Breakfast and Networking: Sponsored by: AtkinsRealis; Behre Dolbear; DRAGlobal; SGS: Societe Generale de Surveillance SA
7:45 AM Welcome by New York SME Conference Co–Chairs: Tim Alch Executive Director, Alan Oshiki, Chairman and A&O Shearman LLP: Cynthia Urda Kassis, Global Project Development & Finance Practice Leader, Lead Industry Coordinator for Metals & Mining; Opening Remarks: Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration (SME): David Kanagy, Executive Director and Dr. Marc A. Herpfer, 2024 President of SME
Tim Alch, Executive Director of NY SME and Co Chair of CTMF 2013 - 2024, is associated with RESPEC, as Senior Mining & Energy Strategist and is Managing Partner of TAA Advisory. Tim is known for project management, team building, corporate and business development and financial and investment and minerals market advisory. His career spans equity, investment and industry analysis, management advisory, executive placement and event management. He was a Senior Associate of and was a Managing Director of Behre Dolbear; SVP of Anderson & Schwab; Equity Analyst at Paine Webber, Prudential Securities, and Dean Witter Reynolds and Senior Consultant: Industry Analyst at CRU International (London), World Steel Dynamics (New York) and Resource Strategies (Philadelphia). He is an Honors Geology graduate and John Mason Clarke Fellow of Amherst College and studied Mineral Economics at Penn State. Tim is a member of SME, AEMA, AME, PDAC and NCUSCR; an Executive Committee Member (2008-16) and Executive Director (2016-24) of NY SME; and SME Finance Strategic Committee Member (2017-20). In 2020, Tim was selected as the 2020 recipient of the SME President’s Citation for Local Section Service Award.
Alan Oshiki, Treasurer of NY SME, is a mining engineer with over four decades of experience in engineering, operations and strategic business communications. He is the Treasurer and former Chairman of the New York Section of the SME and is co-Chair of the SME's Current Trends in Mining Finance conference. Alan is Managing Partner of Pushtree Associates LLC and helps management teams and boards of directors engage key stakeholders for mergers and acquisitions, crises, litigation, IPOs and restructuring, as well as practical and effective approaches to ongoing business and capital markets communications.
Cynthia Urda Kassis, Global Project Development & Finance Practice Leader, Lead Industry Coordinator for Metals & Mining at Shearman & Sterling LLP, has decades of experience representing sponsors/borrowers as well as providers of finance in project, finance and joint-venture transactions worldwide, with extensive experience in the mining industry, as well as in infrastructure and energy. For her impact in the space she has been a three-time recipient of the “Project Finance Lawyer of the Year” award by Who’s Who Legal. Cynthia’s notable work in the mining space includes the representation of: (i) Orion and Blackstone in the financing of Lundin Gold’s $1B+ Fruta Del Norte Project in Ecuador; (ii) Orion Mine Finance on its acquisition of Occidental Petroleum’s Wyoming, Colorado and Utah Land Grant assets for about $1.33 billion and the financing thereof; (iii) Société Générale and ING on the structured acquisition financing of Cobalt 27 and (iv) Nevada Copper on the development and financing of its Pumpkin Hollow Underground Copper Project.
Dave Kanagy, Executive Director and CEO, Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration, has served since 2004 as the Executive Director and CEO of the Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration, Inc., (SME) helped facilitate much of their growth and innovation as the world's largest mining related organization. He has a B.S. degree in industrial education from the University of Maryland, a M.S. degree in technology education from Eastern Illinois University and is a certified association executive by the American Society of Association Executives. Under his leadership, several unique programs were created or advanced including OneMine.org, the world’s foremost on-line research library. He enhanced legacy programs and collaboration with international related mining groups. Kanagy is the recipient of two prestigious awards including the Colorado Society of Association Executives’ Professional of the Year award and the Mining and Metallurgical Society of America’s Gold Medal award.
Dr. Marc Herpfer, is the SME 2024 President and V.P. of New Technologies at Oil-Dri’s Innovation Center. He has over 33 years of “mine to market” leadership experiences in creating value from “sorbent” minerals via technologies linked to a broad spectrum of applied sciences and industrial processes. Herpfer works with high-performance “B2B” and “Consumer” R&D teams that commercialize fluids purification-filtration, animal-health, pet litter, agricultural-horticultural, petrochemical, industrial, and environmental applications worldwide. He is an inventor on patents related to clays for purifying edible oils, ethanol production media, porous ceramics in structural bricks, and nanomaterials for bacterial quorum sensing inhibition/disruption. Herpfer has previously served as an SME Board Director, and led and served on several key SME committees and is the recipient of many prestigious SME Awards.
8:10 AM I.1. We are very honored to have opening the conference on Tuesday, May 21, 2024 a fireside chat with The Grand Chief of the Cree Nation of Eeyou Istchee, Mandy Gull-Masty and A&O Shearman LLP's Global Co-Head of Energy, Infrastructure and Natural Resources, Cynthia Urda Kassis discussing:
The Cree First Nation of Eeyou Istchee: A First Nation's View of Mining
Grand Chief Mandy Gull-Masty is a member of the Cree First Nation of Waswanipi, Quebec, Canada. In 2021, she was elected to a four-year term as the Grand Chief of the Grand Council of the Crees (Eeyou Istchee) and Chairperson of the Cree Nation Government. She has over 15 years of experience in administration and management, working for various Cree entities and organizations at the local and regional levels. During her term as Deputy Grand Chief in 2014, she was instrumental in ensuring that mining explorations aligned with community concerns and environmental protection. (Visit this this website to learn more.)
Cynthia Urda Kassis, Global Project Development & Finance Practice Leader, Lead Industry Coordinator for Metals & Mining at Shearman & Sterling LLP, has decades of experience representing sponsors/borrowers as well as providers of finance in project, finance and joint-venture transactions worldwide, with extensive experience in the mining industry, as well as in infrastructure and energy. For her impact in the space she has been a three-time recipient of the “Project Finance Lawyer of the Year” award by Who’s Who Legal. Cynthia’s notable work in the mining space includes the representation of: (i) Orion and Blackstone in the financing of Lundin Gold’s $1B+ Fruta Del Norte Project in Ecuador; (ii) Orion Mine Finance on its acquisition of Occidental Petroleum’s Wyoming, Colorado and Utah Land Grant assets for about $1.33 billion and the financing thereof; (iii) Société Générale and ING on the structured acquisition financing of Cobalt 27 and (iv) Nevada Copper on the development and financing of its Pumpkin Hollow Underground Copper Project.
8:40 AM I.2. Key Trends Overcoming Challenges and Disruptions Impacting Financing Mines Today: Roundtable: SLR Consulting: Grant Malensek, Technical Director - US Mining Advisory, (Ch); Triple Flag Precious Metals: James Dendle, Senior Vice President; Orion Resource Partners: Jon Lamb, Managing Partner; ING Bank: Remco Meeuwis, Director; Endeavour Financial: David Rhodes, Managing Director
Project financing for mine development remains, as usual, a complex and always changing process for all parties involved. We will look at current financing trends from various perspectives such as financial advising, commercial banks, private equity, and royalty/streaming with a focus on precious and base metals along critical/strategic metals. While some critical metals projects, in particular lithium, has been attracting investment from governmental bodies, while having its own challenges and benefits, most critical metal project financings are far and few between. In particular, even with the recent strong spike in uranium prices, project financings in the uranium space still face long held concerns on safety and offtake sales.
Grant A. Malensek is Technical Director – U.S. Mining Advisory at SLR with 25 years’ experience in the mining industry. Prior to joining SLR, Mr. Malensek was a Mineral Project Evaluation Consultant for a large engineering firm where he project managed fatal flaw, due diligence and Independent Engineer reviews for equity and project financings. He also prepared technical-economic models, project finance models, mineral property and mineral project valuations, and valuations for the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). Grant’s consulting experience includes Feasibility and Prefeasibility Studies, Preliminary Economic Assessments, capital cost estimates and reviews, mine strategy, and options analysis and project evaluations in connection with mergers and acquisitions.
James Dendle is Senior Vice President, Corporate Development at Triple Flag Precious Metals. James is a passionate and dedicated mining and metals professional who joined Triple Flag in 2017 after having advised Triple Flag in a technical capacity since its inception. A resource geologist by training, with a multi-disciplinary technical background, James heads corporate development. Prior to joining Triple Flag, James consulted to a wide range of mining companies, financial institutions, and private equity groups providing technical and financial evaluation expertise, primarily in base and precious metals, globally. James holds a Bachelor of Science in Applied Geology (1st Class Honours) and a Master of Science in Mining Geology (Distinction) from the University of Exeter, Camborne School of Mines in the UK, and is a Chartered Geologist of the Geological Society of London.
Jonathan Lamb is a Portfolio Manager at Orion Resource Partners. As a Portfolio Manager, Mr. Lamb is responsible for the origination, structuring, diligence, negotiation and monitoring for Orion’s metals and mining private equity business. At Orion, Mr. Lamb has direct oversight of several significant portfolio investments, including Sweetwater Royalties and Victoria Gold. Prior to Orion, Mr. Lamb was an Investment Manager for the Red Kite Group’s Mine Finance business. Before joining Red Kite in 2012, Mr. Lamb worked for Deutsche Bank in their Metals & Mining group within the Global Banking division. Mr. Lamb graduated with a BA from the College of William and Mary majoring in Government and Finance.
Remco Meeuwis is a Director in the New York based Metals & Mining team of ING Capital LLC, providing clients active in the sector with financing, hedging, debt capital markets, advisory, and other financial services. Remco has over 15 years of experience in debt advisory and the arranging of multi-sourced corporate and project financings in the mining, energy, and infrastructure sectors across the Americas, APAC, and EMEA regions, and was previously based in Amsterdam, London, and Singapore. Remco holds a MSc in Applied Earth Sciences from Delft University of Technology, and a MSc in Mineral Economics from the Colorado School of Mines.
David Rhodes', Managing Director of Endeavour Financial, finance career has spanned over thirty years. Before joining Endeavour eighteen years ago, he was at Standard Bank London Limited and Barclays Capital, where he sourced, structured, and syndicated finance for mining Projects and companies globally (including derivative products). David has extensive experience of the North/South American, European, CIS, and African markets, having arranged over US$10 billion of funding for mining companies. David is also the Chairman of Luca Mining and Executive Chairman of Empress Royalty.
9:25 AM I.3. Coordination Mineral Development and Strengthening Supply Lines: Efforts Across the US Government: United States Department of Energy: Zack Valdez, Advisor, Office of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains, (Ch); United States Department of Defense: Anthony Di Stasio Director of the Manufacturing, Capability Expansion, and Investment Prioritization Directorate (MCEIP) at the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition & Sustainment (OUSD A&S) ; United States Department of State: Aaron Fishman, Deputy Director for the Office of Energy Transformation, Bureau of Energy Resources; United States International Development Finance Corporation (DFC): Evan Musolino; Acting Managing Director, Office of Infrastructure and Critical Minerals
The global market for minerals in relation to developing the clean energy transition is witnessing unprecedented growth, driving increasing demand from various industries. The United States government plays a crucial role in coordinating mineral development efforts, ensuring stable supply chains, and mitigating uncertainties in the dynamic landscape. This panel aims to explore the strategies employed across the USG to manage mineral development, stretch supply lines, and reduce uncertainty in the global market with key topics such as policy frameworks, international collaborations, and technological advancements. Attendees will gain valuable insights on efforts to streamline permitting processes, encourage responsible mining practices, and promote innovation and partnership in developing the upstream clean energy supply chain.
Dr. Zack Valdez; Advisor, Office of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains, U.S. Department of Energy (Ch). Zack Valdez serves as Advisor to the Office of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains. Previously, he served the office as its Chief of Staff. Prior to joining DOE, he developed strategy for diversity, equity, inclusion, and future workforce policy at the Office of Advanced Manufacturing within the National Institutes of Standards and Technology. Dr. Valdez has extensive experience with Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math outreach and engagement with national non-profits. He is also an alumni of the prestigious American Association for the Advancement of Science and Technology Policy Fellowship, where he served on the Energy and National Resources Committee of the U.S. Senate. Zack received his academic degrees in his native state of Texas with a Ph.D. from Baylor University and Engineering and Physics B.S. degrees from St. Mary’s University.
Mr. Anthony Di Stasio currently serves as the Director of the Manufacturing, Capability Expansion, and Investment Prioritization Directorate (MCEIP) at the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition & Sustainment (OUSD A&S). MCEIP prioritizes and invests in industrial development and production critical for protecting national security. His responsibility includes DPA Title I and III authority as well as the Industrial Base Authority.
Aaron Fishman is the Deputy Director of the State Department Bureau of Energy Resources’ Office of Energy Transformation, U.S. Department of State, where he works on clean energy and critical mineral supply chains. He previously served as the Economic Counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan; the Political-Economic Counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Vienna, Austria; and the Political Counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Warsaw, Poland; his other foreign services assignments have been in Washington, Moscow, Tbilisi, Accra, Kuala Lumpur, and Krakow. Before the State Department, he was an attorney-advisor at the U.S. International Trade Commission in Washington, and an associate attorney at Shearman & Sterling in New York and Washington. He earned his JD from NYU Law School and BA in Liberal Arts from St. John’s College (Santa Fe, NM); and
Evan Musolino; Acting Managing Director, Office of Infrastructure and Critical Minerals, U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC). Mr Musolino is currently an Acting Managing Director in the Office of Infrastructure and Critical Minerals at the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC, formerly OPIC). In this role he structures debt financings and political risk insurance for a variety of investment projects in developing and emerging market countries. He is also a member of DFC’s Equity Evaluation Committee. His experience includes backing mining, energy, water, transportation, and other critical infrastructure projects. Prior to DFC, Evan held multiple roles in support of the U.S. Department of Energy, including serving as the program lead for Sustainable Finance and Investment at Argonne National Laboratory.
10:20 AM I.4. Critical Minerals: Powering Next Generation Technologies: Government of Canada, Consulate General of Canada in New York City: David Bryce, Trade Commissioner; Woods Capital, LLC: Michael J. Woods, President & Managing Member; Cerberus Capital: John Gallagher, Managing Director on Cerberus’ Supply Chain and Strategic Opportunities team; IBM: Nick Ponto, Associate Partner, Energy and Mining
Critical Minerals: Powering Next Generation Technologies: This panel will discuss potential North American (mostly Canada) critical minerals’ supply for semiconductors, renewable energy and obviously, batteries. They will also focus a little on sustainability of locally sources minerals, including the greening of existing mines in production.
Based out of the Canadian Consulate in New York, David is focused on attracting foreign direct investment to Canada. David’s primary focus is on critical minerals, semiconductors, and their associated supply chain verticals. David has supported Canadian junior mining companies attract investment from New York City finance through several initiatives. Most recently, in December 2023, David supported 18 Canadian junior mining companies raise capital — with projects in lithium, copper, graphite, nickel, rare earth elements, phosphate, and processing technology — through the Canadian Critical Minerals Opportunities Forum (CCMOF) held in New York. The CCMOF allowed Canadian mining companies to pitch their projects to mining finance, private equity, trading houses, royalty & streaming, automotive OEMs, and government policy makers. David is also leading an effort to integrate semiconductor supply chains between Ontario, Quebec, New York, and the broader US northeast. This includes everything from sourcing upstream inputs like rare earths, critical minerals, and industrial gasses for semiconductor manufacturing through to the final stages of advanced packaging of chips for industry applications. This initiative is being dubbed the Northeast Advanced Electronics Corridor.
Michael J. Woods is the President & Managing Member of Woods Capital, LLC (www.woodscap.com). Woods Capital, a global advisory investment firm, exclusively focuses upon institutionally based financial structures and modeling, capital solutions and real estate development. Michael is also the Co-Founder and Board Chairman of rePlant Hemp Advisors, a first to market impact venture capital firm focused on the US industrial hemp industry (www.replanthemp.com), as well the Treasurer and Board Director of Hembio (www.hembio.org), an environmental credit advisory firm. Michael is also a board member of Roman DBDR, (www.romandbdr.com), a $236 million publicly traded SPAC which also focuses on multiple financial product structuring capabilities and a Board Member of the CROVER Group (www.crovergroup.com), a global real estate firm focused upon building resort communities. Mr. Woods is the former CEO and COO of Big Sun Holdings which owned and operated Black Buffalo 3D Corporation (www.blackbuffalo.io), Flash Labs Corporation, and Big Sun Modular. He was also the CEO & COO of Rothschild & Co. Asset Management U.S., Inc., and Global Partner of Rothschild & Co (www.rothschildandco.com). Prior to Rothschild & Co., Mr. Woods served as CEO of DWS Investments and Head of the Americas, Global Client Group, for Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management (www.dws.com). Mr. Woods is the Chair of the Long Island Chapter for Tiger 21 (www.tiger21.com), a global peer-to-peer learning community of entrepreneurs, wealth creators, and investors that have personal wealth in excess of over $20M. He is a Senior Advisor of KingsRock Advisors in NYC, a network of former Deutsche Bankers advising a financial services advisory firm focused on capital and financial solutions, structural complexity and originating unique investment opportunities. He is also an officer of the Board of Directors and the Chairman of the Finance Committee for the Business Council for International Understanding (www.BCIU.org) based in Washington, DC, and a Board Member, Finance Committee member and Chairman of the Development Committee of The Korea Society (www.koreasociety.org) , based in New York City. Mr. Woods is a Member of both The Leadership Council and the Small Business Technology Council for the National Small Business Association (NSBA – www.nsba.biz) Mr. Woods is a member of the Executive Consultation Group of the Blue Dot Network (https://www.oecd.org/finance/oecd-and-the-blue-dot-network.htm), a division of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) based in Paris. Mr. Woods is a 2018 honoree of the New York Responsible 100 Award and a member within the “Top 100 Innovators & Entrepreneurs Magazine” for 2023. He previously served on the Board of Directors of The New York Metropolitan Opera, The Children's Village in New York City and The Big Brothers Big Sisters Organization of Massachusetts Bay. He earned a bachelor’s degree in business from Taylor University located in Upland, Indiana.
John Gallagher is a Managing Director on Cerberus’ Supply Chain and Strategic Opportunities team, which invests in businesses driving next-generation technologies and capabilities that advance supply chain integrity. He is also a member of the board of directors of Torngat Metals Ltd., a Quebec-based rare earths and specialty chemicals company. Previously, Mr. Gallagher was a Managing Director of Tracker Capital, a venture capital-oriented family office focused on emerging technologies. He has extensive experience working across the U.S. interagency, intelligence community, and industry. Mr. Gallagher served as the Special Assistant to the Chairman of the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board (PIAB) which advises the White House on top national security priorities. Following nearly 30 years in the U.S. Army, Mr. Gallagher was Chief Executive Officer of a non-governmental organization working in the Middle East and Asia. Prior, he was an advisor to several senior military commanders including the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs in the Pentagon, the Commander of U.S. Central Command, and the Commander of all coalition forces in Afghanistan. From 2007 to 2009, Mr. Gallagher was a White House Fellow and a Director at the National Security Council. A former airborne infantry officer and Army strategist, he graduated from West Point and holds two master’s degrees with distinction from The University of Chicago, in public policy and political science. At West Point, Mr. Gallagher taught American politics and foreign policy and was the Director of the Academy’s Rhodes Scholarship program. He is the recipient of numerous military awards, including the Legion of Merit and Bronze Star (Service-Afghanistan). Most recently, Gallagher received the 2023 Impact Award from the White House Fellowship Foundation.
Nick Ponto is an Associate Partner, Energy and Mining at IBM from Calgary, Alberta Canada. Nick is an innovative and forward-thinking leader with over 20 years of experience in planning, developing and operating integrated Energy and Mining assets. Nick believes in integrating the value chain by re-imagining workflows and incorporation of leading technologies to realize sustainable operational excellence. Nick has had the opportunity to deliver early stage mine designs all the way through to feasibility, cost estimation, construction and operation of multiple mining assets.
10:20 AM I.4A. Restructuring Cautionary Tales: Squire Patton Boggs: Stephen Lerner, Global Chair of the Restructuring & Insolvency Practice Group (Ch); Squire Patton Boggs (US) LLP: Carolyn L. McIntosh, Senior Partner; FTI Consulting, Inc., David J. Beckman, Senior Managing Director; Shearman & Sterling LLP: Fredric Sosnick, Global Operations Partner, partner in the Financial Restructuring & Insolvency practice
Restructuring Cautionary Tales: This panel will discuss do’s and don’ts for investors contemplating financing mining activities and those facing mining operation restructuring, wind-down, decommissioning, or abandonment. For the investor, the panel will identify issues to consider—before investing—as to how to extricate from the investment. The panel will identify major policy changes on the horizon that could result in business closings in the mining sector. They will share their restructuring expertise to identify what not to do, as well as best practices to reach a successful restructuring or sale conclusion.
Stephen Lerner is global chair of the Squire Patton Boggs Restructuring & Insolvency Practice Group. Stephen has led the representation of debtors or leading parties in Chapter 11 cases and/or out-of-court restructurings including for AmFin Financial, Blackjewel LLC, Chrysler, EaglePicher, Enron, Ferrellgas, Hartshorne Mining Group, Lehman Brothers, Midway Gold, Optima Specialty Steel, Patriot Coal, Veris Gold and WorldCom, among many others, and he represented the Court Appointed Expert in the City of Detroit’s historic Chapter 9 case. Stephen served as Examiner for Purdue Pharma, as special counsel to the State of New Jersey in the out-of-court restructuring of Atlantic City and as lead restructuring advisor to Dana Gas PJSC, the largest independent gas company in the Middle East, in its US$700 million Islamic financing restructuring. The firm’s US restructuring team led by Stephen was named 2020 USA Restructuring Firm of the Year – Middle Markets by Global M&A Network. In July 2022, the Ferrellgas restructuring team led by Stephen was honored with the Turnaround of the Year (Large) Award by Global M&A Network.
Carolyn McIntosh counsels clients on complex environmental compliance matters and environmental, natural resources and commercial litigation. Carolyn has extensive experience handling compliance, permitting and federal land use matters, including advising clients regarding BLM land use approval and environmental permitting, with a particular focus on the mining industry. She has provided regulatory compliance and permitting support related to a number of Chapter 11 restructuring matters including Blackjewel LLC, Hartshorne Mining Group, and Midway Gold. She is currently serving as the President of the American Exploration & Mining Association.
David J. Beckman, is Senior Managing Director, FTI Consulting, Inc. Mr. Beckman has over 35 years of experience in business and consulting, and his industry expertise is in financial services, mining, mortgage lending and wholesale. He specializes in working with the management and the creditors of financially distressed companies. For the last decade, Mr. Beckman has focused the majority of his work in the mining industry on mining company restructuring matters. He has represented interest holders in large, complex mining restructurings, including Peabody Energy, Great Basin Gold, Grupo Mexico, ASARCO, CONSOL Energy, Blackjewel, and Horizonte Minerals.
Fredric Sosnick is the Global Operations Partner of Shearman & Sterling and a member of the firm’s Executive Group. He focuses on advising clients in connection with large and complex domestic and international out-of-court restructurings and U.S. Chapter 11 cases, as well as providing advice to boards of directors on governance matters. Fred represents debtors, official creditors’ committees, lender groups, DIP lenders, creditors and acquirers of assets across all industries, including Metals & Mining. His clients include money-center banks and other lenders, corporates, and funds. He is consistently ranked a leading restructuring lawyer by Chambers, IFLR 1000 and Super Lawyers. In addition, Fred ’s representations have garnered numerous M&A Advisor Turnaround Atlas Awards in connection with the Chapter 11 proceedings of Energy Future Holdings, Westinghouse Electric, Pacific Drilling N.A., and, most recently, Vice Media. His recent work includes representing (i) Vice Media in its Chapter 11 cases, including a $350 million sale to a consortium of pre-petition lenders, and (ii) Stoneway Capital in Chapter 11 cases involving approximately $834 million of secured debt. In addition, Fred has significant Metals & Mining experience, including representing (i) Citibank, N.A. as administrative agent under Foresight Energy LP’s revolving credit agreement and term loan facility in connection with an agreed out-of-court restructuring; (ii) Bank of America N.A. as lender under a bilateral facility for Samarco Mineração S.A.; and (iii) an ad hoc group of first lien lenders in connection with the Chapter 11 cases of Blackhawk Mining LLC.
10:45 AM - 11:30 AM Refreshments: Sponsored by: CohnReznick LLP; McCarl's Technical Services
11:10 AM I.5. What Questions Should I be Asking When Evaluating a Mining Asset – Where Things go Wrong! SRK Consulting: Ben Parsons, MSc, MAusIMM, Principal Resource Geologist (Ch); SRK Consulting: Matthew Sullivan, Principal Mineral Economist; SRK Consulting: Jeff Parshley, Corporate Consultant (Environment: Mine Closure and Reclamation) and Dentons: Greg McNab, Partner, Corporate group and Canada Co-chair for Dentons' Mining group
As metal prices have weakened and difficult market conditions seen at the end of 2023 continue into 2024, the number of distressed assets, or companies needing finance will likely increase. Due diligence on these assets remains an important component for any deal and the real question is are you asking the right questions? This Panel will discuss some of the key considerations which should form part of any Due Diligence. The discussion will highlight a number of key technical flaws from exploration through mining to tailings and closure considerations and economic considerations from Financial Risk, to Capex and Opex estimation. Through the Panelists’ insight into a variety of global projects at various stages this provides a unique perspective on what to look for, what questions to ask, how to identify “red flag” items as early as possible, and when to dive deep in order to assess a project’s technical risk.
Ben Parsons, Principal Resource Geologist at SRK, has over 20 years of broad geological experience, including precious metals, base metals, and more recently niobium and phosphate mining. Since joining SRK, Ben’s expertise includes the production of independent mineral resource estimates, geological modelling, due diligence and auditing of exploration/mining projects, review of operation performance, technical reviews, and assistance in project evaluation as part of Competent Person’s/Mineral Expert Reports and stock exchange listings. Ben has project management experience in technical studies such as exploration programs, mineral resource and ore reserve studies, scoping/conceptual studies, pre/definitive feasibility study projects, working with junior exploration companies at grassroots exploration level through to the listing of large multi-national operating companies with multiple assets. International projects include gold, silver, base metals, copper, molybdenum, niobium, and phosphate. Ben’s key skills include in-depth knowledge of Datamine Mining Software package. He has experience in databases, QA/QC, developing geological models, mineral resource estimates, geostatistical optimization, grade control practices, and reconciliation studies, all reported in accordance with international reporting codes, such as CIM, JORC, SEC, SAMREC, etc. Ben has also been active in providing training courses in mineral resource estimation.
Matthew Sullivan, Principal Mineral Economist at SRK Consulting, has twelve years of experience analyzing, optimizing, and valuing mining operations from internal and external positions. Matthew has extensive experience designing and leading diligence processes for mining assets ranging from early stage exploration through to operating mines. He has priced, negotiated, and closed mining deals across the globe in a wide variety of commodities via structures ranging from royalty and equity investment to term and convertible debt facilities. His experience as a mining sector buy-side professional funding the development and operation of mining assets provides a unique perspective on what it takes to study, build, operate, manage risk, and invest in the mining sector. His specializations include mining sector financial modeling and analysis; merger and acquisitions, due diligence planning and execution, strategic business planning and initiatives, risk management and assessments, operations research and optimizations, and process controls and improvements.
Jeff Parshley has 40 years of environmental and closure experience in the mining industry. Jeff specializes in closure planning and closure cost estimation. In addition to doing planning and analysis work for mines, he has been involved in the management of abandoned mines and the implementation of closure works at several mines in the western United States. Having worked with legal and policy aspects of mining projects since his early career, Jeff regularly contributes to World Bank and IFC compliance projects and is one of SRK’s most experienced mine closure strategists and regulatory specialists. He has helped develop regulatory guidelines for mine closure and closure cost estimating and has also helped clients develop corporate standards and guidance documents for closure planning, implementation, and cost estimating. Jeff is a regular mine closure and closure cost estimating instructor for in-house workshops conducted for mining companies and US government agencies. He served as SRK’s global group chairman from 2016 to 2021.
Greg McNab is a partner in the Firm's Corporate group and Canada Co-chair for Dentons' Mining group. His main areas of practice include financings of public and private securities issuers (including private equity and hedge funds), investment management products, capital markets transactions, mergers and acquisitions and resources and energy matters, both domestically and internationally. Greg also advises on corporate governance, regulatory compliance, continuous disclosure and stock exchange matters for public issuers. Greg has extensive experience in both the energy and mining sectors. He regularly speaks at conferences, writes articles and appears in the media with respect to a variety of securities, mining and energy matters. He is a director and Canadian Chair of the Canadian Australian Chamber of Commerce. A former mechanical engineer, he is also the co-chair of the International Emissions Trading Association's global carbon capture and storage working group. Greg focuses his practice on public and private financing matters and services and cross-border joint ventures involving jurisdictions that include Asia, Australia, Africa and Canada, among others. His practice includes the negotiation and drafting of prospectuses, circulars, shareholder agreements, opinion letters, applications for regulatory relief, share purchase agreements and related transaction documents. He has been involved in a range of energy and resource industry transactions and financings. He also provides related regulatory advice with respect to climate change issues and has worked on a variety of renewable and clean tech matters, including wind, solar and hydro projects.
11:10 AM I.5A. A Fireside Chat with Skarn Associates: Sophie Chung, Executive Director, Strategy & Development re: The Emerging Economics of Decarbonizing the Mining Sector: moderated by Matthew Johnson: Allen & Overy (Perth Office), Co-Head of Mining Group
Sophie is an Executive Director, Strategy and Development with Skarn Associates. Sophie's expertise ranges from quantifying carbon footprint of metal production, financial valuation of individual assets and companies to dynamic modelling of global mine supply and costs, decarbonisation pathways, risk analysis for projects and strategic advice on business development. Sophie holds a B.Sc. Hons. in geology and physics from University of Toronto, Canada. As principal copper analyst at Rio Tinto, Sophie led the team providing long term price forecasts. She also provided bespoke advice and modelling for the copper business development team and the economics team. At Wood Mackenzie, Sophie managed the copper cost service and provided consulting expertise for a wide spectrum of clients, from project risk management to asset valuation and benchmarking. Prior to joining Wood Mackenzie, Sophie worked in equity research at Desjardins Capital Markets, covering the majors and mid-caps on the Toronto stock exchange, in addition to assisting the corporate development team with due diligence on mining assets.
Matthew Johnson is the co-lead of Allen & Overy’s Global Mining sector. Matthew has extensive experience advising a range of stakeholders on mergers and acquisitions and securities law transactions globally. Matthew is named in Best Lawyers List in Equity Capital Markets, Mergers and Acquisitions, Corporate Governance, Corporate, Commercial, Natural Resources and Mining categories. Matthew is rated as an Acritas Star – independently rated lawyer. Matthew’s recent work includes representing (i) Allied Gold Corporation on its US$1.2billion reverse takeover of Mondavi Ventures Limited (now Allied Gold Corporation), the USD267 million financing, and subsequent listing on the Toronto Stock Exchange, (ii) Allied Gold Corporation on the acquisition and financing of Bonikro, Hire and Agbaou gold mines in Cote d'Ivoire, the Sadiola gold mine and Diba assets in Mali and the Kurmuk gold project in Ethiopia, (iii) Consolidated Copper on its acquisition of the Tschudi copper mine in Namibia, (iv) LG Chem on its investment in NASDAQ and ASX listed Piedmont Lithium Inc. by way of share subscription agreement and the associated offtake agreement for lithium offtake and (v) Peninsula Energy as AUS and US counsel on its capital raisings relating to funding the development and restart at the Lance Project in Wyoming.
12:00 PM I.6. Current State of Key Funding Sources: Shearman & Sterling LLP: Lachlan Poustie, Partner, Project Development & Finance practice (Ch); International Finance Corporation (IFC): Neil Pereira, Principal Investment Officer, Metals & Mining; S&P Global Ratings: Erin Boeke Burke, Director, Lead Analyst, Sustainable Finance, Americas: Torys: Braden Jebson, Partner; Société Générale: Chloé Tacconi, Director, Mining, Metals and Industries Finance
Lachlan Poustie is a partner in the Project Development & Finance practice. He has extensive experience in acting for sponsors, development finance institutions, commercial lenders and export credit agencies on the development and financing of complex mining and related infrastructure projects. He has advised on transactions and projects globally and Lachlan heads Shearman & Sterling’s Africa Practice. He is based in Paris.
Mr. Pereira is a Principal Investment Officer in the Metals & Mining team at the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private-sector arm of the World Bank Group. As project lead, Mr. Pereira originates, structures, and executes new transactions, and supervises several portfolio projects. His experience includes working on projects in Africa, Latin American & the Caribbean and East Asia. Mr. Pereira joined IFC in Washington, DC in 2003 and prior to this, spent four years working with Citibank, N.A. in Nairobi, Kenya, focusing on corporate finance transactions across the Africa region. Mr. Pereira has a Bachelor of Commerce (Honors) degree from McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario and a Master of Business Administration degree from Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Mr. Pereira is also a CFA® charterholder.
Erin Boeke Burke joined S&P Global Ratings in 2016, and has been on the Sustainable Finance team since 2020. In her current position, she works as a lead analyst on sustainability research and opinions, including Second Party Opinions on green, social, and sustainability-linked financings. Her research often focuses on issues pertaining to water, and access to and affordability of essential services. In her prior role on the U.S. Public Finance team in Ratings, she worked on credit ratings for municipal and cooperative utilities – particularly in water – as well as debt issued by State Revolving Funds and bond banks.
Braden Jebson is a partner of Tory's Toronto office. Braden practices corporate and securities law, with an emphasis on public and private M&A and corporate finance. He has a particular focus on the mining and metals sector, with experience in royalty and streaming finance transactions, inter-jurisdictional transactions and joint ventures.
Chloe Tacconi joined Societe Generale in 2009 and has 15 years of banking experience among which 10 years covering the metals & mining sector. Her mandate also includes the decarbonization industries and particularly the entire battery value chain. As a Director, her role is to arrange and advise clients in structuring a wide range of financing solutions in the Americas. Financing solutions include debt and equity advisory, corporate financings, structured financings, complex multi-source project financings, export credit agencies financings, and tax credits and Governmental funding and subsidies. She has been involved in numerous project & structured finance transactions over the years extending several billions of dollars of funding to clients.
12:00 PM I.6A. Beyond Exploration: The Challenges of Financing Early-Stage Mining Projects: Refined Substance Inc.: Kimberly Darlington, President and Founder (Ch); Northern Graphite: Hugues Jacquemin, CEO; Arianne Phosphate: Brian Ostroff, President and Director; Advanced Gold Exploration: Dr. Andrew J. Ramcharan, Ph.D., P.Eng., President; Blackwolf Copper & Gold Ltd.: Morgan Lekstrom, CEO & Director
North American governments at many levels have earmarked funding and other programs to develop local supply chains for critical minerals used in the decarbonization of our economy. However, while some expenditures, such as those for exploration, are eligible for government funding and/or tax credits, spending on other essential aspects of project development such as community relations and environmental studies are not. Permitting and environmental approvals continue to take several years. Furthermore, many critical minerals projects only become eligible for government support once they have reached the feasibility study stage. In a difficult investment market, what do junior miners need from governments to get them from early exploration through to feasibility and beyond?
Kimberly Darlington, President and Founder of Refined Substance Inc., has more than two decades’ experience in the fields of marketing, communications, investor relations, and public relations across a wide variety of industries. In 2012 she turned her sights on applying her skills and experience to the mining industry and founded Refined Substance, a Montreal-based company that takes the substance of what mining and exploration companies seek to communicate and refines it so that it resonates with targeted audiences and stakeholders. The company offers strategic communications and marketing services tailored to the mining industry in both English and French. Kimberly serves as a director for a number of non-profit boards and is a past Chair of the Montreal chapter of Women in Mining, a global organization dedicated to the promotion and recognition of women pursuing careers in the mining sector.
Hugues Jacquemin, CEO of Northern Graphite, is a mining industry veteran and entrepreneur with over 30 years of senior management experience growing Specialty Materials businesses for listed Fortune 500 and Private Equity firms. As the former CEO of the Graphite and Carbon Division of Imerys SA, Hugues spearheaded the investment program for Li-ion battery material for the EV markets. Hugues acted as an independent expert to advise Northern Graphite on the acquisition of Imerys’ natural graphite division in 2021, and served as an independent, senior advisor to Northern prior to becoming Chief Executive Officer in June 2022. Hugues has deep expertise in graphite mining and processing, lithium-ion and battery materials, fuel cells and hydrogen production, graphene and carbon nanotubes, synthetic graphite and carbon materials. He is fluent in four languages including English, French, Spanish and Italian.
Brian Ostroff, President and Director of Arianne Phosphate, is a graduate of the University of Toronto (1986) having joined RBC Dominion Securities in 1987. In 1999 Mr. Ostroff joined M&A advisory firm Goodrich Capital where he was the Canadian managing partner overseeing mandates across a spectrum of industries with a focus on display technologies and mining. In 2004, Mr. Ostroff moved over to the trading side of the business as a proprietary trader with a large Canadian bank and then subsequently on his own for four years. Mr. Ostroff joined Windermere Capital in 2009, until 2022; his area of focus was the junior and mid-tier mining sector.
Dr. Andrew Ramcharan, President at Advanced Gold Exploration, has an extensive background in corporate development, mining and exploration, project evaluation, and investment banking spanning over twenty years. Previously, as Manager of Corporate Development for IAMGOLD, Dr. Ramcharan was involved in raising over $600 million in equity financings and worked on project acquisitions totalling over $800 million. Dr. Ramcharan has also held senior roles with Sprott and Resource Capital Funds, where he performed over 300 project evaluations and helped complete numerous debt and equity financings. More recently he was the Executive Vice President of Corporate Development and Investor Relations for Roscan Gold where he has been instrumental in raising over $40 million. Dr. Ramcharan holds a Ph.D. and M.Sc. in Mining Engineering and Mineral Economics, and attended the Colorado School of Mines, University of Leoben, and Harvard Business School Continuing Education Program. Dr. Ramcharan is a P.Eng. in Ontario, a Registered Member of The Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration (SME) in USA, a Fellow of both The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (AusIMM) and The South African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (SAIMM).
Mr. Lekstrom Is currently CEO of Blackwolf Copper and Gold ,which backed by Frank Giustra is currently merging with Treasury Metals to create a near term 109k ounce per year Gold producer with 3M ounces Au in resource . Mr Lekstrom has a combined 18 years of mining, M and A, finance, and heavy industry experience in progressively senior roles from executive management, project management, operations, and engineering management. He was the past President & CEO of Silver Hammer Mining Corp, a co-founder of a publicly traded uranium company, and most recently co-founder of a fast-growing real-world asset exchange technology company called Streamex. Mr. Lekstrom has an established track record of delivering successes across numerous projects, capital raises and creating strategic direction for multiple companies. He held senior technical roles at Freeport McMoran’s Grasberg site in Indonesia and Rio Tinto’s Oyu Tolgoi Project in Mongolia, and he co-led the design, construction, and commissioning of a new steel grinding media plant for Arrium (Moly-corp) in Canada and Peru. He played an integral role in the development and revival of Golden Star Resources’ Prestea underground mine in Ghana, West Africa. He has also branched out into supply chain infrastructure development, including construction, commissioning, development of asset strategies, and engineering at the Port of Vancouver’s largest grain Terminal, G3 Terminal Vancouver. He served as engineering manager at Sabina Gold and Silver Marine Laydown and Back River project, where he was responsible for the first phases of execution at the Back River Marine Laydown Project, leading the project from the office and on the ground.
12:50 PM Networking Lunch: Sponsored by: Government of Quebec; RESPEC; US Gold;
1:00 PM I.7. Guest Speaker: The U.S. Needs a Centralized Minerals & Mining Agency; Debra Struhsacker: Struhsacker Consulting: Debra Struhsacker, Principal; Women’s Mining Coalition: Co-Founder
The U.S. Needs a Centralized Minerals and Mining Agency: When Congress stopped funding the U.S. Bureau of Mines in 1996, it lost an important source of expertise on minerals and mining to help inform mineral policies. Since then, the Nation’s reliance on foreign minerals has skyrocketed. In 2023, the U.S. imported 100 percent of 15 minerals and relied on foreign countries for over 50 percent of another 34 minerals. Today, China is the top supplier of many of the minerals the U.S. needs for the clean energy transition, as well as for our economy and national defense, and for our manufacturing, technology, and transportation sectors.
The critical minerals grant programs enacted in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law have essentially outsourced mineral research to academia and the private sector. There is no centralized federal agency to manage and coordinate these programs or to perform cutting-edge mineral research.
In order to reduce our dependency on foreign minerals and to achieve our energy transition objectives, ensure national defense, and maintain a strong economy, the U.S. government needs an agency dedicated to mineral resources to improve the minerals security of America. This agency should be charged with researching mining and mineral processing techniques that strengthen our mineral supply chains, recover critical minerals from legacy mine wastes, and enhance mineral recycling.
Debra Struhsacker is a Reno-based minerals and mining policy expert who has helped many clients obtain the state and federal permits needed to explore for minerals and develop mines. She is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Wellesley College, where she majored in geology and French. She also has a Master’s Degree in geology from the University of Montana. Debra is one of the co-founders of the Women’s Mining Coalition, a well-recognized and respected mining advocacy group.
1:20 PM I.8 Keynote: Government of Quebec: Ian Morissette, Associate Deputy Minister of Mines, Ministry of Natural Resources and Forests (MRNF) - Topic (TBA) – held within all rooms with live Broadcast from the Shearman Room
Mr. Ian Morissette is the Associate Deputy Minister of Mines at the Ministère des Ressources naturelles et des Forêts since February 2024. As a senior executive and diplomat with extensive experience, both in Québec and abroad, he has been the Vice-President of Sustainable Development and Partnerships in Northern Territories at the Société du Plan Nord, the Assistant Deputy Minister of Policy and Public Corporations at the Ministère de la Culture et des Communications, the Delegate for Francophone and Multilateral Affairs of Québec in Paris and the Director of Political and Public Affairs at the Québec Government Office in London. Mr. Morissette holds a bachelor’s degree in political science and a master’s degree in international relations from the Université du Québec à Montréal.
1:55 PM I.9. Collaborating to Advance Domestic Critical Minerals Projects: Government, Industry, and Investors Interactions - A Roundtable Discussion: Better in Our Backyard: Ryan Sistad, Executive Director (Ch); Wesben Global Ltd.: Danielle Comeau, MBA, MHR, CEO (Ch); Lithium Universe Ltd.: Alex Hanly, B.Eng., (Mech), MBA, Chief Executive Officer; RPMGlobal: Luke Stephens, FAusIMM (CP), Vice President – ESG (Americas); Cerberus Capital: John Gallagher, Managing Director on Cerberus’ Supply Chain and Strategic Opportunities team Government of Quebec: Jocelyn Douhéret, Director, Mining Policies, Ministry of Natural Resources and Forests
This panel brings together leading experts across industry, government, and investment from across Canada, US, and Australia. The panel will explore the importance of collaboration to achieve goal alignment for advancing domestic critical minerals projects and discuss the how contributors work together to secure the supply chain.
Ryan Sistad was born in Fosston, MN and has been running Better In Our Back Yard (BIOBY) for almost 5 years out of Duluth, Minnesota. During that time Better In Our Back Yard has grown from 2 members to over 80, while growing its social media presence to over 20,000 followers, gaining national recognition, and has expanded its outreach from Northern Minnesota to the upper-mid west region. Better In Our Back Yard was created to advocate for responsible industrial development in Northern Minnesota and regions surrounding the Upper Midwest. Projects BIOBY advocates for include NewRange Copper Nickel’s NorthMet Project, Twin Metals Minnesota’s proposed Copper-Nickel mine, Perpetua Resources' Stibnite Gold Project out of Idaho, Talon Metals proposed Nickel-Copper-Cobalt mine in Minnesota, Enbridge’s Line 5 Segment Relocation Project in Wisconsin, Enbridge’s Great Lakes Tunnel Project in Michigan, and Resolution Copper's proposed copper mine in Arizona.
Danielle Comeau, MBA, MHR is a globally experienced sustainability leader. She takes a special interest in environment, social, governance and indigenous equity and partnerships (ESGI), and the importance of building responsible supply chains to de-risk capital projects. Having worked on projects in several regions including Africa, Middle East, Europe, Northern Canada, US, South America, and the Caribbean she has held 2 expatriate assignments, has secured project permits and negotiated partnership and benefit agreements through her participation with various international trade missions. Danielle actively participates on panels and forums where she speaks about sustainability, social license and responsible supply chains to de-risk projects and attract investment. She participates annually at the United Nations Global Compact Leadership Summit for Sustainable Development and serves on the board of directors to the Discovery Centre, Atlantic Canada’s leading science center, and to CASIEF, a global health education charity. Danielle holds a Bachelor of Arts with a Major in Law from Carleton University, an Executive Master of Human Resource Management (MHRM) from York University, and an Executive Master of Business Administration (EMBA) from the Sobeys School of Business at Saint Mary’s University where she studied mining metrics, to assess financial implications of non-financial risk.
Alex Hanly B.Eng. (Mech) MBA, Chief Executive Officer of Lithium Universe Limited, has over 10 years of experience in capital delivery and operational management for publicly listed companies within the mining, oil, gas and manufacturing industries within Australia and Africa. Over the last 3 years, Mr Hanly held the role of Chief Executive Officer of ASX-listed gold company Polymetals Resources Ltd (ASX:POL). Mr Hanly was responsible for the successful IPO of the Company, the operational management and the efficient execution of the fast-track exploration strategy. Mr Hanly has a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering and Masters of Business Administration specializing in Global Project Management.
Luke Stephens, FAusIMM (CP), Vice-President of ESG (Americas) at RPMGlobal, has over 20 years of experience in community relations and community development in Africa, Europe, the Americas, Central Asia, and South East Asia. He has a significant background in implementing best-practice social performance at mine sites, coupled with humanitarian response in crisis and conflict zones globally. This broad background gives Luke a unique experiential understanding and insight into the fundamental drivers of community–mine relations. His Independent Technical Expert experience includes leading IRMA and IFC/EP4 reviews, lithium battery recycling, base metal operations, battery minerals, the Arctic, and Indigenous Peoples and FPIC. A French speaker, his direct management experience includes social closure and sustainability, social license and engagement, establishing multi-stakeholder partnerships, managing in situ heritage programmes, local entrepreneur development, and artisanal and illegal mining.
John Gallagher is a Managing Director on Cerberus’ Supply Chain and Strategic Opportunities team, which invests in businesses driving nextgeneration technologies and capabilities that advance supply chain integrity. He is also a member of the board of directors of Torngat Metals Ltd., a Quebec-based rare earths and specialty chemicals company. Previously, Mr. Gallagher was a Managing Director of Tracker Capital, a venture capitaloriented family office focused on emerging technologies. He has extensive experience working across the U.S. interagency, intelligence community, and industry. Mr. Gallagher served as the Special Assistant to the Chairman of the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board (PIAB) which advises the White House on top national security priorities. Following nearly 30 years in the U.S. Army, Mr. Gallagher was Chief Executive Officer of a non-governmental organization working in the Middle East and Asia. Prior, he was an advisor to several senior military commanders including the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs in the Pentagon, the Commander of U.S. Central Command, and the Commander of all coalition forces in Afghanistan. From 2007 to 2009, Mr. Gallagher was a White House Fellow and a Director at the National Security Council. A former airborne infantry officer and Army strategist, he graduated from West Point and holds two master’s degrees with distinction from The University of Chicago, in public policy and political science. At West Point, Mr. Gallagher taught American politics and foreign policy and was the Director of the Academy’s Rhodes Scholarship program. He is the recipient of numerous military awards including the Legion of Merit, Bronze Star (Service-Afghanistan), and Presidential Service Badge. Most recently, he received the 2023 Impact Award from the White House Fellowship Foundation.
Jocelyn Douhéret, Director, Mining Policies, Ministry of Natural Resources and Forests, joined the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forests as Director of Mining Policies Office in February 2023. Previously, he worked more than 6 years as Director of the Marketing Office at Société du Plan Nord. Mr Douhéret also held different positions during 10 years in the mining sector as General Manager of an environmental services company, then as Director and Vice President of Business Development for a company offering services and equipment. From 1998 to 2006, he worked for Québec companies on industrial development projects in Eastern Europe, Latin America as well as in Canada, particularly in the fields of natural resources, energy, and environment. Mr. Douhéret began his career in 1996 as a scientific attaché at the French Embassy in Slovakia. He is a graduate of ENESAD (Dijon, France, 1994) and holds a master’s degree in science from Université Laval (Québec, Canada,1996).
1:55 PM I.9A. Metals Prices and Demand: What is the Outlook? How Best to Manage Going Forward: CPM Group: Jeffrey Christian, Managing Partner (Ch): Bloomberg Intelligence: Mike McGlone, CFA, FRM, Senior Commodity Analyst; Bannockburn Capital Markets: Darrell Fletcher, Managing Director - Commodities; The World Bank: John Baffes, Senior Economist, Macroeconomics, Trade & Investment (Ch)
Experienced analysts will provide overviews of commodity markets in the current economic environment, with focuses on base metals, precious metals, and the energy transition’s likely impact on various metals.
Jeffrey M. Christian is considered one of the most knowledgeable experts on precious metals markets, commodities in general, and financial engineering using options for hedging and investing purposes. He is the author of Commodities Rising 2006. Jeffrey Christian is a well-known analyst and advisor in the precious metals and commodities markets. He has been active in the industry since the 1970s and has expertise in a range of commodity markets, including precious metals, energy, base metals, and agriculture. He founded the CPM Group in 1986, which was spun off from Goldman Sachs & Co and its trading arm, J. Aron & Company. He has advised many of the world’s largest corporations and institutional investors on managing their commodities price and market exposures, as well as providing advisory services to the World Bank, United Nations, International Monetary Fund, and numerous governments.
Mike McGlone is a senior commodity strategist for Bloomberg Intelligence, a unique research platform that provides context on industries, companies, and government policy, available on the Bloomberg Professional service at BI <GO>. Mr. McGlone specializes in the broad investible commodity and crypto markets, authoring the monthly Bloomberg Commodity Outlook and Bloomberg Crypto Outlook. Mr. McGlone joined Bloomberg in 2016 with over 25 years of futures and commodity trading and investing experience, beginning at the Chicago Board of Trade. Prior to joining Bloomberg, he was a head of U.S. research at ETF Securities. Prior to ETF Securities, Mr. McGlone headed the commodity business at S&P Indices. His previous roles included head of futures research at ABN Amro and VP research, analyst, trader, sales at Aubrey G. Lanston / IBJ Futures. Mr. McGlone has an MBA from DePaul University in Chicago and bachelor’s of science and arts degrees from Illinois State University. He is a CFA Charter holder and has earned a Financial Risk Manager (FRM) designation.
Darrell Fletcher is the Managing Director of commodities for Bannockburn Capital Markets. Darrell has over 25 years of experience in commodity and foreign exchange trading and hedging with large banks and global corporations. A reputation for navigation of volatile commodity environments. Extensive market and hedge strategy knowledge. As well as pivoting amid challenging market, regulatory and industry conditions. Darrell launched commodity hedging desks at two large regional banks in 2006 and 2012. Named RISK awards “Newcomer of the Year” in 2015 for commodity desk inception and startup at Huntington Bank. Prior to bank side commodity hedging desks Darrell was the Manager of global financial risk at Alcoa managing exposure over $2B in price risk. Exposure focused on global energy financial risk in natural gas, crude oil, various base metals, and petrochemicals. Darrell has a Bachelor of Science in Engineering from The Ohio State University and an MBA from Queens University of Charlotte. He is currently an adjunct professor for the MBA program at Capital University in Columbus teaching corporate finance and Capital Markets.
John Baffes, Senior Agriculture Economist, Development Economics Prospects Group, currently a member of the World Bank’s Prospects Group, heads the Commodities Unit and is in charge of the Commodity Markets Outlook, a World Bank publication focusing on commodity market analysis and price forecasts. John’s experience spans several regions and units, including Latin America, South Asia, East Africa, Evaluation, and Research. John specializes in the areas of commodity markets analysis and resource economics. John, whose work appears in media outlets and academic journals, is also teaching an executive MBA course on Applied Econometrics for Commodity Markets. Prior to entering graduate school, John managed a commodity trading company. He holds a degrees in Economics from the University of Athens, Greece (BS), University of Georgia, U.S. (MS), and University of Maryland, U.S. (PhD).
2:45 PM I.10. M&A Transactions and Trends: Blake, Cassels & Graydon: Steven McKoen, KC, Partner and John Wilkin, Partner; (Ch); Bloomberg: Todd Sibilla, Commodity Applications Specialist; Shearman & Sterling LLP: George Karafotias, Partner, Mergers & Acquisitions Group; Squire Patton Boggs: Carolyn McIntosh, Senior Partner; Hecla Mining Company: Stuart Absolom, Vice President, Controller
Please join our panel for a discussion of current trends in mining M&A. Todd Sibilla will provide a review of the metrics for global mining M&A in 2023, comparing them to prior periods and discussing the trends revealed by the data. John Wilkin, Steve McKoen, and George Karafotias will review the leading mining deals of 2023. Stuart Absolom will provide a review of Hecla’s recent M&A activity and the lessons learned. Finally, Carolyn McIntosh will provide a spotlight on remining and the issues to be alive to when acquiring targets for the purposes of remining tailings for rare earth or other critical minerals.
Steven McKoen, KC , Partner in Blakes' office in Vancouver, practices securities and corporate law. His practice emphasizes domestic and cross-border mergers & acquisitions, reorganizations, corporate finance, and corporate governance. He acts for a wide variety of issuer, underwriter and private equity clients in a variety of sectors including mining. He has extensive experience with the mining industry and regularly advises on both transactional agreements as well as commercial agreements such as streams, offtakes, royalties and options.
John Wilkin, Partner in Blake's Toronto office, has a practice that focuses on domestic and cross-border mergers and acquisitions and corporate finance transactions for public companies. He regularly advises purchasers, vendors and target companies in connection with public and private mergers and acquisitions transactions, and acts for both issuers and underwriters on public offerings and private placements of debt and equity securities. He also advises Canadian and international companies on a wide range of securities law compliance, corporate governance, and other ESG-related matters. John has significant experience in the mining, power and utilities, telecommunications and financial services sectors, and with issuers listed on multiple exchanges.
Todd Sibilla is a Commodity Specialist for Bloomberg in New York. In this capacity he has recently lectured at multiple industry events, including the Bloomberg Base and Precious Metals Webinar series, Client conferences in Toronto, Montreal, Miami, Mexico City and Monterrey, MX. He has been a featured speaker in the past at the BMO Metals and Mining Conference, CPM Gold Yearbook release, CPM/Metals Bulletin “Minor Metals” Conference, Society of Mining Metallurgy and Exploration NYC conferences, Peru Universidad Esan, Universidad Peruana (UPC) and regional domestic USA Universities. He has expertise in all aspects of global financial markets and is a risk and hedging model specialist. Todd has a patent with Bloomberg for electronic trading technology. Additional noteworthy events include the United Nations Renewable Energy Conference, the AFP Canada Annual Conference, CFA events, and Bloomberg Symposiums.
George Karafotias is a partner in Shearman & Sterling’s Mergers & Acquisitions Group. He has extensive experience advising clients in U.S. and cross-border M&A transactions. He regularly works closely with boards, special committees and senior management on their most complex and strategically significant transactions. George regularly advises on mining and metals transactions, with clients including Anglo American and ArcelorMittal.
Carolyn McIntosh counsels clients on complex environmental compliance matters and environmental, natural resources and commercial litigation. Carolyn has extensive experience handling compliance, permitting and federal land use matters, including advising clients regarding BLM land use approval and environmental permitting, with a particular focus on the mining industry. She has provided regulatory compliance and permitting support related to a number of Chapter 11 restructuring matters including Blackjewel LLC, Hartshorne Mining Group, and Midway Gold. She is currently serving as the President of the American Exploration & Mining Association.
Stuart Absolom joined Hecla as its Hecla’s Vice President – Controller in January 2021 where he oversees the Hecla’s accounting, budgeting and forecasting functions and supports the Company’s strategic initiatives in mergers and acquisitions and investor relations. Prior to joining Hecla, Mr. Absolom was a partner with BDO, USA LLP (BDO), where he built and led BDO’s Atlantic Region Accounting and Reporting Advisory Services practice. Prior to BDO, Mr. Absolom was a partner with PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC), where he led PwC’s U.S. mining practice and served PwC’s largest mining clients. Mr. Absolom has over 25 years’ experience working with companies in the mining industry across the globe. He qualified as a South African Chartered Accountant and is a licensed US Certified Public Accountant.
2:45 PM I.10.A. What is Driving Today’s Cost Overrun of Mine and Other Projects; What Can You Do to Mitigate Risk? RPMGlobal: Stuart Smith, President, Advisory and Consulting – Americas (Ch); US Gold Corp: George Bee, President & CEO; Dore Copper: Ernest Mast, CEO, President; McCarl’s Technical Services: Ken Burk, CEO
Cost overruns can be caused by a variety of factors, including unexpected changes in project scope, delays, inadequate planning, lack of oversight, and underestimated costs. These risks perpetuate at the project level regardless of the market conditions. However, external factors such as changes in market conditions and unexpected fluctuations in material or labour costs have become more volatile, with significant upward pressure occurring in the market over recent years. Therefore they have become important in terms of capital budgets and received the spotlight in headlines (rightfully so). This panel focused on what issues are causing cost overruns (both historically and today) as well as what action can be taken by both asset owners and financiers to mitigate risk.
Stuart Smith has been in the mining industry since 2004. He specializes in managing multi-disciplinary teams and facilitating the delivery of large studies or work on complex cross-functional issues. His work has focused on value creation or risk mitigation through structured approaches to technical reviews and mining studies. Mr. Smith has managed advisory projects in 18 countries on four continents. Stuart has overseen over 50 project reviews for independent engineer and M&A mandates totaling over $25B in potential transaction value. He has been project manager on over 30 technical studies for internal use and many being for securities disclosures (NI43-101 and SEC guidelines). These studies range from strategic-level conceptual assessment to PEA, PFS and FS level studies. Stuart has also been part of facilitating multi-disciplinary risk assessment workshops for development/capital projects.
Mr. George Bee has been at the forefront of operating and advancing world-class gold mining projects in eight countries on three continents for both major and junior mining companies, including Anglo American, Rio Tinto, Barrick Gold and Kinross Gold. In 2018, he concluded a third term with Barrick Gold as Senior VP Frontera District in Chile and Argentina capping a 16-year history with Barrick Gold in positions that included Mine Manager at the Goldstrike Mine in Nevada during early development and operations, Operations Manager at the Pierina Mine from construction to operations, and General Manager of the Veladero Mine from advanced exploration through permitting, feasibility and into production. As a mining executive, George Bee has held senior leadership and board positions with such companies as Aurelian Resources where he spearheaded early development concepts for Fruta del Norte; Kinross Gold advancing projects in El Salvador and Nevada; Andina Minerals and its 6 million-ounce Volcan Gold Project in Chile; and Jaguar Mining with operating mines in Brazil.
Ernest Mast, President & CEO and Director of Dore Copper, has 30 years of experience in various technical and executive roles in the mining industry, across a wide range of commodities, geographies and development stages. Mr. Mast is on the Board of Scottie Resources. Corp. Mr. Mast previously held the positions of President and Chief Executive Officer at Primero Mining Corp., Vice President of Corporate Development at Copper Mountain Mining Corporation, Vice President of Operations at New Gold Inc. and President and CEO of Minera Panama S.A., Inmet Mining Corporation’s subsidiary, developing the $6B Cobre Panama project. Mr. Mast began his career with Noranda Inc. and its affiliates, where he took on roles of increasing responsibility over a 20-year timeframe. Mr. Mast is a member of l’Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec and has a Bachelors’ and Masters’ degree in metallurgical engineering from McGill University. Mr. Mast also received post-secondary business training at Henley College in the UK and at the Universidad Catolica in Chile.
Ken Burk is the CEO and a Shareholder of McCarl’s, a heavy process industrial engineering and construction company which provides design, construction, fabrication and maintenance services to clients in the metals and minerals, power, chemical, steel , oil & gas, and miscellaneous other industrial sectors. Prior to this, Ken was Senior Vice President of Project Delivery Excellence, Safety, Quality & Alliances at Jacobs Engineering. From 2007 to 2013, he held executive leadership roles as CEO, Special Contractors Group and CFO at Tutor Perini Corporation. Earlier in his career, Ken served as CEO at Union Switch & Signal, a company headquartered in Pittsburgh, PA and founded by George Westinghouse. Union Switch & Signal has been recognized as a leader in designing and engineering driverless train control systems and centralized command centers for railways around the world. He has a MBA from Pepperdine University and a Bachelor of Science degree from Troy University.
3:30 PM Networking Refreshment Break: Sponsored by: CohnReznick LLP; McCarl's Technical Services
3:50 PM I.11. Government’s Support of Critical Mineral Exploration, Development and Supply Chains: Norton Rose Fulbright: Laura Konkel, Associate, (Ch); SAFE (Securing America's Future Energy) Center for Critical Minerals Strategy: Abigail Hunter, Executive Director; Investment Québec: Amyot Choquette, Senior Director, Investments, Natural Resources; Nouveau Monde Graphite: Charles Oliver Tarte, CPA, Chief Financial Officer; Lithium Royalty Corp.: Ernie Ortiz, Director, President and Chief Executive Officer
In the wake of the global energy transition, governments have taken an active interest in the development of upstream and midstream mining projects with a focus on sustainability and sourcing materials for the energy transition. Access to government funding has become a pivotal factor for many mining projects, with governments strategically allocating resources to projects aligned with their allies and long-term energy goals. This panel will further explore this approach which ensures that funded mining ventures not only support domestic economies but also foster diplomatic relationships in the ever-evolving landscape of global energy dynamics.
Laura Konkel, a New York-based attorney at Norton Rose Fulbright, focuses her practice on all aspects of corporate and securities law, with a particular emphasis on mergers and acquisitions, private equity, public and private offerings, financings, corporate governance and general corporate matters. With extensive energy industry experience, she advises clients in connection with complex acquisitions and divestitures, initial public offerings, joint ventures, streaming and royalty transactions as well as a variety of other commercial transactions.
Abigail Hunter is the Executive Director of SAFE’s Ambassador Alfred Hoffman Jr. Center for Critical Minerals Strategy (Minerals Center). Previously, Abigail served as Director of International Affairs and Partnerships within the Minerals Center. In this role, she nurtured existing and new SAFE partnerships to advance sustainable and ethical supply chains amongst allies and like-minded countries. Before joining SAFE full time, Hunter headed federal government affairs for Quebec for nearly three years as the senior attachée in Washington, D.C. Her mandate focused on the energy, environment, and trade relationship between the province and United States. Hunter started her career at the National Governors Association, where she led the association’s international work.
Amyot Choquette is a CPA and Senior director Investments Natural Resources at Ressources Quebec, a division of Investissement Quebec, an economic development agency owned by the government of Quebec. Mr. Choquette has more than 20 years of experience in mining and natural resources finance and has successfully participated in financings of mining projects of more than a billion dollars through private equity, senior debt, subordinated debt, convertible debentures and other financial instruments. Mr. Choquette is director of 3 companies involved in the critical and strategic minerals and precious metals. Previously he worked at a Labor sponsored fund and in an accounting firm. He earned a B.A. in business management with honors.
Charles-Olivier Tarte, CPA, CMA, is a senior executive focused on financial management, strategic planning, administration, and technologies, with over 10 years of operational experience in the graphite industry. Prior to joining Nouveau Monde, Charles-Olivier acted as the Natural Graphite Financial Controller for Imerys Graphite & Carbon. As such, he oversaw the finances of a natural graphite mine, a second-transformation plant and the Company’s Americas sales office. Charles-Olivier is a graduate of Université de Sherbrooke where he obtained his Bachelor of Commerce in Accounting and Finance.
Ernie Ortiz, Director, President and the Chief Executive Officer of Lithium Royalty Corp., manages the origination, structuring, and execution of our royalties, which involves cross-border negotiations with parties in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, China, Serbia, Finland, the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States. Ernie has visited many of the world’s lithium deposits, as well as several of the chemical and battery plants that service the EV industry. Ernie is a regular presenter at industry and investor conferences, including Fastmarkets and LME Week. Prior to LRC, Ernie was an Analyst at Tide Point Capital Management, a hedge fund based in Greenwich, Connecticut that specializes in lithium, battery materials and specialty chemicals. At Tide Point Capital, Ernie led investments into lithium companies that included Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile, Albemarle Corporation and Galaxy Resources Limited and others. Prior to Tide Point Capital, Ernie was a senior associate at Credit Suisse based in New York City, where he led research and diligence on lithium. In 2014, Ernie led the Credit Suisse team in publishing one of the seminal lithium primers that helped companies in the space raise capital based on its in-depth analysis of the industry. Ernie sits on the London Metal Exchange Lithium Advisory Committee and serves as a Director on the board of Sinova Global Inc. Ernie is a CFA charter holder and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of Chicago.
3:50 PM I.11.A. Importance & Challenges of Concentrating and the Extraction of Minerals: AtkinsRealis: Tony Lipiec, Global, VP Process, Minerals & Metals (Ch); Glencore International AG; Scott Martin, FCIM, Sales Director North & Central America; SGS Societe Generale de Surveillance SA: David Anonychuk, Global Vice President, Metallurgy and Consulting (Ch); HudBay Minerals: Matthew Taylor, Vice President, Metallurgy Technical Services
This panel will be talking about the execution of engineering the process plant to treat ores. They will discuss testing, technology – the benefits and the pitfalls, team selection and the support structure required. The challenges of the different ore types will be discussed and the impact on project complexity. Scope, clarity and focus are necessary as important drivers to project success. They will talk about the challenges of complex ores, the issue of people quality, and using the right technology for the project. Finally, comments will be made about successful and challenged projects.
Tony Lipiec is the VP Process for the Minerals and Metals group of AtkinsRealis. AtkinsRealis has over 36,000 employees with over 2500 professionals in the M&M group working in a variety of commodities (structural, base, precious and battery metals) and with expertise in mineral processing, hydrometallurgy and pyrometallurgy. Tony himself, has 40 years of experience working in operations, testing, process development, construction, engineering design and consulting. He has worked for operators (Noranda, BHP, Kinross, etc.) and for major engineering houses (Wood, Fluor and AtkinsRealis) in significant roles on both minor and major projects on 4 continents. In 2024, Tony was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Canadian Mineral Processors Society.
Scott Martin joined Glencore Technology in November of 2020 having spent the previous 14 years in the mining industry working for large firms like Outotec and Delkor. Within these organizations, Scott held roles in technical service, site account management and sales management. Scott has been involved in many projects involving comminution, thickening and flotation. Scott also has a passion for volunteering and has been involved in many industry organizations including Chairperson of BC Yukon CMP, National chairperson of the Canadian Mineral Processors, Technical Chair of CIM 2019 and Sponsorship Chair of CIM 2022 and 2024. Scott’s efforts have been recognized by being awarded the Bill Moore Special Achievement Award and Part Chairperson Award by Canadian Mineral Processors, becoming a fellow of the Canadian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy and the Minister of Veterans Affairs Commendation from the Government of Canada for his work with Veterans. Scott currently is a board member of the Britannia Mine Museum, a director of CMP National, CIM Professional Development committee member and the Co-Founder of the Vancouver Military Dinner.
David Anonychuk is Global Vice President, Metallurgy and Consulting, at Société Générale de Surveillance SA (SGS). With over 25 years of international mining and metallurgical experience, he has worked in consulting, operational and marketing positions at major metals producers and mining consultancies, including Newmont, Noranda, and Glencore. Now David puts his Metallurgical Engineering and MBA degrees to work in expanding the global reach of services for SGS. He is always excited to connect with students and colleagues about the opportunities for technical professionals in the energy transition as we work together to build a more robust and sustainable battery supply chain.
Matt Taylor, Vice President, Metallurgy Technical Services, was appointed as Vice President of Metallurgy Technical Services as of May 2023, where Matthew is responsible for providing corporate metallurgical oversight for all Hudbay operations, including process strategy, overseeing internal and external auditing of production systems, and the metallurgical development for sustaining and growth capital projects. Matthew has over 13 years of board operational and project based experience, including in Hudbay's Corporate Technical Services group since 2019. Prior to Hudbay, he held both project and operational roles at Newcrest Mining and Glencore. Matthew holds a Bachelor of Engineering in Mineral Processing from the University of Queensland.
4:35 PM I.12. New Capital in Mining: What Works, and What’s Next? What About Silicon Valley? ExploreTech: Tyler Hall, Co-Founder and President (Ch): Resource Capital Funds: Atusa Sadeghi, Vice President, North America; Hindustan Zinc: Hugo Schumann; Chief Executive Officer, Silver; SOAR Financial: Kai Hoffmann, CEO; RedCloud Securities: Chad Williams, Founder
New Capital in Mining: What Works, and What’s Next? What About Silicon Valley? Over the past few years, governments, Silicon Valley, and others have undeniably augmented traditional mining finance, technology, and influence. These trends reflect a strategic recentering as manufacturing and tech giants increasingly invest directly in mineral extraction and processing ventures. Concurrently, governments are seeking to secure national interests by enhancing economic security through strengthened alliances, partnerships, and innovation. What factors contribute to this decision-making, and in what ways can we anticipate further evolution within the mining industry during this pivotal time for the global economy? In this roundtable, we hear the perspective of experienced and forward-looking leaders and executives on the elements of successful planning and operations, with a view toward the future.
Tyler Hall, PhD, Co-Founder & President of Exploretech, is a geologist and data scientist with eleven years of experience between research and the real world. Formerly working with Freeport McMoRan and Glencore, Tyler built upon industry experience in his PhD dissertation titled "Efficient Greenfield Mineral Exploration", where he made key contributions to AI and decision science with actionable applications to real-world problems. Tyler has a Bachelor's in Geological Sciences from Hartwick College and a PhD in Geological Sciences from Stanford University.
Atusa Sadeghi, VP, North America, RCF Innovation, joined RCF in 2023. Atusa focuses on growing the RCF Jolimont portfolio in North America through investments in cutting-edge mining technologies. Prior to RCF, Atusa was an investor at Blue Bear Capital, where she used her operation and technical knowledge to support portfolio companies as they entered in asset intensive sectors including mining. Previously, Atusa served as a Technology Director at Shell, where she was one of the founding members Shell’s Oren Marketplace, a B2B platform driving digital transformation in the mining industry. Atusa has also held roles at various EPCM’s in North America, and has deep experience at mine sites, supporting the design, operation and commissioning of several open pit and underground mines. Education: MBA, University of California, Berkeley, Haas School of Business and B.S., Mechanical Engineering, University of Toronto.
Hugo Schumann; Chief Executive Officer, Silver is specializing in commercializing transformative technologies and scaling companies, Hugo Schumann is the recipient of the S&P Rising Star Individual Award. Hugo is currently CEO – Silver of Hindustan Zinc, the world’s 5th largest silver producer with over 23M ounces of annual production. Formerly serving as CFO of Jetti Resources, he played a pivotal role in driving the commercial deployment of the company’s novel copper extraction technology. With an MBA from INSEAD, CFA charterholder status, and completion of the Stanford Executive Program, Hugo brings extensive expertise in finance, strategy, and sustainable practices. His track record includes overseeing more than $400M in financing deals and structuring impactful M&A transactions. Committed to driving positive change, Hugo champions the use of innovation within the metals and mining sector.
Kai Hoffmann, CEO of SOAR Financial, is a seasoned mining investor and entrepreneur. He has been active in the junior mining sector for 15 years and has consulted and worked with dozens of successful exploration companies. He is the CEO of the Soar Financial Group, which includes the successful Deutsche Goldmesse and Soar Financial Partners, a leading capital market advisory firm.
Chad Williams, Chairman & Founder of Red Cloud Financial Services, has extensive experience in mining finance and management having previously held the positions of CEO of Victoria Gold Corp., Head of Mining Investment Banking at Blackmont Capital Inc. and a top-ranked mining analyst at TD Bank and other Canadian brokerage firms. Mr. Williams has been a Director of several emerging mining companies and was a founder of Agilith Capital Inc. (a fund) as well as Westwind Partners. He also serves as a director of the Denver Gold Group. Mr. Williams holds both a P.Eng in Mining and an MBA from McGill University.
4:35 PM I.12.A. Case Study: How Québec Supports Mineral Exploration: Investment Quebec: Amyot Choquette, Senior Director, Investments, Natural Resources; SOQUEM: Tony Brisson, President and CEO; Azimut Exploration: Jean-Marc Lulin, President and CEO; NQ Investissement Minier: Sylvain Lépine, Managing Director; Abitibi Metals Corp.: Jonathon Deluce, President and CEO; Société du Plan Nord: Patrick Beauchesne, Chief Executive Officer
Amyot Choquette is a CPA and Senior director Investments Natural Resources at Ressources Quebec, a division of Investissement Quebec, an economic development agency owned by the government of Quebec. Mr. Choquette has more than 20 years of experience in mining and natural resources finance and has successfully participated in financings of mining projects of more than a billion dollars through private equity, senior debt, subordinated debt, convertible debentures and other financial instruments. Mr. Choquette is director of 3 companies involved in the critical and strategic minerals and precious metals. Previously he worked at a Labor sponsored fund and in an accounting firm. He earned a B.A. in business management with honors.
Tony Brisson, P.Geo., President and CEO, has a a bachelor’s degree in geology from the Université du Québec à Chicoutimi. Mr. Brisson has held several senior positions with exploration and mining companies in Quebec, Ontario and North Africa. A member of the Order of Geologists of Quebec, Mr. Brisson has more than 30 years of experience in precious and base metal exploration. He has worked for several companies, notably Goldcorp, Focus Metals, Cogitore Resources, Breakwater Resources and Cambior. In 2009, he was part of a team at Cogitore Resources that was awarded the Prospector of the Year Award from the Quebec Mineral Exploration Association for the Scott Lake Project. From 2015 to 2021, he has been an exploration consultant for junior and major mining companies in Quebec and Ontario. He is President & CEO at SOQUEM since 2021. Mr. Brisson has served on the boards of Opus One Resources Inc. and Radisson Mining Resources Inc . He has been a member of the Board of Directors of the Quebec Mineral Exploration Association in 2020, where he also served from 2008 to 2012. He now serve on the Board of Elements08.
Dr. Jean-Marc Lulin is a senior mining executive and professional geologist with more than 35 years of experience in North America, Africa and Europe. Since 2003, he has served as President and CEO of Azimut Exploration. He has positioned Azimut as an avant-garde company, opening vast underexplored regions of Quebec to mineral exploration using innovative technical approaches. He designed AZtechMineTM, a proprietary expert system for mineral exploration targeting that serves as the cornerstone of the Company’s business. Mr. Lulin played an instrumental role in discovering several deposits in Quebec and Africa, in particular during the initial wave of gold exploration in Burkina Faso during the 1990s. His expertise covers a wide range of commodities and mineral deposit types. Prior engagements include President and COO for Channel Resources, Chief Geologist for SOQUEM and the Vior-Mazarin Group, and Geologist for BRGM. He was also president of the Mineral Exploration Association of Quebec and currently sits on the board of the Mining Association of Quebec. He presides over the Natural Resource and Land Development Committee of the Quebec Federation of Chambers of Commerce. Mr. Lulin earned a PhD in Economic Geology from the Université d’Orléans, France.
NQ Investissement minier (NQIM) announced the appointment of Mr. Sylvain Lépine as General Manager, effective March 1, 2024. Mr. Lépine holds a Bachelor's degree in Resources Geology and a Master's degree in Earth Sciences from the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM), and is a professional geologist and member of the (Ordre des géologues du Québec). He also holds an MBA from the Université du Québec en Abibi-Témiscamingue (UQAT). Well-known in Nord-du-Québec, Mr. Lépine has been involved in Québec's mineral exploration industry for over fifteen years. Most recently, he held the position of Vice President Exploration at Doré Copper Mining Corp. He also served as Vice President Exploration from 2020 to 2022 at Yorbeau Resources Inc. and as Vice President Exploration at Cogitore Resources Inc. from 2013 to 2015. In these roles, he managed numerous mineral exploration projects, developed investor relations, and supported boards of directors in their decisionmaking. Mr. Lépine will be able to understand the needs of the industry and help NQIM to be agile in its positioning. Mr. Lépine sits on the Board of Directors of the Fondation de l'Université du Québec en Abitibi Témiscamingue (FUQAT). He was also President of the Rouyn-Noranda Chapter of the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM) for 6 years. He was part of the Ressources Cogitore team that received the Prospector of the Year award from the Association de l'exploration minérale du Québec (AEMQ) in 2009 for the discovery of the Scott Lake deposit in the Chibougamau-Chapais region.
Jon Deluce is a Chartered Accountant with over a decade of experience in mineral exploration and the capital markets. As CEO, Mr. Deluce is involved in the company’s marketing, financing, and corporate development. During his time as an executive he has successfully negotiated option and joint venture partnerships with multiple senior companies including Kirkland Lake Gold and Barrick. He has developed long-standing relationships with an extensive network of high-net-worth retail investors, brokers, and institutions. Mr. Deluce is a former Manager at Ernst & Young. While at Ernst & Young he worked in the Assurance and Advisory practices with many of the senior gold producers. Mr. Deluce is a member of a Family Office with 25 years of experience in the exploration space through their private prospect generator company, strategic equity investments and board representation on numerous junior mining companies. The office has had numerous successful transactions in the mining space including having board representation and being one of the largest shareholders of Holmer Gold Mines, which was successfully taken over by Lake Shore Gold.
Mr. Beauchesne has a Bachelor’s degree in Forest Management and a Master’s degree in Forest Science. He was appointed President and CEO of the Société du Plan Nord in 2019. Previously, in the same year, he was Associate Secretary General of the Ministère du Conseil exécutif and Secretary of the Comité ministériel de l'Économie et de l'Environnement. Prior to that, Mr. Beauchesne held various positions at the Ministère de l’Environnement et de la Lutte contre les changements climatiques, beginning in 1992. As director general of the Direction générale de l’écologie et de la conservation, he helped prepare the land protection objectives for the development of the Plan Nord in 2010 and 2015. He was appointed Associate Deputy Minister for sustainable development and the quality of the environment in 2014, and then Deputy Minister in 2017. Mr. Beauchesne sits on the boards of directors of the Société ferroviaire et portuaire de Pointe‑Noire S.E.C., and the Société ferroviaire Qc Rail S.E.C., as well as the steering committee of the Institut nordique du Québec.
5:25 PM I.13. Nuclear Energy: Are SMRs An Answer? Hartree Partners: Matthew Rosales P. Geo. Mine Finance & Investments (Ch); Radiant Value Management: Isuru Seneviratne, Principal (Ch); Capstone Partners: Raymond M. McCormick, Managing Director, Energy & Natural Resources; Mazini Energy & Power Inc.: Chief Roy Jones; SLR Consulting: Jason Cox P. Eng., Global Technical Director
Nuclear Energy: Are SMRs An Answer? Smaller Modular Reactors (SMRs) are opening the possibilities for industrial concerns, mining companies, and remote communities to deliver sustainable energy and unlock economic development with clean, reliable, and affordable nuclear power. Nuclear plants are highly reliable, can be protected against natural and manmade threats, have minimal ecosystem impacts, are custom designed, and can be deployed incrementally to match increasing energy demand. Physically they are a fraction of the size of conventional nuclear power plants, and components can be factory-manufactured, capturing the learning rates seen in the solar and wind industry. Nuclear plants can operate for 40 years or more, providing multi-generational high-income jobs and tax income. Furthermore, abundant clean energy would underpin the ability to invest in the manufacturing and technology sectors. While conventional large reactors continuously operate for 12-18 months, advanced designs could generate energy for up to 20 years with exceptionally high reliability. The energy density of nuclear fuel alleviates the logistical challenge of transporting liquid or solid fuels to areas that lack gas pipelines. The material intensity of nuclear power is lower than all other energy sources (coal, gas, solar, wind, geothermal). The uranium market is recovering from technology shock to the cost curve due to in-situ recovery and general lack of interest in the sector. Opportunities abound for high-quality uranium assets to benefit from long and sustained demand growth. The panel will discuss the opportunities and challenges facing nuclear energy deployment.
Chief Roy S Jones Jr is a hereditary chief of Haida Gwaii from Skidegate (Hlg̱aagilda), British Columbia. Jones Jr. is an executive member of the National Coalition of Chiefs, which is committed to defeating poverty within Canada’s First Nations. The Coalition enables responsible development by facilitating mutually-beneficial relationships between First Nation chiefs and natural resource industry leaders. Chief Jones is the father of three daughters and six grandchildren and is a strong believer in multi-generational opportunities for First Nation Communities. To this end, Chief Roy is a proponent of First Nation owned and operated Small Modular Reactors to bring energy security to remote First Nations territories. Chief Jones has lived by the sea all his life. He has researched marine traffic on the BC coast and has worked to ensure coastal communities benefit from opportunities associated with shipping. He has a Masters Certificate in Commercial Fishing from Camosun College, Victoria, BC and retired from commercial fishing in 1998 after a 22-year career. Previously, he was a consulting director for Aboriginal Equity Partners. He has worked in many industries as a young man including loading ships in Kitimat BC and Port Edward, and operating a seine boat.
Isuru Seneviratne is an energy and sustainability professional with two decades’ experience in holistic investment diligence, sustainable business development, and climate policy advocacy. He catalyzes impact using evidence-based insights. He is a Senior Consultant with LucidCatalyst, which offers thought leadership, strategy development, and techno-economic expertise in clean energy and climate solutions. Isuru founded Radiant Value Management in 2015, an energy investment and operational strategy advisor. In 2013 Isuru co-founded ART Logistics, an award-winning innovative logistics business servicing blue-chip clients in Sri Lanka. Before that, he oversaw the energy and resource portfolio of Equinox Partners in New York City. Isuru has a Master’s in Sustainability from Harvard Extension School. He graduated from Amherst College with a Computer Science BA, cum laude and has the Fundamentals of Sustainability Accounting accreditation by the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (IFRS Foundation). Growing up in Sri Lanka, he attended Trinity College, Kandy for his secondary education.
Raymond M. McCormick is the Managing Director of Energy and Natural Resources at the investment bank Capstone Partners. He has over 35 years of experience in resources, banking and advisory. Earlier, he founded private investment banking firm that focused on the resource sector, which he managed for over 20 years, worked in the Global Corporate Banking Department of Mellon Bank, and served as VP and Manager of the mining section for 10 years and was a consulting mining and geological engineer with the John T. Boyd Co. and Consol Energy. Ray’s background combines financial, marketing, and technical skills, with expertise in project financings, equipment leasing, private placements, and acquisition financings. He holds a bachelor’s degree in mineral economics, with a geology minor from the Pennsylvania State University and a master’s degree from the Department of Engineering at the University of Pittsburgh. In addition to sitting on half a dozen private company boards, Ray has served on the Board of Directors for the Engineers Society of Western Pennsylvania, the Society of Mining Engineers and the Pittsburgh Coal Conference. He has lectured as an adjunct professor at the McGuire Energy Institute of Southern Methodist University.
Matthew Rosales co-manages the Metals & Mining investment book for Hartree Partners, a diversified New York based commodity trader and investor partially owned by Oaktree. Hartree’s global footprint of businesses include traditional and renewable energy, concentrate and refined metals trading, power plants and power trading, solar and battery installation businesses, carbon and asset management. As part of the principal investment strategy, Matthew’s focus is on investing in mining and processing assets globally across base, precious, and battery metals. Matthew has served in both technical and financial roles over his 16-year career in mining, including corporate, project finance, and investment banking at Société Générale and ING, as well as exploration, commercial and technical services roles at Teck Resources, Avion Gold Corp, and others.
Jason Cox is a Global Technical Director with SLR Consulting, with over 25 years of industry experience. With a background in engineering and operations at underground base metals mines, Jason leads a team of consultants: resource geologists, mining engineers and metallurgists engaged in public reporting and due diligence on mineral projects around the world, spanning all commodities. Through tough times for uranium since Fukushima, the SLR team has helped advanced several projects from first resource estimate through to feasibility stage, including Fission Energy’s Patterson Lake South Project, and NexGen Energy’s Rook I Project. SLR is a world leader in US securities reporting under S-K 1300, including reports on uranium projects for Energy Fuels and Uranium Energy Corp.
5:25 PM I.13.A. Opportunities, Operating, Risks Elsewhere: An International Panel: Mining Journal: Paul Harris, Americas, Editor (Ch); McEwen Copper: Rob McEwen, Chairman; Reyna Silver Corp.: Dr. Peter K.M. Megaw, Chief Technical Advisor; Reyna Silver Corp.: Lauren Megaw, Head of Investor Relations; Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP: Frank Mariage, Partner; EY Mining & Metals Centre of Excellence: Beatriz Orrantia - Corporate Director, External Advisor
The rise of populist politics is changing risk profile in what until recently has been one of the most dependable regions of the world for mining, Latin America, sending miners to new pastures including Africa and Saudi Arabia. This tour de force will see panelists look at where are risks (and opportunities) likely to come from, what risk aspects are likely to change in the future and critical signals to watch for.
Paul Harris, Americas Editor of the Mining Journal (founded in 1835) is a bilingual mining sector researcher, analyst and reporter with over 20 years experience in the mining sector and 17 years experience in Latin America. Paul has eight years experience in the Colombia gold sector working with junior explorers in an investor relations and business development capacity in addition to providing analysis, research and reporting about the sector, and since 2015 has been Americas Editor for Mining Journal covering the Latin America region. Paul founded and edits Colombia Gold Letter in 2011 that focuses on the gold and copper sectors in the northern Andes, and began the successful Colombia Gold Symposium in 2017. Previously he spent five years in Chile researching and reporting on the copper sector for Metal Bulletin and CRU. Paul received a BA in business administration from the University of the West of England, UK; and a MA in international relations from the University of Chile.
Rob McEwen is Chairman and Chief Owner of McEwen Mining, which has three producing mines in Nevada, Ontario, and Argentina and holds 48% interest in the large Los Azules copper project in Argentina. Rob has been associated with the gold industry all his career, his first 18 years in the investment industry and since 1990 as CEO of several gold mining companies. Rob is the founder of Goldcorp, where he took the company from a market capitalization of $50 million to over $8 billion. He owns 17% of McEwen Mining (MUX), 13% of McEwen Copper and takes a salary of $1/ year. The cost of his investment in MUX and McEwen Copper is US$220 million. Rob and his wife, Cheryl, have donated over $60 million to encourage excellence and innovation in healthcare and education. Rob was awarded the Order of Canada in 2007, the Queen Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee Award in 2013, was inducted into the Mining Hall of Fame in 2017 and has Honorary Doctor of Law Degrees from York University and Western University. He is also a member of the Dean’s Advisory Board, Schulich School of Business; X Prize Foundation: Vision Circle and Board of Trustees; a member of CEO (Chief Executive Organization) and of WPO (World Presidents’ Organization) and serves on the Advisory Board of the McEwen School of Architecture.
Dr. Peter K.M. Megaw, Consulting Exploration Geologist President of IMDEX/Cascabel and co-founder of MAG Silver. His Ph.D. work at the University of Arizona was an exploration-focused geological/geochemical study of the Santa Eulalia Ag-Pb-Zn District, Chihuahua and Carbonate Replacement Deposits (CRDs) of Mexico in general. He has published extensively on CRDs and Epithermal Vein deposits and is a frequent speaker at international academic and technical symposia. His primary exploration foci are CRDs and Epithermal Vein Deposits, which he has worked on throughout the Cordillera of North and South America, Ireland and Turkey. Peter was awarded the Society of Mining Engineers 2012 Robert M. Dreyer Award for excellence in Applied Economic Geology and the PDAC 2017 Thayer Lindsley Award for Outstanding Exploration Success for the significant discoveries made by his team at Juanicipio-Fresnillo, Zacatecas; Platosa, Durango; and Cinco de Mayo-Pozo Seco, Chihuahua.
Lauren Megaw is head of Investor Relations for Reyna Silver. She focuses on approachable communication of technical information to investors. She grew up collecting and studying mineral specimens, which led to her studying Geology at Stanford. Prior to joining Reyna Silver, she surveyed historic mining districts in Humana Province, China, from a Carbonate Replacement Deposit (CRD) Continuum perspective. She now works alongside the technical team on the Guigui and Batopilas projects in Chihuahua, Mexico, and the Medicine Springs project in Nevada.
Frank Mariage practices in the areas of securities, corporate law and mining law. Over the course of his career, he has developed legal knowledge on mining issues. Frank represents mining companies and guides them during the discovery, sale, and processing of mineral deposits, in Canada and elsewhere. He has extensive experience in the legal issues and challenges faced by mining companies. Frank’s in-depth knowledge is recognized in Canada and he continues to be listed as a leading mining lawyer by a number of legal directories that rank the country’s best firms and lawyers. In 2018 and 2019, Frank was designated by Best Lawyers in Canada as Lawyer of the Year in Natural Resource Law and Mining Law, respectively. Frank is Chairman of the Board of the Diversification of Exploration Investment Partnership (SIDEX), a major player in the financing of exploration projects in Quebec. He was Chairman of the Board of the Québec Mineral Exploration Association from 2014 to 2018 and sits on several boards of directors of mining companies. He also delivers seminars on behalf of the TSX Venture Exchange on how to manage a publicly traded company.
Beatriz Orrantia - Corporate Director, External Advisor EY Mining & Metals Centre of Excellence - has over 17 years of mining industry experience in both legal and operational capacities. She is an ESG/Sustainability expert serving as an external advisor to EY’s Mining & Metals Centre of Excellence. Beatriz is also a strategic consultant on Canada-LatAm matters and previously VP Special Projects at Barrick Gold. Prior to joining Barrick Gold, Beatriz was an M&A, securities and mining lawyer at leading law firms in Toronto. Beatriz holds a law degree (Civil Law) from Universidad del Rosario in Colombia, and a law degree (Common Law) from Osgoode Hall Law School (York University) in Canada. She is pursuing her Master’s degree in Sustainability at Harvard University and holds a certificate in Sustainability and Innovation also from Harvard University. Beatriz is a corporate director certified by the NACD and serves on the boards of Lifezone Metals Ltd. (NYSE), Star Royalties Ltd. (TSX-V), Fission Uranium Corp. (TSX) and Sierra Metals Inc. (TSX).
6:10 PM Tuesday May 21 Evening Reception Registration
Sponsored by: Big Rock Exploration; Blake Cassels & Graydon LLP; CohnReznick LLP; McCarl's Technical Services; McEwen Copper; McEwen Mining; Relevant Gold; SRK Consulting
Two Guest Speakers:
6:30 PM Rob McEwen, Chairman of McEwen Mining and McEwen Copper will speak about:
How to Make Mining RELEVANT to Investors
Rob McEwen is Chairman and Chief Owner of McEwen Mining, which has three producing mines in Nevada, Ontario, and Argentina and holds 48% interest in the large Los Azules copper project in Argentina. Rob has been associated with the gold industry all his career, his first 18 years in the investment industry and since 1990 as CEO of several gold mining companies. Rob is the founder of Goldcorp, where he took the company from a market capitalization of $50 million to over $8 billion. He owns 17% of McEwen Mining (MUX), 13% of McEwen Copper and takes a salary of $1/ year. The cost of his investment in MUX and McEwen Copper is US$220 million. Rob and his wife, Cheryl, have donated over $60 million to encourage excellence and innovation in healthcare and education. Rob was awarded the Order of Canada in 2007, the Queen Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee Award in 2013, was inducted into the Mining Hall of Fame in 2017 and has Honorary Doctor of Law Degrees from York University and Western University. He is also a member of the Dean’s Advisory Board, Schulich School of Business; X Prize Foundation: Vision Circle and Board of Trustees; a member of CEO (Chief Executive Organization) and of WPO (World Presidents’ Organization) and serves on the Advisory Board of the McEwen School of Architecture.
7:10 PM Dave Lawie, Ph.D., Chief Geoscientist, Chief Technologist - Mining, IMDEX Limited will speak about:
Unlock the Mine's Hidden Value: The Power of Ore Body Knowledge
Mining success hinges on understanding the ore body. Early insight slashes risk and boosts profit potential. The quantification of OBK's (Ore Body Knowledge) financial value has historically been a complex challenge, yet it is essential for investors and financial analysts. But now, unlocking the code by quantifying the Value of Information is within reach. It's the key to smarter mining investments.
Dr. Dave Lawie has been the Chief Geoscientist for IMDEX since 2012 and Chief Technologist – Mining for IMDEX since 2015. He has a PhD in Geosciences and Analytics from the University of New England and held global positions in exploration geochemistry and research and development. In 2004 he cofounded a company that specialized in geochemistry and geo- metallurgical consulting services, cloud-based data management and the ioGAS desktop analytics software. As Chief Geoscientist for IMDEX and Chief Technologist for IMDEX Mining Solutions, Dr. Lawie’s focus is promoting the suite of existing and emerging IMDEX technologies to ensure that as exploration and resource companies find, define and mine new discoveries they do so with speed and precision. He has a strong interest in how resource companies will find and provide the metals needed to enable the renewable energy transformation that will be required to meet ambitious decarbonization targets.
8:30 PM Tuesday, May 21 Conclusion of Day Two of CTMF 2024 Conference
Register here. All must register in advance, space is limited.
7:00 AM Registration, Breakfast and Networking: Sponsored by: AtkinsRealis; Behre Dolbear; DRAGlobal; SGS: Societe Generale de Surveillance SA
8:10 AM II.1 When Faced with Arbitration: What Can Be Done? Shearman & Sterling LLP: Christopher Ryan, Partner (Ch); Allen & Overy: Patrick Pearsall, Partner; Secretariat International: Chris Milburn, Managing Director; SLR Consulting: Ian Weir P.Eng., Principal Mining Engineer; Burford Capital: Jeffrey Commission, Director
Mining is a highly-regulated activity that implicates fundamental notions of sovereignty and national pride. As a result, mining projects carry significant political, legal, and commercial risk. International arbitration is a tool that can mitigate risk and provide a reliable, neutral forum to resolve disputes. This panel will explore the arbitral process from the perspective of a counsel, technical expert, and quantum expert and discuss how these roles work together to present a case in arbitration. In addition, the panelists will discuss steps that parties can take at all stages of a mining project to best protect their interests if a dispute arises.
Christopher Ryan is a partner in the International Arbitration practice of Shearman & Sterling. He has extensive experience in international arbitration and litigation and has represented private and State clients in disputes before ICC, AAA, ICSID, UNCITRAL, LCIA, ad hoc arbitral tribunals, and U.S. federal courts. His practice focuses on commercial and investment disputes in the construction, infrastructure, mining, and energy sectors. He has advised U.S. and other companies on issues of public and private international law, investment and trade policy, and strategies for mitigating the risks associated with foreign investment. Christopher Ryan also serves as a Lecturer at the George Washington School of Law, where he teaches a course on international commercial arbitration.
Patrick W. Pearsall is the Head of Allen & Overy’s arbitration practice in the Americas, having previously served for nearly a decade in the U.S. State Department working on economic diplomacy, leaving as the Chief of Investment Arbitration. He has decades of experience representing Fortune 500 companies and sovereign states in complex commercial contract and investment disputes. In addition to his commercial work, Patrick is often also called upon to assist companies and executives struggling with exposure from a geopolitical crisis. Patrick is widely recognized as one of the foremost experts in the world on investment protection and dispute avoidance. He has successfully resolved claims involving billions of dollars for clients in dozens of industries. He has practiced before ICC, AAA, ICSID, UNCITRAL, LCIA, ad hoc arbitral tribunals, and U.S. federal courts. He is on the ICSID roster and teaches at Columbia Law School.
Chris Milburn, Managing Director of Secretariat International, has more than 20 years of experience quantifying economic damages and the valuation of business interests and financial investigations in international arbitrations, commercial litigation, insurance litigation, personal injury litigation, tax litigation, and consulting.
Ian Weir is a Principal Mining Engineer with over 15 years in the mining industry including hands-on experience in open pit mining operations. Mr. Weir’s experience includes open pit copper and gold mining operations in Northern Chile and Nevada, USA. Mr. Weir’s experience as a mining consultant over the last 10 years includes due diligence reviews, Mineral Reserve audits, expert witness work, and economic studies (Scoping, PEA, and PFS level) for a variety of commodities across the globe. Mr. Weir currently manages the expert witness practice at SLR and has been involved in a number of international mining arbitration matters.
Jeffery Commission is a Director with responsibility for assessing and underwriting legal risk as part of Burford’s investment team, focusing on investor-state and international commercial arbitration. Experience: Vannin Capital, Investment Director; Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Senior Associate, International Arbitration Group; Linklaters, Associate; Philippe Sands QC, Research Assistant; Shearman & Sterling LLP, Associate. Education: University College London LLM; McGill University BCL; McGill University LLB; York University BA.
8:10 AM II.1A. Capital Markets: Trends in Listings, Trading, and Investor Engagement? A Panel Discussion: OTC Markets Group: John Viglotti, Senior Vice President, Investor Access (Ch); OTC Markets Group Inc. & OTC Markets Group International Ltd.: Jason Paltrowitz, Executive Vice President & Director; Canadian Securities Exchange: Richard Carleton, Chairman; Abitibi Metals Corp.: Jonathan Deluce, CPA, CA, CEO; Fathom Nickel Inc.; Doug Porter, CPA, CA, CBV, President, CFO, Director
John Viglotti, SVP, Corporate Services, OTC Markets Group, manages the company’s investor access programs, helping companies to increase their visibility and engagement with individual and institutional investors. Since launching the Virtual Investor Conference series in 2010, he has introduced over 1,800 public companies to a continuously expanding investor community. John’s career spans over 30 years with a focus on the development, management and marketing of financial content and platforms for Wall Street and Investor Relations. He was involved in the startup of two financial content companies that were successfully sold to Dow Jones and Reuters/Refinitiv. John holds a Bachelor of Science in Finance & Computer Sciences from American University and received his MBA in Finance & Investments from George Washington University.
Jason Paltrowitz, Director, OTC Markets Group International Ltd. and EVP, Corporate Services, OTC Markets Group, manages the company’s international and domestic Corporate Services business, supporting more than 1,200 companies that trade on the premium OTCQX and OTCQB Markets. Leveraging his background in financial services and expertise in cross-border trading, Jason spearheads sales initiatives and alliances to provide issuers with efficient alternatives to raise capital, access U.S. investors, and help small-cap companies alleviate the cost and complexity associated with being a public company. Prior to joining OTC Markets Group in October 2013, Jason was Managing Director and Segment Head at JP Morgan Chase responsible for the custody, clearing and collateral management business in the Corporate and Investment Bank division. Jason also held multiple senior management positions at BNY Mellon, most notably, as Head of M&A for the Financial Markets and Treasury Services Sector and 11 years as the Head of the Global Capital Markets Group in the Depositary Receipt Division. Jason served on the Board of Directors of the Crowdfunding Professional Association (CfPA) from 2017 - 2020. He previously served as a member of the Board of Directors at OTC Markets Group from 2008 - 2011. Jason holds a bachelor’s degree in International Relations from Boston University and received his MBA from the NYU Stern School of Business.
Richard Carleton was appointed CEO of the Canadian Securities Exchange in July 2011. During his tenure, Richard and the CSE team have positioned the exchange to take a leading role in the provision of public capital to entrepreneurial companies; since 2014, the CSE has set a series of records for new listings, capital raised by issuers and trading turnover. An early advocate for the cannabis industry, the CSE is the global exchange leader in the sector. Recognized by the Financial Post Magazine as one of Canada’s “25 Cannabis Industry Power Players”, and a recipient of the American Trade Association for Cannabis and Hemp’s “Captain of Industry” Award in November 2018, Richard is a frequent speaker on early-stage company finance issues around the world. In addition to his responsibilities with the CSE, Richard is a director of two private companies: Tetra Trust Company, Canada’s first qualified custodian for cryptocurrency assets, and Blue Ocean ATS, LLC, a US broker dealer which operates an ATS providing after hours trading in US equities. Richard is also a member of two not-for-profit boards: the Empire Club of Canada, and the Private Capital Markets Association. He was also recently named to the Ontario Securities Commission’s “Market Structure Advisory Committee”. A member of the Law Society of Ontario since 1987, Richard is a graduate of the University of Ottawa (B.A. ’81) and the University of Toronto (LL.B. ’85). He has also completed the executive development programme at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.
Jon Deluce is a Chartered Accountant with over a decade of experience in mineral exploration and the capital markets. As CEO, Mr. Deluce is involved in the company’s marketing, financing, and corporate development. During his time as an executive he has successfully negotiated option and joint venture partnerships with multiple senior companies including Kirkland Lake Gold and Barrick. He has developed long-standing relationships with an extensive network of high-net-worth retail investors, brokers, and institutions. Mr. Deluce is a former Manager at Ernst & Young. While at Ernst & Young he worked in the Assurance and Advisory practices with many of the senior gold producers. Mr. Deluce is a member of a Family Office with 25 years of experience in the exploration space through their private prospect generator company, strategic equity investments and board representation on numerous junior mining companies. The office has had numerous successful transactions in the mining space including having board representation and being one of the largest shareholders of Holmer Gold Mines, which was successfully taken over by Lake Shore Gold.
Doug Porter, CPA, CA, CBV, President, CFO, Director of Fathom Nickel Inc. is a seasoned financial executive with over 30 years experience in business valuation, financial consulting and management of both private and public companies. He has been the CFO and/or director of several resource and service companies trading on the TSXV and CSE since 2006. He was the CFO of three companies whose liquidity event involved a sale to large industry players. Mr. Porter is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CA-CPA) and a Chartered Business Valuator (CBV).
8:55 AM II.2. Mining 4.0: What Are the Mines of the Future? RESPEC: Peter Christensen, Principal Consultant, (Ch); McEwen Copper: Rob Mc Ewen, Chairman; US Gold Corp.: George Bee, President and CEO; White & Case LLP: Petr Polášek, Partner; RESPEC: Erik Hemstad, PE, MBA, Manager, Western Slope (Ch); MRC Recruiting: Lindsey Schultz, CEO; Mining Minnesota: Julie Lucas, Executive Director
More than ever before, people outside the industry seem to picking our winners and losers – and they are not doing it based on how good or profitable a mine can be? It is not even about whether they need the (essential) raw materials the mine provides. We worry about the perception of mining by people outside the industry, but what are our perceptions on evolving with new ideas and different ways of doing things, that will help us move forward into the future or be dragged there as dinosaurs? What are some of those new ideas? What are those different ways of doing things? What will a mining project of the future look like – beyond the technological advances and innovations which we have no problem with? How would these new ideas and different ways of doing things change getting projects accepted by the public, approved by regulators, financed and staffed?
Peter Christensen has extensive international mining experience in open-cut and underground mining. He has lived and worked in Australia and the US and has held the statutory responsibility of senior site executive in Queensland. He has held senior positions with major mining companies, mining contractors, and service providers; these roles included engineering manager, operations manager, safety manager, and project manager. Mr. Christensen has experience in managing feasibility studies, new mine development, mining method and equipment selection, mine planning, cost estimation, and reserves estimation. He has conducted due diligence on surface and underground mining assets in the US, Canada, Colombia, Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, Germany, the Czech Republic, Finland, and South Africa. Mr. Christensen has conducted economic and financial evaluations of mining operations; conducted operational and health, safety, and environmental (HSE) audits; provided litigation support; and undertaken reviews of mining practices, cost structures, and operating performance. His experience includes working with a broad spectrum of commodities, including salt, potash, trona, gypsum, lithium, coal, oil sands, oil shale, base and precious metals, mineral sands, limestone, aggregates, and clays. Peter has also developed and implemented safety management systems. Mr. Christensen is a Registered Member of the Society for Mining, Metallurgy, & Exploration (SME) and has served as a member of the Resources and Reserves Committee of the SME since 2014, and currently serves as the president of the Denver Coal Club.
Rob McEwen is Chairman and Chief Owner of McEwen Mining, which has three producing mines in Nevada, Ontario, and Argentina and holds 48% interest in the large Los Azules copper project in Argentina. Rob has been associated with the gold industry all his career, his first 18 years in the investment industry and since 1990 as CEO of several gold mining companies. Rob is the founder of Goldcorp, where he took the company from a market capitalization of $50 million to over $8 billion. He owns 17% of McEwen Mining (MUX), 13% of McEwen Copper and takes a salary of $1/ year. The cost of his investment in MUX and McEwen Copper is US$220 million. Rob and his wife, Cheryl, have donated over $60 million to encourage excellence and innovation in healthcare and education. Rob was awarded the Order of Canada in 2007, the Queen Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee Award in 2013, was inducted into the Mining Hall of Fame in 2017 and has Honorary Doctor of Law Degrees from York University and Western University. He is also a member of the Dean’s Advisory Board, Schulich School of Business; X Prize Foundation: Vision Circle and Board of Trustees; a member of CEO (Chief Executive Organization) and of WPO (World Presidents’ Organization) and serves on the Advisory Board of the McEwen School of Architecture.
George Bee has been at the forefront of operating and advancing world-class gold mining projects in eight countries on three continents for both major and junior mining companies, including Anglo American, Rio Tinto, Barrick Gold and Kinross Gold. In 2018, he concluded a third term with Barrick Gold as Senior VP Frontera District in Chile and Argentina capping a 16-year history with Barrick Gold in positions that included Mine Manager at the Goldstrike Mine in Nevada during early development and operations, Operations Manager at the Pierina Mine from construction to operations, and General Manager of the Veladero Mine from advanced exploration through permitting, feasibility and into production. As a mining executive, George Bee has held senior leadership and board positions with such companies as Aurelian Resources where he spearheaded early development concepts for Fruta del Norte; Kinross Gold advancing projects in El Salvador and Nevada; Andina Minerals and its 6 million-ounce Volcan Gold Project in Chile; and Jaguar Mining with operating mines in Brazil.
Petr Polášek is a partner with White & Case LLP’s international arbitration group in Washington, DC. He specializes in investment treaty protection and international arbitration. Petr has worked extensively with mining companies and mining industry experts in investment treaty cases against host governments and has represented clients in complex international disputes in other sectors such as oil & gas, chemicals, waste management, banking, telecommunications, airport construction, government bonds, and real estate. Petr serves as a Trustee of the Foundation for Natural Resources and Energy Law. Petr holds law degrees from the Charles University in the Czech Republic and the George Washington University Law School in Washington, DC.
Erik Hemstad has more than 15 years of professional experience in project management and geological and geotechnical engineering. He has an established breadth of knowledge and experience across the geological, civil, and mining engineering and geology fields, coupled with project, business, and personnel management capabilities and effective decision-making and judgment. He applies these skills to projects of all sizes to meet client needs and specific project objectives. Erik excels at undertaking diverse and complex projects and tasks in nonroutine environments and creating and managing solutions focused on project execution and client satisfaction. His primary roles include project development, execution, and management for RESPEC’s Mining & Energy business unit. He also contributes to overall marketing and business development for current and prospective clients. His current emphasis is within the industrial and critical minerals sectors to include the commodities of potash and trona for solution and conventional mining, lithium clay and pegmatite for open pit mining, lithium brine for reservoir development through the application of Direct Lithium Extraction, along with exploration and development for other Rare-Earth Elements and battery minerals.
Lindsey Schultz is the CEO of MRC Recruiting, a boutique mining talent firm her father Robert Schultz founded 40 years ago. With 18 years of recruiting and advisory experience in the mining sector, Lindsey has cultivated expertise in organizational design and assessment, team building, compensation alignment, and relationship management between companies and candidates. She leads a team focused on finding win-win scenarios, advancing diversity and inclusion, and promoting the industry. An active member of WIM, AEMA, SME, Femina Collective and PDAC, Lindsey holds a BA in Human Resources and Organizational Behavior and an MBA. Though she didn’t intend a mining career originally, having grown up in her family’s recruiting business, she took on the CEO role in 2021. Lindsey is responsible for strategic vision and leadership at MRC Recruiting. She believes mining is essential for global decarbonization and technological advancement.
Julie Lucas, Executive Director of MiningMinnesota, advocates for responsible mining of mineral resources in Minnesota that will “keep the lights on” as our nation undergoes a clean energy transformation. She earned her mining experience serving as the Director of Water Resources for Twin Metals Minnesota, a proposed copper-nickel mine near Ely, Minnesota and as the Environmental Manager of Hibbing Taconite Company, a Cleveland-Cliffs iron ore mine in Hibbing, Minnesota. Through education and collaboration opportunities, Julie engages with a broad audience of interested stakeholders and was the 2023 Recipient of the SME Cindy Moore Courageous Impact Award as recognition of that work. She attended the University of Minnesota-Duluth and has a B.S. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and an M.S. in Water Resources Science.
8:55 AM II.2.A Copper - A Mineral Essential For Our Society: The Challenges of Getting it to Market: Better in our Backyard: Ryan Sistad, Executive Director (Ch); National Investor Publishing: Chris Temple, Owner (Ch); Global External: Adam Hawkins, President; Nuvau Minerals Corp.; Peter Van Alphen, President & CEO; Astra Exploration Inc.: Brian Miller, Director and CEO; Aston Bay Holdings Ltd.: Thomas Ullrich, CEO
Copper is widely acknowledged as being perhaps the most important base (and critical) metal in our modern lives. From construction to power grids, to myriad “green” energy technologies, communications, medical applications and so much more, it is indispensable all across economies. Estimates are that, globally, already-robust copper demand is incredibly slated to more than double by 2050. Yet presently known mine production and recycling combined are expected to decline from present levels over that time. Our panel will discuss the causes and ramifications of this growing shortage including the public policy and investment implications.
Ryan Sistad was born in Fosston, MN and has been running Better In Our Back Yard (BIOBY) for almost 5 years out of Duluth, Minnesota. During that time Better In Our Back Yard has grown from 2 members to over 80, while growing its social media presence to over 20,000 followers, gaining national recognition, and has expanded its outreach from Northern Minnesota to the upper-mid west region. Better In Our Back Yard was created to advocate for responsible industrial development in Northern Minnesota and regions surrounding the Upper Midwest. Projects BIOBY advocates for include NewRange Copper Nickel’s NorthMet Project, Twin Metals Minnesota’s proposed Copper-Nickel mine, Perpetua Resources' Stibnite Gold Project out of Idaho, Talon Metals proposed Nickel-Copper-Cobalt mine in Minnesota, Enbridge’s Line 5 Segment Relocation Project in Wisconsin, Enbridge’s Great Lakes Tunnel Project in Michigan, and Resolution Copper's proposed copper mine in Arizona.
Chris Temple is Editor/Publisher of The National Investor, whose motto is “You can get information anywhere, but here you get knowledge.” (See https://www.nationalinvestor.com/.) He also serves as Vice President and Media/ Creative Advisor to Strategic Media and Public Relations (see https://strategicmpr.com/.) In his fifth decade in the investment/economic world, Chris demonstrates a highly regarded ability to make the markets and our broader world understandable to the average investor. He has regularly been out in front of major market moves and important market trends; among others recently, articulating what he has called “The Great Stagflation” environment and its implications for all asset classes (not to mention the economic and geopolitical factors) going forward. His clarity and accuracy have made his insights and advice valuable to individual investors, companies and institutions alike.
Adam Hawkins is an expert on external affairs in the mining industry. His decades of experience span every phase of the mining process, from early-stage exploration and entitling projects to permitting new facilities, expanding operations, and closures. He has worked on projects on every continent except Antarctica. Adam's firm, Global External, helps mining clients understand and adapt to social, political, legislative, regulatory, and reputational risk factors.
Peter van Alphen has almost 30 years of experience in progressive leadership roles in various sectors of mining industry. He earned his Mining engineering degree at The University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa. Most recently he was the COO of Premier Gold Mines Ltd, where he oversaw Premier’s mining and development projects. Prior to that he served as Canadian Country Manager for Pan American Silver, VP of Operations for Tahoe Resources, and VP of Operations for Lake Shore Gold. He was also involved in various management positions with FNX Mining in Sudbury, with the building of Podolsky Mine and reopening of Levack Mine.
Brian Miller grew up on a small family farm in rural Idaho, which instilled a “whatever it takes” problem-solving approach to business, and life in general. His interest in mining began during his education in finance and economics where he researched, recommended, and invested in mining companies as part of a fund management group. He began actively working in exploration and mining in 2005 where he started in operations, logistics and project management. His background in business & finance provides a well-rounded acumen, and he progressed into corporate management. Brian was formerly CFO and VP of Business Development at Kiska Metals Corp, where his experience included operations, business development, asset valuation, capital markets and M&A. before the company was acquired by AuRico Metals in 2017. He co-founded Astra in August 2020, and took it public in 2022.
Thomas Ullrich, CEO, Aston Bay Holdings Ltd., has over 30 years of experience in mineral exploration and geoscience. Before joining Aston Bay in 2016, Mr. Ullrich was Chief Geologist North America for Antofagasta Minerals plc, investigating the region’s copper potential through extensive property evaluations and management of drill programs in Mexico, Alaska and Canada. Prior to Antofagasta, he was Senior Geologist for Almaden Minerals, where he managed the drill program for the team’s discovery of the Ixtaca Ag-Au deposit in Mexico. Mr. Ullrich also established the Ar-Ar geochronology lab at the University of British Columbia and studied the Candelaria Cu-Au mine, Chile, and South Crofty Tin Mine, Cornwall, UK, while at Queen’s University. Mr. Ullrich is also Director at Aurania Resources.
9:45 AM II.3. The Role of State Land Trusts in Resource Development: Stantec: Michael G. Nelson, Senior Mining Consultant (Ch); Alaska State Trust Land Office: Jusdi Warner, Executive Director; Utah Trust Lands Administration: Stephanie Barber Renteria, Managing Director, Energy & Minerals; Utah Trust Lands Administration: Tyler Wiseman, Tyler Wiseman, Geoscientist and Lease Manager
The Northwest Ordinance of 1785 provided for the designation of state-owned lands for the support of the schools. State land trusts now own more than 500 million acres of public lands in 21 states. Representatives of the trusts in two of those states, Utah and Alaska, will describe the administration of their respective trusts, with a focus on how those trusts participate in and encourage the development of mineral and energy resources. Those representatives will then respond to questions from the audience.
Dr. Michael G. (Mike) Nelson is a senior mining consultant at Stantec Inc. He was previously professor of mining engineering at the University of Alaska Fairbanks (1989–1994) and the University of Utah (1999–2023), where he was Department Chair for 11 years. He holds degrees in metallurgical engineering (B.S.), applied physics (M.S.), and mining engineering (Ph.D.). He is a Registered Member, Fellow, and Distinguished Member of the Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration (SME). Mike has worked for Kennecott Copper, Westinghouse Electric, Consolidation Coal, and EIMCO Process Equipment. He holds nine patents in mining and mineral processing technology, and is a member of the Board of Advisors for the Utah Trust Lands Administration.
Jusdi Warner is the Executive Director of the Alaska Mental Health Trust Land Office and has over 16 years of experience in natural resource management in Alaska. She manages a team of professionals within the Department of Natural Resources which is contracted exclusively by the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority (Trust) to manage its approximately one million acres of land and other non-cash assets to generate revenue. Decisions approving the use of Trust lands are made solely in the interest of the Trust and its beneficiaries in line with Trust principles and the Alaska Mental Health Enabling Act. The Trust provides leadership in advocacy, planning, implementing, and funding for services and programs impacting Trust beneficiaries, Alaskans with behavioral health conditions and developmental disabilities.
Stephanie Barber-Renteria is a graduate of Temple University School of Law and the University of Utah and has over twenty years of experience in natural resources and energy law. Stephanie rejoined the School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration in July 2022 as Managing Director of Energy & Minerals. She manages a team of geoscientists, engineers and former industry professionals who oversee the agency's four million acres of mineral estate lands and administer its portfolio of over 1,500 mineral and renewable leases. Stephanie previously worked at the Trust Lands Administration as in-house counsel and in private practice was a partner at the law firm of Lear & Lear. She also briefly served as regulatory counsel for Rocky Mountain Power.
Tyler Wiseman is a professional geologist with a bachelor's degree in geology from the University of Utah and a master’s degree in geoscience from Texas A&M University with an emphasis in petroleum data management. Tyler joined the School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration in 2018 as a geoscientist and mineral lease manager for the Energy & Minerals revenue group. He has exploration experience in oil and gas, helium, natural hydrogen, potash and other mineral salts, battery minerals, and metalliferous minerals. Tyler served honorably in the Marine Corps as an infantry squad leader in Operation Enduring Freedom.
9:45 AM II.3.A. Strengthening Critical Minerals Supply Chains: A Technical Perspective: SGS Société Générale de Surveillance SA: David Anonychuk, Natural Resources, Global Vice President, Metallurgy and Consulting (Ch); RPMGlobal: Philippe Baudry, Executive General Manager, Advisory Services; SRK Consulting: Matt Sullivan, Mineral Economist (TBC); Stantec: Michael Stine, Manager, Mining Economics and Strategy; DRA Americas: Pierre Julien, Executive Vice President, DRA Group Holdings, President, DRA Americas
David Anonychuk is Global Vice President, Metallurgy and Consulting, at Société Générale de Surveillance SA (SGS). With over 25 years of international mining and metallurgical experience, he has worked in consulting, operational and marketing positions at major metals producers and mining consultancies, including Newmont, Noranda, and Glencore. Now David puts his Metallurgical Engineering and MBA degrees to work in expanding the global reach of services for SGS. He is always excited to connect with students and colleagues about the opportunities for technical professionals in the energy transition as we work together to build a more robust and sustainable battery supply chain.
Philippe Baudry, Executive General Manager - Advisory Services, joined RPMGlobal as a geologist in 2008 and, based out of Beijing, successfully built the group’s advisory business in Asia and Europe before taking executive ownership of RPMGlobal’s Advisory services. His career began in open cut and underground operations in Western Australia, followed by 3 years developing two large porphyry copper projects in Russia. Philippe has spent the last 16 years working closely with financiers to the mining industry focused on debt financing, market transactions and downstream operational and exploration value creation. Philippe led RPM’s acquisition of a number of pure-play mining ESG businesses in 2021, strengthening RPM’s advisory capability across the mining value chain. Philippe is the key relationship manager for all of RPM’s commercial, ECA and private debt clients and stays abreast of the evolving trends and reporting framework requirements of these groups. With 25% of RPM’s annual Advisory revenue sourced from battery and critical minerals end users from Asia and Europe, Philippe is across the needs of these investors and increasing amounts of western government funding into the diversification of this supply chain. RPM currently oversees $8.2B of battery and critical minerals project capital on behalf of private and government investors. Through this work, Philippe has gained a unique insight into the challenges faced by battery and critical minerals project proponents not only in sourcing capital but also in bringing it into production and securing offtake for these projects. Philippe holds a Bachelor of Science Mineral Exploration and Mining Geology, an Associate Diploma of Geoscience, a Graduate Certificate of Geostatistics and is a Member of the Australian Institute of Geoscientist (“MAIG”). He meets the requirements for Qualified Person (“QP”) for 43-101 and SGX reporting, and Competent Person (“CP”) for JORC and HKEx reporting for most metalliferous Mineral Resources.
Matthew Sullivan, Principal Mineral Economist at SRK Consulting, has twelve years of experience analyzing, optimizing, and valuing mining operations from internal and external positions. Matthew has extensive experience designing and leading diligence processes for mining assets ranging from early stage exploration through to operating mines. He has priced, negotiated, and closed mining deals across the globe in a wide variety of commodities via structures ranging from royalty and equity investment to term and convertible debt facilities. His experience as a mining sector buy-side professional funding the development and operation of mining assets provides a unique perspective on what it takes to study, build, operate, manage risk, and invest in the mining sector. His specializations include mining sector financial modeling and analysis; merger and acquisitions, due diligence planning and execution, strategic business planning and initiatives, risk management and assessments, operations research and optimizations, and process controls and improvements.
Michael Stine is a Manager of Mining Economics and Risk at Stantec, overseeing a group focused on strategic planning and advisory services for the mining industry. Prior roles include short-term appointments to the World Bank and working as an analyst at the Central Intelligence Agency. Michael as mining engineering and mineral economics degrees and believes the best decisions combine a technical and economic understanding of what drives successful projects.
Pierre Julien, is a metals and minerals industry executive with over 35 years of experience in the global mining industry. Pierre has held several technical and executive roles within the mining industry. Pierre is currently an EVP with DRA Global and President of DRA Americas. DRA Americas is a mining focused, leading provider of project development, engineering, project management, asset management and advisory services. Pierre is the founder of Lincoln Strategic and ORE+PROS, two mining industry services providers. He has held other senior roles including President and CEO of Norcast, and President , Outotec (Metso) North America. Pierre is the Past-President of the Canadian Institute of Mines, the Past Chairman of the Canadian Mineral Processors Society, Member of CIM Council and Member of the CIM Capital Projects Committee. Pierre is a graduate of the Haileybury School of Mines and holds an MBA from the Queens School of Business.
10:30 AM Networking Refreshment Break: Sponsored by: CohnReznick LLP; McCarl's Technical Services
10:50 AM II.4. The Challenge of De-Risking the Permitting of Mines Today: Holland & Hart: Laura Granier, P.C., Partner (Ch); American Exploration & Mining Association (AEMA): Mark Compton, Executive Director (Ch); SWCA Environmental Consultants, Andrew Harley, PhD, Client Services Director, Mining; Big Rock Exploration: Gabriel Sweet M.Sc., PG, Vice President, Operations; Mining Minnesota: Julie Lucas, Executive Director
Laura Granier is a Partner and Co-Chair of the mining practice at Holland & Hart, LLP, where she focuses her practice on mining, energy, and other natural resources issues. She served as lead counsel for Lithium Americas in the successful defense of the federal and state authorizations for the Thacker Pass Lithium Mine which is now the largest known lithium deposit in the world. Laura has spent more than two decades leading teams in numerous regulatory and judicial proceedings involving complex mining, tribal, water, and environmental agency issues. She has successfully handled issues of first impression important to development on public and federal lands, including her extensive work advocating for multiple use of federal lands in the course of the land use planning efforts and litigation related to the Greater Sage Grouse. Laura has recently been recognized among the Best Lawyers in America for mining law and water law.
Mark Compton is the executive director of the American Exploration & Mining Association (AEMA), based in Spokane Valley, Washington. Mark rejoined AEMA in 2019 after serving seven years as president of the Utah Mining Association. Mark previously worked at AEMA (then known as the Northwest Mining Association) as government affairs manager and he possesses nearly thirty years of government affairs experience. Prior to joining the mining industry in 2008 he served as a congressional and gubernatorial aide, and he also has worked as a forester and public affairs specialist in the forest products industry. He resides with his wife Kelley on the outskirts of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.
Andrew Harley is a seasoned environmental consultant with extensive experience in mine permitting and environmental compliance. He has led significant permitting projects, including comprehensive waste material characterization for gold and copper mines across Nevada and New Mexico. His expertise also extends to baseline studies and permit applications, notably for a copper mine in Sonora, Mexico, and uranium developments in Colorado and New Mexico. Additional technical work in environmental impact assessments and hydrogeochemical support has been crucial in navigating complex regulatory landscapes, ensuring environmental standards are met for sustainable mining operations from exploration to closure. Dr Harley has an undergraduate degree in Geology and Physical Geography from the University of New South Wales and a PhD in Soil Science and Plant Nutrition from the University of Western Australia.
Gabriel Sweet has spent over 15 years in the mineral exploration and mining industry, focusing on the development and implementation of early-stage exploration programs throughout the United States. While out of the field, he has spent a considerable amount of time navigating the forefront of permitting and compliance for early exploration programs at federal, state, and local regulatory levels. Gabriel is a graduate of Ontario’s Lakehead University with a master’s degree in economic geology. He is registered as a Professional Geologist in the state of Minnesota and a licensed Responsible Explorer with the Minnesota Department of Health. He is an active member of the Society for Economic Geologists, and Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration. Gabriel has served on multiple organization boards and councils, including the Mesabi Range Geological Society and the Advisory Council on Wells and Borings for the Minnesota Department of Health.
Julie Lucas, Executive Director of MiningMinnesota, advocates for responsible mining of mineral resources in Minnesota that will “keep the lights on” as our nation undergoes a clean energy transformation. She earned her mining experience serving as the Director of Water Resources for Twin Metals Minnesota, a proposed copper-nickel mine near Ely, Minnesota and as the Environmental Manager of Hibbing Taconite Company, a Cleveland-Cliffs iron ore mine in Hibbing, Minnesota. Through education and collaboration opportunities, Julie engages with a broad audience of interested stakeholders and was the 2023 Recipient of the SME Cindy Moore Courageous Impact Award as recognition of that work. She attended the University of Minnesota-Duluth and has a B.S. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and an M.S. in Water Resources Science.
10:50 AM II.4.A. Visualizing and communicating the impact of financial, technical, and execution risk on mining investment decisions: SCM Decisions: Michael Samis, Ph.D., P.Eng. Principal (Ch); Anglo American Steelmaking Coal: Andrea Rutley, Head of Technical & Analytics; DRA Americas: Pierre Julien, Executive Vice President, DRA Group Holdings, President, DRA Americas; Colorado School of Mines: Tom F. Brady, Ph.D., Professor, Mineral Economics
Mining companies are exposed to many risks that must be considered when managing a corporate mining portfolio. Financial, technical, and execution risks impact each portfolio project in a unique manner, whether these projects are in the exploration pipeline, operating assets, brownfield extensions, innovation projects, or sub-economic resource options. Assessing the risk tradeoffs of each project and its impact on the corporate risk profile is difficult but necessary to ensure each project supports corporate strategy. This session considers how a mining company may analyze and communicate risk at a project and portfolio level.
Dr. Michael Samis, P.Eng. is a leading Integrated Valuation and Risk Modelling practitioner in the natural resource industries with over 30 years of mining experience. He has extensive professional experience valuing mining projects with complex forms of flexibility and risk. His assignments have ranged from exploration stage to late-stage capital investments and include project financing and contingent taxes. Mike was previously an Associate Partner and Senior Manager at EY for 11 years where he valued complex financial securities such as employee stock options, contingent contracts, and financial derivatives in addition to his consulting work in the mining industry. Prior to this, he worked for AMEC as the Technical Director of Mineral Economics. He currently assists mining clients align capital allocation decisions with business strategy through SCM Decisions.
Andrea Rutley is the Head of Technical & Analytics for Anglo American’s Steelmaking Coal business. Her current role as Head of Technical & Analytics is to combine the technical operating functions of mine planning, gas & ventilation, governance, geotechnical engineering, geoscience and data analytics to drive operational performance through risk reduction, planning effectiveness and resource delineation to ensure future growth. With over 25 years in the mining industry, Andrea has worked in geophysical exploration for base metals, engineering and environmental companies and held various technical and leadership roles within the coal industry. Since joining Anglo American in 2011, Andrea has held the role of Head of Safety and Sustainable Development, Manager of Exploration and Head of Geoscience, managing exploration programs and multi-disciplinary geoscience teams across Australia, South Africa, Botswana and Canada to deliver technical excellence.
Pierre Julien, is a metals and minerals industry executive with over 35 years of experience in the global mining industry. Pierre has held several technical and executive roles within the mining industry. Pierre is currently an EVP with DRA Global and President of DRA Americas. DRA Americas is a mining focused, leading provider of project development, engineering, project management, asset management and advisory services. Pierre is the founder of Lincoln Strategic and ORE+PROS, two mining industry services providers. He has held other senior roles including President and CEO of Norcast, and President , Outotec (Metso) North America. Pierre is the Past-President of the Canadian Institute of Mines, the Past Chairman of the Canadian Mineral Processors Society, Member of CIM Council and Member of the CIM Capital Projects Committee. Pierre is a graduate of the Haileybury School of Mines and holds an MBA from the Queens School of Business.
Tom Brady is a Professor of Practice in Mineral Economics at the Colorado School of Mines and is the Managing Director of Capitalight Research, providing outlook and advisory on precious metals. Previously, Tom served as the Executive Director of the J.P. Morgan Center for Commodities at the University of Colorado Denver Business School. Tom was the Chief Economist at Newmont Mining Corporation and was responsible for generating key commodity price, foreign exchange and other financial assumptions used throughout the company. In this role, Tom also developed methods to effectively quantify and communicate the economic impacts of Newmont’s operations to host communities and countries. Previously at Newmont, Tom led the Strategic Planning function that developed and implemented portfolio modeling analytics and also held positions in Investor Relations, Treasury and Corporate Development. Prior to rejoining Newmont. Tom was a Senior Manager at Risk Capital Management, a consultancy that advised energy and natural resource companies on financial risk, valuation and commodity hedging. Tom holds a Ph.D. in Mineral Economics with research emphases in commodity markets from the Colorado School of Mines. In addition, Tom holds a Masters degree in Mathematics, also from the Colorado School of Mines.
11:35 AM II.5. Energizing Growth: Unleashing Human and Capital Potential in Battery/ Critical Minerals Ventures: MRC Consulting: Lindsey Schultz, CEO; Lomiko Metals: Belinda Labatte, Chief Executive Officer and Director, Interim Chair of the Board; First Phosphate Corp.: John Passalacqua, CEO and Director; Hammond Group Inc.: Terry Murphy, President & CEO; Westwater Resources Inc.; Terence Cryan, Executive Chairman
This session will spotlight leaders who will discuss strategies to boost investment and innovation in the battery and critical minerals sectors. The panel will address key issues like investment attraction, workforce development, and industry challenges, offering insights into fostering a sustainable and vibrant future for energy minerals. Join us for a dynamic conversation that aims to shape the future of the industry.
Lindsey Schultz is the CEO of MRC Recruiting, a boutique mining talent firm her father Robert Schultz founded 40 years ago. With 18 years of recruiting and advisory experience in the mining sector, Lindsey has cultivated expertise in organizational design and assessment, team building, compensation alignment, and relationship management between companies and candidates. She leads a team focused on finding win-win scenarios, advancing diversity and inclusion, and promoting the industry. An active member of WIM, AEMA, SME, Femina Collective and PDAC, Lindsey holds a BA in Human Resources and Organizational Behavior and an MBA. Though she didn’t intend a mining career originally, having grown up in her family’s recruiting business, she took on the CEO role in 2021. Lindsey is responsible for strategic vision and leadership at MRC Recruiting. She believes mining is essential for global decarbonization and technological advancement.
Belinda Labatte, CFA, MBA, ICD.D, CEO and Director, Interim Chair of Lomiko Metals has more than 15 years of senior management experience in mining and the extractive industry, and 20 years of capital markets experience, including a decade of strategic development, capital markets investment banking experience, stakeholder engagement, and asset acquisition and disposition processes. Her most recent position was Chief Development Officer of Mandalay Resources Corp. Prior to that, Ms. Labatte was the founder and President of her own Company, The Capital Lab Inc., a leading Toronto-based consulting firm. Ms. Labatte is fluent in French, Spanish and German and graduated from the Rotman School of Management with an MBA. She holds the ICD.D designation and is CFA charterholder. Ms. Labatte serves as independent director of Star Royalties Ltd.
John Passalacqua, Int’l MBA, CEO and Director of First Phosphate, is an international business strategist with over 35 years of extensive technology and capital markets experience. In 1998, John gained the title of a top 50 international business strategist on the early internet. He is involved in private and public market planning for companies in nascent, visionary industries. John has lived in Quebec and is fluently bilingual.
Terry Murphy, President & CEO, Hammond Group, Inc., a specialty chemical company that has won two out of the last five industry innovations awards for performance additives that have dramatically increased the functionality of Lead (Pb) batteries. Prior to managing the Hammond Group, Murphy was the Division Director of the Rocketdyne Advanced Programs organization, a subsidiary of the Boeing Company and later United Technologies. His group developed propulsion and power systems for space exploration and leveraged these high energy technologies into clean, renewable, and sustainable energy systems. Murphy left aerospace and founded SolarReserve, which combined concentrated solar power with molten salt energy storage. Murphy received a MS in Systems Management from USC and an Astronautical Engineering degree from Purdue, where he is the recipient of their Outstanding Engineer Award.
Terence J. Cryan serves as Executive Chairman of Westwater Resources (NYSE-A: WWR). He also previously served as Westwater’s President and Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Cryan is also Chairman of the Board of Ocean Power Technologies, Inc. (NYSE-A: OPTT). Mr. Cryan currently serves as a Managing Director of MACCO Restructuring Group, LLC, which provides qualified interim leadership and advice to stakeholders involved with troubled businesses and is frequently called upon to serve as interim CEO, CRO and CTO. Mr. Cryan also served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Global Power Equipment Group Inc. (NYSE: GLPW). Previously, Mr. Cryan served as Co-founder and Managing Director of Concert Energy Partners, an investment and private equity firm based in New York City. Prior to that, Mr. Cryan was a Senior Managing Director in the Investment Banking Division at Bear Stearns. Additionally, Mr. Cryan was a Managing Director, Head of the Energy and Natural Resources Group and member of the Investment Banking Operating Committee at Paine Webber which he joined following its acquisition of Kidder, Peabody. Mr. Cryan has served as a director of seven publicly traded companies and a larger number of PE owned and private companies including Global Power Equipment Group Inc., Superior Drilling Products, Inc., The Providence Service Corporation and Gryphon Gold Corporation. Mr. Cryan has also been an adjunct professor at the Metropolitan College of New York Graduate School of Business. Mr. Cryan received a Master of Science degree in Economics from the London School of Economics and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from Tufts University. Mr. Cryan is a Board Leadership Fellow and member of the National Association of Corporate Directors.
11:35 AM II.5.A. Valuation Issues Concerning Renewables & Mines Today: RPMGlobal: Stuart Smith, President, Advisory and Consulting – Americas (Ch); PMV Research, LLC: Michael Spohn, Principal (Ch); CohnReznick LLP: Steven Munson, CFA, ASA, Principal Valuation Advisory Services (Ch); Kroll Canada Ltd.: Peter Lam, CPA, CA., CFA, Senior Director; Trident Royalties plc: Justin Anderson, Vice President, Americas (Ch)
The valuation of renewables and battery metals is an evolving topic as the industries continue to mature. Given the relatively young age of the industry, valuation is impacted by factors not typically seen in more mature markets. Such as extreme volatility in commodity prices, demand forecasts which have been legislated by governments and are substantially above historical production and the heterogeneous nature of the product with the need to meet specific quality specifications.
Stuart Smith has been in the mining industry since 2004. He specializes in managing multi-disciplinary teams and facilitating the delivery of large studies or work on complex cross-functional issues. His work has focused on value creation or risk mitigation through structured approaches to technical reviews and mining studies. Mr. Smith has managed advisory projects in 18 countries on four continents. Stuart has overseen over 50 project reviews for independent engineer and M&A mandates totaling over $25B in potential transaction value. He has been project manager on over 30 technical studies for internal use and many being for securities disclosures (NI43-101 and SEC guidelines). These studies range from strategic-level conceptual assessment to PEA, PFS and FS level studies. Stuart has also been part of facilitating multi-disciplinary risk assessment workshops for development/capital projects.
Michael Spohn is an independent natural resources analyst with an oil & gas and gold sector focus. He began his career as a credit analyst including positions in the mining & metals team at Barclays Bank and natural resources group at NMB Postbank. Later he was Director of Research at oil & gas valuation boutique John S. Herold (now part of S&P Global), followed by co-founding an energy investment research service with major institutional clientele, and where he was widely quoted in financial media (Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, etc.) for his independent views. Michael was also a sell-side analyst with a New York based broker-dealer covering special situations mostly in the materials and industrial sectors, and a principal at a value-oriented hedge fund. He is a member of the the Society of Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration. Michael holds a BA in Geology from Colgate University and an MS in Mineral Economics from the University of Arizona.
Steven Munson, CFA, ASA, is a Principal in CohnReznick’s Valuation Advisory Services practice based in the New York office. Steven Munson has 14 years of experience providing valuation and other advisory services to leading energy companies in the U.S. and globally. He leads the Energy, Infrastructure, and Machinery & Equipment Valuation practice for CohnReznick. Steven performs valuation and financial advisory engagements for expert witness testimony & litigation support, mergers and acquisitions, cost segregation, transaction structuring, debt and equity funding, buy/sell planning, financial reporting and purchase accounting, due diligence, tax structuring and reporting, charitable donations, and strategic planning. Steven is a CFA Charterholder and an Accredited Senior Appraiser with the American Society of Appraisers. Steven has experience providing valuations and consulting in the following areas: Power and Energy, and Machinery & Equipment. Rutgers University, School of Engineering: BSc in Mechanical Engineering, Minor in Economics. Steven is a CFA Charter holder, CFA Institute and member of Accredited Senior Appraisers, American Society of Appraisers and The New Jersey State Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors (EIT License).
Peter Lam, CPA, CA, CFA is a Senior Director in the Toronto office of the firm’s Energy & Mining practice. Peter
has more than 15 years of mining capital markets and valuation experience. Peter specializes in the valuations of mining businesses, mineral interests, exploration assets, royalties, streams, illiquid debt and equity investments for public and private mining companies, mining royalty and streaming companies, private equity, pension funds and hedge funds for an array of purposes, including M&A, fairness opinions, investment valuations, financial reporting, tax and disputes. Prior to joining Kroll (formerly Duff & Phelps) in 2019, Peter was an equity research analyst at Macquarie Capital Markets where he covered precious and base metals mining companies. Previously, Peter was a Research Associate with BMO Capital Markets on the Metals and Mining team. He has extensive experience tracking and analyzing industry themes and trends, preparing financial models and in-depth fundamental analysis of precious, base, and bulk metals companies across the globe from the exploration to production stages. Peter’s equity research coverage has included: Barrick, Newmont, Goldcorp, Kinross, Teck, Lundin Mining, Hudbay, Kirkland Lake, Centerra, IAMGOLD, Agnico-Eagle, Yamana, Eldorado, as well as many early exploration and development stage companies. Prior to working in the mining industry, Peter was with PricewaterhouseCoopers in the audit group.
Justin Anderson has more than 15 years’ experience in the natural resources sector. He is current VP Americas for Trident Royalties, the diversified mining royalty company, where is responsible for corporate development throughout the Americas. Prior to joining Trident, he was with McGriff Insurance Services (McGriff) where he worked on developing comprehensive risk management and insurance solutions for mining companies. Prior to McGriff, Justin worked for over ten years with Resource Capital Funds, a leading mining-focused private equity fund. He has also worked in several different engineering roles within the mining industry. Mr. Anderson earned his Bachelors in Mining Engineering and Masters in Mineral Economics from the Colorado School of Mines. He has served as a director of Alufer Mining Limited and First Bauxite. Furthermore, he is a licensed Professional Engineer in Colorado.
12:10 PM Networking Lunch: Sponsored by: CohnReznick LLP; RESPEC; U.S. Gold
12:30 PM Lunch Speaker(s) – Broadcast in all rooms from the Shearman Room will be a Special, First Time Video Interview, Fireside Chat discussing:
A pre-recorded exclusive, first-time ever joint conversation about "The Global Economy, The Commodities Markets and More" between Dr. Marc Faber, Publisher of The Gloom Boom & Doom Report and Director of Marc Faber Ltd. and Peter Boockvar, Chief Investment Officer, Bleakley Financial Group and Editor of The Boock Report; moderated by Michael Fox, Publisher, The Prospector News.
Dr. Marc Faber was born in Zurich, Switzerland. He went to school in Geneva and Zurich and finished high school with the Matura. He studied Economics at the University of Zurich and, at the age of 24, obtained a PhD in Economics magna cum laude. Between 1970 and 1978, Dr Faber worked for White Weld & Company Limited in New York, Zurich and Hong Kong. Since 1973, he has lived in Hong Kong. From 1978 to February 1990, he was the Managing Director of Drexel Burnham Lambert (HK) Ltd. In June 1990, he set up his own business, publishing a widely read monthly investment newsletter “THE GLOOM BOOM & DOOM” report which highlights unusual investment opportunities. He is also the author of several books including “TOMORROW’S GOLD – Asia’s Age of Discovery” which was first published in 2002 and highlights future investment opportunities around the world. “TOMORROW’S GOLD” was for several weeks on Amazon’s best seller list and has been translated into Japanese, Korean, Thai and German. Dr. Faber is also a regular contributor to several leading financial publications around the world. A book on Dr Faber, “RIDING THE MILLENNIAL STORM”, by Nury Vittachi, was published in 1998. A regular speaker at various investment seminars, Dr Faber is well known for his “contrarian” investment approach.
Peter Boockvar is Bleakley Financial Group's Chief Investment Officer, in this role as Peter leads the team that is responsible for the development, management and oversight of Bleakley’s investment management program, managing the investment committee, and setting the firm’s overall investment philosophy, global investment outlook and asset allocation decisions. Peter also is the portfolio manager of a global macro multi-asset strategy and one focused on global income. Prior to joining Bleakley, Boockvar was a managing director and the Chief Market Analyst for the Lindsey Group – a macro economic and market research firm founded by former Federal Reserve Governor Larry Lindsey. In this role, Boockvar was responsible for global economic & market research at the firm. Before his time with the Lindsey Group, Peter worked as a macro analyst and portfolio manager for Omega advisors and had previously been a partner at Miller Tabak & Company where he was an equity strategist and portfolio manager. Peter’s market insights are frequently sought out by industry leaders and for the last 5 years has been a regular guest host and contributor on CNBC programs. He is also regularly quoted in articles for Forbes, Barron’s, Bloomberg, CNN Money and a number of other news outlets. Peter graduated magna cum laude with a BBA in Finance from The George Washington University. Peter Boockvar is solely an investment advisor representative of Bleakley Financial Group, LLC, a registered investment adviser and separate entity from LPL Financial. Peter serves as Chief Investment Officer of Bleakley Financial Group.
Michael Fox, publisher of the Prospector News is a media relations/ communications professional with 30 years of media experience. Michael’s career began in News Talk Radio in Calgary Alberta Canada. After leaving the radio business Michael transitioned his professional life to a media consultant. In 2002 he started consulting to the Prospector News and eventually becoming its Owner/Publisher in 2008. “The past 22 years have been a whirlwind, when I first started, I thought a 43101 was a zip code. What I know today about the industry is tantamount to the individuals who will willing to take the time to share their expertise and experiences. The key to good story telling is to have great characters. There is no shortage of colorful characters in our business.
Following will be a conversation between Richard Carleton, CEO of the Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE) and Terry Lynch, CEO of Power Nickel talking about: Canada’s Junior Mining Capital Markets Are Broken - Here’s How We Fix It.
Richard Carleton was appointed CEO of the Canadian Securities Exchange in July 2011. During his tenure, Richard and the CSE team have positioned the exchange to take a leading role in the provision of public capital to entrepreneurial companies; since 2014, the CSE has set a series of records for new listings, capital raised by issuers and trading turnover. An early advocate for the cannabis industry, the CSE is the global exchange leader in the sector. Recognized by the Financial Post Magazine as one of Canada’s “25 Cannabis Industry Power Players”, and a recipient of the American Trade Association for Cannabis and Hemp’s “Captain of Industry” Award in November 2018, Richard is a frequent speaker on early-stage company finance issues around the world. In addition to his responsibilities with the CSE, Richard is a director of two private companies: Tetra Trust Company, Canada’s first qualified custodian for cryptocurrency assets, and Blue Ocean ATS, LLC, a US broker dealer which operates an ATS providing after hours trading in US equities. Richard is also a member of two not-for-profit boards: the Empire Club of Canada, and the Private Capital Markets Association. He was also recently named to the Ontario Securities Commission’s “Market Structure Advisory Committee”. A member of the Law Society of Ontario since 1987, Richard is a graduate of the University of Ottawa (B.A. ’81) and the University of Toronto (LL.B. ’85). He has also completed the executive development programme at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.
Terry Lynch is currently CEO of Power Nickel Inc. A TSXV listed company with the advanced stage Nisk Nickel project near James Bay Quebec. He is also the Founder of Save Canadian Mining. Save Canadian Mining was launched in 2019 to unify Canada’s junior mining sector in requesting regulatory changes in Canada’s capital markets. The organization is supported by mining industry leaders like Eric Sprott (Sprott Mining) Sean Roosen (Osisko Mining) and Rod McEwan (McEwan Mining Inc) and over 25 junior mining companies and over 4.500 members. Mr. Lynch graduated in 1981 from St. Francis Xavier University with a joint honours degree in Economics and BBA.
1:30 PM II.6 New Technology: The Goal Is Increasing Productivity and Output. Does AI and Other Technology Play a Role: ExploreTech: Tyler Hall, Co-Founder and President (Ch); Prospector Portal: Emily King, CEO; IMDEX Limited: Dave Lawie, Chief Geoscientist and Chief Technologist, Mining; InSkill Inc.: David Talbot, Founder and Managing Director; Orbital Sidekick, Inc.: Peter Weaver, Vice President, Business Development; SB Quantum: David Roy Guay, CEO and Founder
Tyler Hall, PhD, Co-Founder & President of Exploretech, is a geologist and data scientist with eleven years of experience between research and the real world. Formerly working with Freeport McMoRan and Glencore, Tyler built upon industry experience in his PhD dissertation titled "Efficient Greenfield Mineral Exploration", where he made key contributions to AI and decision science with actionable applications to real-world problems. Tyler has a Bachelor's in Geological Sciences from Hartwick College and a PhD in Geological Sciences from Stanford University.
Emily King is a Mining Futurist whose focus is on finding and developing the natural resources our world will need for the future we all want. She believes that technology, innovation, and relationships are all equally important to bringing new capital into the mining industry and transforming the role of mining in our world. Emily is the founder and CEO of Prospector, an artificial intelligence and machine learning platform that makes mining and exploration data more accessible and transparent to encourage greater participation from investors and stakeholders of all kinds. Emily is also the CEO of Global Venture Consulting, a natural resource consulting firm specializing in bringing technology solutions to emerging and frontier markets. Emily is also the host of On The Rocks, a podcast discussing mining insights and innovation through a uniquely lighthearted lens with listeners on every continent (except Antarctica). Before becoming a mining entrepreneur, Emily led the US Pentagon’s mining exploration programs in Afghanistan and Iraq, and she began her career at IBM after graduating from Bowdoin College with a degree in Geology and Government & Legal Studies.
Dr. Dave Lawie has been the Chief Geoscientist for IMDEX since 2012 and Chief Technologist – Mining for IMDEX since 2015. He has a PhD in Geosciences and Analytics from the University of New England and held global positions in exploration geochemistry and research and development. In 2004 he cofounded a company that specialized in geochemistry and geo- metallurgical consulting services, cloud-based data management and the ioGAS desktop analytics software. As Chief Geoscientist for IMDEX and Chief Technologist for IMDEX Mining Solutions, Dr. Lawie’s focus is promoting the suite of existing and emerging IMDEX technologies to ensure that as exploration and resource companies find, define and mine new discoveries they do so with speed and precision. He has a strong interest in how resource companies will find and provide the metals needed to enable the renewable energy transformation that will be required to meet ambitious decarbonization targets.
Following graduation as a mining engineer, David Talbot worked in the mining industry in UK, South Africa and Australia before transitioning to finance, as a metals and mining analyst with Deutsche Securities, and subsequently as an upstream energy analyst with IHS. He then moved into global asset management as Director of Investments with McKinley Capital overseeing portfolios totaling more than $10B. Today David Talbot is a foundation investor and Business Development partner at InSkill. Talbot is leading the introduction of AI enabled upskilling in the energy and materials industries from power generation and distribution through to mineral processing.
Peter Weaver has led commercial development activities at satellite-based intelligence company Orbital Sidekick since 2017. Peter had previously wrangled for over a decade in Washington D.C. as an advocate, federal policy advisor and lobbyist for midstream fuel and chemical operators. Before that, he was employed for over twenty years in chemical manufacturing and product logistics, including terminal engineering and operations, sales and marketing and product development. Peter served in the merchant marine as a licensed deck officer.
David Roy-Guay, Co-Founder, CEO, co-founded SB Quantum following his graduate studies at Institut Quantique to transition the amazing diamond compass technology from the labs to the field. Nothing is impossible for David, driven by exploring new market opportunities for the compass and bouncing the craziest ideas off the team members. His recklessness is part of the journey, both in business and hobbies, sometimes causing bruises and good laughs.
1:30 PM II.6.A. What Role Can Recycling Have in Supplying Future Needs for Critical Minerals? SGS: David Anonychuk, Global Vice President, Metallurgy and Consulting; Glencore: Mary Schilling, Trader, Recycling - North America; Geomega Resources: Kiril Mugerman, President, CEO & Director, Exsolve: Rob Bergmann, Co-Founder, CEO and Director; BacTech Environmental Corp: Ross Orr, CEO; Hammond Group, Inc.: Terry Murphy, President and CEO
David Anonychuk is Global Vice President, Metallurgy and Consulting, at Société Générale de Surveillance SA (SGS). With over 25 years of international mining and metallurgical experience, he has worked in consulting, operational and marketing positions at major metals producers and mining consultancies, including Newmont, Noranda, and Glencore. Now David puts his Metallurgical Engineering and MBA degrees to work in expanding the global reach of services for SGS. He is always excited to connect with students and colleagues about the opportunities for technical professionals in the energy transition as we work together to build a more robust and sustainable battery supply chain.
Mary Schilling earned her bachelor’s degree in economics and molecular, cellular, and developmental biology from Yale University. Based in New York, she is a trader for Glencore, focused on procurement and trading of electronic waste, copper and precious metal bearing scrap, and lithium-ion battery materials, with the goal of improving circularity, increasing supply chain security, and assisting in Glencore’s climate goals.
Mr. Mugerman joined GéoMégA in September 2014 and was promoted as Director of Corporate Development in January 2015. In September 2015, Mr. Mugerman was nominated as President and CEO of GéoMégA Resources. He brings both technical and financial experience to GéoMégA. Prior to joining Industrial Alliance Securities Inc. (“IAS”) as a mining specialist, Mr. Mugerman worked on advanced stage exploration projects internationally with Gold Fields Ltd. in West Africa, central Asia and Latin America. At IAS, he served as a mining analyst in the industrial minerals sector focusing in the rare earth elements, graphite and potash sectors. He holds a bachelor’s degree with Honors (earth and planetary sciences) from McGill University.
Rob Bergmann is CEO, director, and cofounder of Relevant Gold. A passionate, professionally trained geologist, Rob has over 14 years of exploration and mineral development experience across North America on commodities including gold, silver, copper, nickel, uranium, industrial minerals, and rare earth elements. Rob cofounded Big Rock Exploration in 2010 and has led the company through 10x growth. Today Big Rock is a premier North American mineral exploration service provider with over 45 scientists working with some of the largest mining companies in the world. In addition to Relevant Gold, Rob is also president and cofounder of several privately held, innovative mineral resource companies, including Exsolve Recycling Technologies, F3 Gold, and Relevant Copper Corp. Rob has a B.Sc. in Geology from Winona State University and is a member of the Society of Economic Geologists (SEG), Society of Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration (SME), and several other mineral resource-related organizations.
Ross Orr, President & CEO, initially brought BacTech Mining Corporation to Canada from Australia in 1997 and was instrumental in the success of the Company’s IPO. He sat on the board as an outside Director until taking the role of President and CEO in 2004. Following completion of the Plan of Arrangement in December 2010 which split BacTech Mining into two new companies, REBgold Corporation and BacTech Environmental Corporation, Mr. Orr assumed the position of President & CEO of BacTech Environmental.
Terry Murphy, President & CEO, Hammond Group, Inc., a specialty chemical company that has won two out of the last five industry innovations awards for performance additives that have dramatically increased the functionality of Lead (Pb) batteries. Prior to managing the Hammond Group, Murphy was the Division Director of the Rocketdyne Advanced Programs organization, a subsidiary of the Boeing Company and later United Technologies. His group developed propulsion and power systems for space exploration and leveraged these high energy technologies into clean, renewable, and sustainable energy systems. Murphy left aerospace and founded SolarReserve, which combined concentrated solar power with molten salt energy storage. Murphy received a MS in Systems Management from USC and an Astronautical Engineering degree from Purdue, where he is the recipient of their Outstanding Engineer Award.
2:15 PM II.7. What is Critical in Mining Today: A Roundtable Discussion: ClearCreek Digital: Trevor Hall, President (Ch): Critical Minerals Institute: Jack Lifton, Executive Chairman; Greyfriars, LLC: Matthew Zolnowski, President and the Wilson Center, Global Fellow of; Energy Fuels Inc.: Mark Chalmers, President & CEO, Director; Appia Rare Earths & Uranium Corp.: Stephen Burega, President; Western Alaska Minerals Corp.: Kit Marrs, Co Founder and President
As the United States and its allies continue to publicly promote a renaissance of new energy infrastructures, one which will most definitely require new supply of metals, public debate continues to be centered on a key question: Who defines the term Sustainable Mining? Politics on campaign trails may appear to promote new metal supply from within the country, but policy decisions from one administration to the other continue to prove an opaque process of mine permitting. In this panel, we will discuss what is most important for industry to support a critical minerals policy in the United States and beyond.
Trevor Hall is the President of Clear Creek Digital. With over twelve years experience in video production, content marketing and social media management, along with 5 years of working with mining and exploration companies, he can apply a wide range of digital marketing strategies to optimize stakeholder engagement and lead generation. Trevor classifies himself as a millennial with a mining problem. He strives to utilize current communications trends for mining companies, mineral exploration companies and resource service providers to help build awareness of the industry and create more value for all of the industry. Over the years he was been fortunate to work with a great array of clients, including Khoemacau Copper, Rio Tinto, Newtrax, AddOns, Cupric Canyon Capital and Resolution Copper.
Jack Lifton graduated from Wayne State University in Detroit with a degree in chemistry and mathematics; he did graduate work in chemistry at the University of Michigan, and he studied law at both Loyola University of Los Angeles and the University of Detroit School of Law. Jack has more than 6 decades of experience in chemical engineering and processing. Amongst other accomplishments, Jack is recognized as an expert in the development and testing of separation technologies for a wide range of critical minerals. He is the editor in chief for critical materials for investor intel and the co-founder and Chairman of the Critical Minerals Institute. He is also an advisor to the U.S. Federal Government as well as numerous Governments globally. He has directly advised the U.S. Departments of Defense and Energy. He not only knows the lithium industry's trends but also knows the merits of existing and new processing technologies.
Matthew Zolnowski is a Global Fellow at the Wilson Center and President of Greyfriars LLC, a deal pathfinder and supply chain consulting firm. Until 2022, Mr. Zolnowski was a Highly Qualified Expert at the Department of Defense (DoD), serving as Special Advisor for Strategic Materials and Portfolio Manager for Defense Production Act Investments. In these roles, he developed of the critical minerals report under Executive Order 14017 and oversaw the DoD’s implementation efforts. Mr. Zolnowski also managed more than $1 billion in Defense Production Act funds, covering critical minerals and COVID-19 healthcare projects. Prior to his Government service, Mr. Zolnowski held management and analyst positions first at J.A. Green & Company, assisting mining companies and defense contractors, and then at Alion Science & Technology, supporting the DoD’s National Defense Stockpile and the U.S. Army.
Mark Chalmers is President and CEO of Energy Fuels, bringing a wealth of experience in mining and mineral processing to his position. Prior to his promotion to CEO in 2018, he served as President and Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Energy Fuels. Prior to Energy Fuels, Mr. Chalmers was the Executive General Manager of Production for Paladin Energy Ltd. where he successfully managed the Langer Heinrich (Namibia) and Kayelekera mines (Malawi) and achieved significant increases in production levels while reducing operating costs. Mr. Chalmers is an expert in in situ recovery (ISR) uranium production, having managed both the Beverley Uranium Mine owned by General Atomics (Australia) and the Highland mine owned by Cameco Corporation (USA). Additionally, he has consulted several key industry leaders in the uranium supply sector, including BHP, Rio Tinto, and Marubeni. Mr. Chalmers holds a Bachelor of Science in mining engineering from the University of Arizona, is a registered professional engineer and served as the Chair of the Australian Uranium Council for ten years. Holding dual citizenship in the U.S. and Australia, Mr. Chalmers resides in Lakewood, Colorado with his wife while his two adult daughters live in Australia.
Stephen Burega is President of Appia Rare Earths and Uranium Corp. Stephen brings 16 years of management and operations experience in the mining and natural resources sectors including corporate development and fundraising; joint venture due diligence, structure and negotiations; and management of public markets. His additional 8 years of corporate communications and media relations coupled with extensive issues management and government relations experience are important assets to be leveraged as Appia develops its international asset base
Kit Marrs is CEO, Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of Western Alaska Minerals Corp., since Nov. 2021 and of its predecessor Western Alaska Copper & Gold Co. (WAC&G) since 2008. After staking the Round Top and Honker Gold deposits in 2008, Kit and Joan Marrs incorporated WAC&G, an Alaska corporation in 2010 and have advanced exploration in the Illinois Creek District since then. Consolidated the Illinois Creek District in 2021 which now includes five mineral deposits and covers 73,000 acres. They successfully took Western Alaska Minerals public with a listing on the TSX.V ex-change in November 2021. Currently advancing the high grade Waterpump Creek Ag-Pb-Zn carbonate replacement deposit towards commercial development. An initial resource for Waterpump Creek was announced in February 2024.
2:15 PM II.7.A. Managing Project Risk Associated with Renewable Energy and Energy Storage: Burns & McDonnell: Dave McLane, PE, Mining Manager (Ch); Burns & McDonnell: Dan Kenny, Manager of Mining Construction; CohnReznick LLP: Steven Munson, CFA, ASA, Principal, Valuation Advisory Services; RPMGlobal: Luke Stephens, Vice President – ESG (Americas) FAusIMM(CP); SRK Consulting: Matthew Sullivan, Mineral Economist
Dave McLane is a registered professional engineer and the Mining Business Unit Manager at Burns & McDonnell, responsible for the direction and leadership of the Mining Department. He earned a Mining Engineering Degree from the University of Kentucky and an MBA with an emphasis in Finance from Arizona State University’s W.P. Carey School of Business. His 13 years of experience in the mining industry includes mine operations, engineering, green and brownfield projects, and construction in North America, South America, Africa, and Europe. Dave has recently led multiple projects evaluating solar and other renewable power generation options for mines in the Western US. Through these projects and working with Burns & McDonnell’s Solar EPC team, Dave has a firm understanding of the benefits and challenges of evaluating solar projects on the mine site.
Dan Kenny is Burns & McDonnell’s Manager of Mining Construction and provides oversight for the organization’s Design Build, EPC, and EPCM portfolio of projects. Dan holds a master's degree in civil engineering from Exeter University in the United Kingdom and has over 25 years of international heavy industrial EPC, Design-Build, EPCM, and self-perform construction project experience in the fields of mining, metals, minerals processing, manufacturing, chemicals, power, and highways. Dan’s extensive international mining project execution experience includes new mine infrastructure development, growth and sustaining capital projects, and facility program maintenance primarily working for Tier 1 and Tier 2 mining companies as a contractor partner in North America, South America, Australia, and Africa. Dan lives with his family in Denver, Colorado.
Steven Munson, CFA, ASA, is a Principal in CohnReznick’s Valuation Advisory Services practice based in the New York office. Steven Munson has 14 years of experience providing valuation and other advisory services to leading energy companies in the U.S. and globally. He leads the Energy, Infrastructure, and Machinery & Equipment Valuation practice for CohnReznick. Steven performs valuation and financial advisory engagements for expert witness testimony & litigation support, mergers and acquisitions, cost segregation, transaction structuring, debt and equity funding, buy/sell planning, financial reporting and purchase accounting, due diligence, tax structuring and reporting, charitable donations, and strategic planning. Steven is a CFA Charterholder and an Accredited Senior Appraiser with the American Society of Appraisers. Steven has experience providing valuations and consulting in the following areas: Power and Energy, and Machinery & Equipment. Rutgers University, School of Engineering: BSc in Mechanical Engineering, Minor in Economics. Steven is a CFA Charter holder, CFA Institute and member of Accredited Senior Appraisers, American Society of Appraisers and The New Jersey State Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors (EIT License).
Luke Stephens, FAusIMM (CP), Vice-President of ESG (Americas) at RPMGlobal, has over 20 years of experience in community relations and community development in Africa, Europe, the Americas, Central Asia, and South East Asia. He has a significant background in implementing best-practice social performance at mine sites, coupled with humanitarian response in crisis and conflict zones globally. This broad background gives Luke a unique experiential understanding and insight into the fundamental drivers of community–mine relations. His Independent Technical Expert experience includes leading IRMA and IFC/EP4 reviews, lithium battery recycling, base metal operations, battery minerals, the Arctic, and Indigenous Peoples and FPIC. A French speaker, his direct management experience includes social closure and sustainability, social license and engagement, establishing multi-stakeholder partnerships, managing in situ heritage programmes, local entrepreneur development, and artisanal and illegal mining.
Matthew Sullivan, Principal Mineral Economist at SRK Consulting, has twelve years of experience analyzing, optimizing, and valuing mining operations from internal and external positions. Matthew has extensive experience designing and leading diligence processes for mining assets ranging from early stage exploration through to operating mines. He has priced, negotiated, and closed mining deals across the globe in a wide variety of commodities via structures ranging from royalty and equity investment to term and convertible debt facilities. His experience as a mining sector buy-side professional funding the development and operation of mining assets provides a unique perspective on what it takes to study, build, operate, manage risk, and invest in the mining sector. His specializations include mining sector financial modeling and analysis; merger and acquisitions, due diligence planning and execution, strategic business planning and initiatives, risk management and assessments, operations research and optimizations, and process controls and improvements.
3:05 PM Networking Refreshment Break: Sponsored by: CohnReznick LLP; McCarl's Technical Services
3:30 PM II.8. New Emerging Technology Aiding the Business of Mining: Crow Industries, Inc.: Dr. James Crowell, Founder (Ch); Exterra Carbon Solutions: Olivier Dufresne, President and Co-Founder; Abcourt Mines: Dany Cenac Robert: Advisor Technology and Communications; Green Graphite Tech: Gillian Holcroft, Eng., M.Eng., President and Co-Founder
The projected demand of the Clean Energy Transition requires a greater capacity than the mining industry is capable of today. Innovations in technology, processes, and operations must be realized to reach our global Net Zero goals, creating lucrative opportunities for shrewd investors. This panel will discuss current and future innovations, including investment opportunities in mining and energy technologies. They will also discuss how mining investors can diversify their interests and increase their returns through deep tech investments today.
Dr. James Crowell is an explorer, engineer, and entrepreneur. He spent over a decade at NASA and academia developing and deploying robotic systems for geologic exploration in extreme environments all over the world, including Greenland, Antarctica, and volcanoes, as well as the Moon and Mars. He is the founder and CEO of Crow Industries, where they specialize in advanced robotic systems for autonomous mine mapping and operations. They are venture-backed by Outlander and Winklevoss Capital.
Olivier Dufresne is dedicated to enabling the economic integration of sustainability in global mining operations. His expertise in Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) and Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS) places him at the forefront of the fight against climate change. As CEO and Co-Founder of Exterra Carbon Solutions, he focuses on commercializing innovative solutions for net-zero mineral production, leveraging his background in mine development and investment banking. Under his leadership, Exterra is developing the world's largest surface carbon storage operation - the Hub I project - aimed at sequestering millions of tonnes of CO2 via carbon mineralization and producing low-carbon nickel and silica from serpentine mine tailings in Quebec. Exterra has established carbon accounting protocols allowing its technology to generate high-quality carbon credits, a novel pathway to finance the integration of decarbonization solutions in the mineral value chain. Connect with Olivier to explore sustainable mining and carbon removal technologies, and learn how Exterra Carbon Solutions can help achieve climate targets.
Dany Cenac Robert is a specialist in business growth via organic and strategic growth. His focus are brand value & brand equity, marketing, mergers and acquisitions, sustainable motivation of the employees, training, and the creation of sales forces. He is currently head of Promarket Network Inc., a company representing a group of international investors, that provides investors relations services to both public and privates companies. He also serves on the board of directors of several companies in various fields such as management, human resources and general marketing. Mr. Cenac Robert was previously director of Orex exploration V.OX and is currently working as the investor relations consultant for Signal Gold TSX: SGNL ( formerly Anaconda Mining TSX: ANX) and Abcourt mines TSXV:ABI. Mr. Cenac Robert obtained his B.B.A. in management and entrepreneurship from HEC Montreal. In the last 20 years, he personally created or helped to create sales networks for national and international companies in telecommunication, healthcare/wellness, retail trade, banking and Mining sectors. Reseau ProMarket Inc. has over 20 years of experience in the field of public relations and promotion for several companies in various fields.
Gillian Holcroft obtained her bachelors and masters in chemical engineering from McGill University. She has 35 years’ experience in Advanced Metallurgical and Chemical Processing, Environmental Services, Mining and Metallurgy, US Department of Defence as well as International Trade. She has been actively involved in technology commercialization, contract management, securing investments, business development and establishing strategic partnerships. She is the author and co-author of numerous technical papers and peered reviewed publications. In 2019 Gillian received the CIM MetSoc Environmental award which recognizes significant contributions by a MetSoc member in the field of environmental science and engineering and sustainable development in the metallurgical and materials industry. In recognition of her leadership, in 2021 Gillian was named a CIM Distinguished Lecturer. Gillian is the CEO and Co-Founder of Green Graphite Technologies.
3:30 PM II.8.A. Valuation Trends in the Gold Equity and Battery Metals Property Markets: PMV Research: Michael Spohn, Principal (Ch); Stuhini Exploration: David O'Brien, President and CEO; Soar Financial Partners: Kai Hoffmann, Founder and Managing Director; SLR Consulting: Grant Malensek, Technical Director - US Mining Advisory; CohnReznick: Steven Munson, CFA, ASA, Principal Valuation Advisory Services; Van Eck Associates: Adam Graf, Senior Mining Analyst
Gold has been one the best performing asset classes over the past generation, yet gold equities have generally lagged the metal though headline sector under-performance has been exaggerated by passive ETF benchmarks. We find significant dispersion of returns among holdings in market-weighted ETFs such as the GDX, and "junior" gold ETFs that are hardly representative of the advertised sub-sector—responsible for significant industry exploration dollars— they supposedly track. Record gold prices and slowing pace in upward mining AISC costs should buoy prospective cash flows and earnings helping the sector catch the metal. By contrast, battery metal prices have collapsed over past couple of years and are approaching average realizations before the energy transition boom. Nevertheless, the property market for lithium assets remains brisk as participants discount current weak fundamentals with an eye towards strong secular growth projections for battery demand.
Michael Spohn is an independent natural resources analyst with an oil & gas and gold sector focus. He began his career as a credit analyst including positions in the mining & metals team at Barclays Bank and natural resources group at NMB Postbank. Later he was Director of Research at oil & gas valuation boutique John S. Herold (now part of S&P Global), followed by co-founding an energy investment research service with major institutional clientele, and where he was widely quoted in financial media (Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, etc.) for his independent views. Michael was also a sell-side analyst with a New York based broker-dealer covering special situations mostly in the materials and industrial sectors, and a principal at a value-oriented hedge fund. He is a member of the the Society of Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration. Michael holds a BA in Geology from Colgate University and an MS in Mineral Economics from the University of Arizona.
Co-founder of Stuhini, a TSX-Venture listed exploration company advancing a shovel-ready molybdenum deposit in British Columbia, Dave O’Brien is an experienced private-sector businessman who has run a successful best-in class business since 1990. At the same time, he became immersed in the venture capital space, specializing in the mineral exploration sector where he has provided guidance and helped finance numerous companies. Mr. O’Brien is an outspoken shareholders’ rights advocate and has helped form dissident groups, file court petitions as well as deal with proxy advisory firms – all on a volunteer basis. He is also an outspoken critic of the way in which all too many companies operate in the junior mining space, and believes in educating investors to better understand the sector so as to improve their chances of success. Mr. O’Brien holds a B.Sc. Degree from the University of British Columbia in Mathematics specializing in statistics.
Kai Hoffmann, CEO of SOAR Financial, is a seasoned mining investor and entrepreneur. He has been active in the junior mining sector for 15 years and has consulted and worked with dozens of successful exploration companies. He is the CEO of the Soar Financial Group, which includes the successful Deutsche Goldmesse and Soar Financial Partners, a leading capital market advisory firm.
Grant A. Malensek is a Managing Principal Mining Engineer with 25 years’ experience in the mining industry. Prior to joining RPA, now with SLR, Mr. Malensek was a Mineral Project Evaluation Consultant for a large engineering firm where he project managed fatal flaw, due diligence and Independent Engineer reviews for equity and project financings. He also prepared technical-economic models, project finance models, mineral property and mineral project valuations, and valuations for the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). Grant’s consulting experience includes Feasibility and Prefeasibility Studies, Preliminary Economic Assessments, capital cost estimates and reviews, mine strategy, and options analysis and project evaluations in connection with mergers and acquisitions.
Steven Munson, CFA, ASA, is a Principal in CohnReznick’s Valuation Advisory Services practice based in the New York office. Steven Munson has 14 years of experience providing valuation and other advisory services to leading energy companies in the U.S. and globally. He leads the Energy, Infrastructure, and Machinery & Equipment Valuation practice for CohnReznick. Steven performs valuation and financial advisory engagements for expert witness testimony & litigation support, mergers and acquisitions, cost segregation, transaction structuring, debt and equity funding, buy/sell planning, financial reporting and purchase accounting, due diligence, tax structuring and reporting, charitable donations, and strategic planning. Steven is a CFA Charterholder and an Accredited Senior Appraiser with the American Society of Appraisers. Steven has experience providing valuations and consulting in the following areas: Power and Energy, and Machinery & Equipment. Rutgers University, School of Engineering: BSc in Mechanical Engineering, Minor in Economics. Steven is a CFA Charter holder, CFA Institute and member of Accredited Senior Appraisers, American Society of Appraisers and The New Jersey State Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors (EIT License).
Adam Graf, CFA is a Senior Analyst on VanEck’s active Gold Strategy and Natural Resources Strategy. He joined VanEck in 2022 after serving as a Senior Mining Analyst at Amvest Capital. Previously, Adam was a Senior Mining Analyst and Managing Director at B. Riley FBR, Inc., and worked at McKinsey & Co. as a mining and commodities expert. He also covered metal and mining equities for firms, including Balyasny Asset Management, Federated Global Advisors, and Cowen & Co. and started his career at Bear Stearns & Co after working as a resource and exploration geologist for major global copper producers. Mr. Graf earned a B.S. in Geology and Oceanography from the University of Michigan and an M.S. in Ore Deposit Geology, and an MBA in Finance from the University of Arizona.
4:15 PM II.9. The Importance Of Communications in Mining: Global External: Adam Hawkins, President (Ch); Pushtree Partners: Alan Oshiki, President (Ch); Social Suite: Seth Forman, President; Vorticom, Inc.: Nancy Thompson, Founder; The Prospector News: Michael Fox, Publisher
Adam Hawkins is an expert on external affairs in the mining industry. His decades of experience span every phase of the mining process, from early-stage exploration and entitling projects to permitting new facilities, expanding operations, and closures. He has worked on projects on every continent except Antarctica. Adam's firm, Global External, helps mining clients understand and adapt to social, political, legislative, regulatory, and reputational risk factors.
Alan Oshiki is a mining engineer with over four decades of experience in engineering, operations and strategic business communications. He is the Treasurer and former Chairman of the New York Section of the SME and is co-Chair of the SME's Current Trends in Mining Finance conference. Alan is Managing Partner of Pushtree Associates LLC and helps management teams and boards of directors engage key stakeholders for mergers and acquisitions, crises, litigation, IPOs and restructuring, as well as practical and effective approaches to ongoing business and capital markets communications.
Seth is an accomplished leader and influential figure in the field of sustainability and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices with a wealth of experience in the technology industry. He currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer at Socialsuite, a SaaS sustainability and impact technology company specializing in materiality software offering simple and cost effective solutions to help public and private companies comply with ESG driven regulations and requirements. Backed by Salesforce Ventures and Pixiu Investments, Socialsuite is headquartered out of Austin, Texas.
Nancy Thompson, Founder, Vorticom, Inc., prior to establishing, Vorticom, Inc., an award-winning public relations and social media consultancy in New York City in 2003, Nancy Thompson led technology practices at three top ten global public relations agencies: Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide, Grey Advertising's GCI Group, and Publicis. Nancy has had hundreds of articles published, both under her name as a columnist for Computer Life magazine and contributor to Longevity and as a ghostwriter for corporate clients in the mining, alternative energy and biopharma and consumer healthcare sectors. She is the author and co-author of four non-fiction computer books published in 1993-95 by Brady Computer Books/Macmillan Publishing, Ziff Davis Press and General Media. Her first professional job was as violist for the Filarmonica de las Americas in Mexico City at the age of 17 years old.
Michael Fox, publisher of the Prospector News is a media relations/ communications professional with 30 years of media experience. Michael’s career began in News Talk Radio in Calgary Alberta Canada. After leaving the radio business Michael transitioned his professional life to a media consultant. In 2002 he started consulting to the Prospector News and eventually becoming its Owner/Publisher in 2008. “The past 22 years have been a whirlwind, when I first started, I thought a 43101 was a zip code. What I know today about the industry is tantamount to the individuals who will willing to take the time to share their expertise and experiences. The key to good story telling is to have great characters. There is no shortage of colorful characters in our business.
4:15 PM II.9.A The Importance of University-Research: Quebec Ministry of Natural Resources and Forests (MRNF): Jocelyn Douhéret, Director of Mining Policies; Virginia Tech: Aaron Noble PE, PhD, Professor and Department Head, Mining and Minerals Engineering; Laval University: Jocelyn Bouchard, Ing., PhD, Full Professor, Department of Chemical Engineering; NioBay Metals: Jean Sébastien David, CEO; Advanced Energy Minerals (AEM): Mick Adams, President & CEO
Critical minerals processing, zero waste mines, decarbonation are more than ever common topics in a world in transition where we are going form a carbon economy base to an electron economy base requiring more minerals, new minerals, exploited and processed in a more sustainable way. That new way requires knowledge development and innovation but also a highly skilled workforce. Laval University in Québec , Virginia Tech are among the leaders in those fields. AEM and NioBay Metals are constantly innovating to stand out in emerging niche markets for critical minerals. What role could play academic research centers and universities to help the mining and processing sector solve its technical challenges and reach, at the same time, its high ESG standards goals?
Jocelyn Douhéret, Director, Mining Policies, Ministry of Natural Resources and Forests, joined the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forests as Director of Mining Policies Office in February 2023. Previously, he worked more than 6 years as Director of the Marketing Office at Société du Plan Nord. Mr Douhéret also held different positions during 10 years in the mining sector as General Manager of an environmental services company, then as Director and Vice President of Business Development for a company offering services and equipment. From 1998 to 2006, he worked for Québec companies on industrial development projects in Eastern Europe, Latin America as well as in Canada, particularly in the fields of natural resources, energy, and environment. Mr. Douhéret began his career in 1996 as a scientific attaché at the French Embassy in Slovakia. He is a graduate of ENESAD (Dijon, France, 1994) and holds a master’s degree in science from Université Laval (Québec, Canada,1996).
Aaron Noble is the Department Head of Mining and Minerals Engineering at Virginia Tech and a registered Professional Engineer in the Commonwealth of Virginia. He has 15 years of research and academic experience, focused on mineral processing, mine economic analysis, and mine environmental management. He is a three time alum of Virginia Tech having received his BS, MS, and PhD all from the mining engineering program.
Jocelyn Bouchard received a B.Eng. (materials and metallurgical engineering, 2001), M.Sc. (metallurgical engineering, 2004) and Ph.D. degrees (electrical engineering, 2007) from Université Laval. He worked at Niobec Mine, Xstrata Process Support and GENIVAR before accepting an academic position at his alma mater in 2012. He held the Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd and ArcelorMittal Mines chair in mineral processing education from 2012 to 2017. The Canadian Mineral Processors granted him the Bill Moore Special Achievement Award in 2014 in recognition of outstanding results achieved throughout the early part of his career in mineral processing. He was Visiting Scholar at the department of Automatic Control and Systems Engineering of the University of Sheffield (UK) in 2019-2020. Prof. Bouchard chaired the 19th IFAC Symposium on Control, Optimization and Automation in Mining, Mineral and Metal Processing (Montreal, 2022). He is currently the director of Centre E4m, Université Laval research center on geology and mineral resource engineering.
Jean-Sébastien David is President of NioBay Metals since October 2021. He was Chief Operating Officer at Arianne Phosphate Inc, a company working on the development of the Lac à Paul mining project in the Saguenay region. Before joining Arianne Phosphate Inc., Mr. David was Vice President Sustainable Development of Osisko Mining Corporation (2007-2012) where he was instrumental in obtaining the authorizations for the construction and the development of the Canadian Malartic Project. He has held various positions in the mining, forestry and environmental operations. After beginining his career with Nutrinor in 1993, he has worked for IAMGOLD, Cambior and Louisiana-Pacific. Mr. David earned a BA in Geology and a Masters in Project Management from the Université du Québec à Chicoutimi.
Mick Adams is President and Chief Executive Officer of Advanced Energy Minerals. He is a professionally qualified engineer with over 40 years of business experience, as both a sponsor and an advisor, in the development and financing of major projects and new business initiatives, predominantly in the infrastructure and manufacturing sectors. Mick holds a master’s degree in engineering from Cambridge University in the United Kingdom and an MBA from INSEAD in France. Much of his career has been spent in Asia and he is a past Chairman of the Shanghai Chapter of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China. He is now based in Montreal.
5:30 PM Wednesday May 22, 2024 Evening Reception Registration
Sponsored by: Big Rock Exploration; Blake Cassels & Graydon LLP; CohnReznick LLP; McCarl's Technical Services; McEwen Copper; McEwen Mining; Relevant Gold; SRK Consulting
Guest speakers at the Wednesday, May 22 evening reception will include:
6:15 to 6:35 PM: Mr. George Bee, President and CEO of US Gold Corporation will speak about: Mineral Resource Development – Key Considerations
All mineral resources are not created equal! Much depends on a symbiotic collective of circumstances which factor in the location of the resource, its geography and jurisdiction. In weighing the prospects of developing a mineral deposit, the following presentation highlights a number of key factors to be taken into consideration. As a contextual comparison, US Gold’s CK Gold Project in southeast Wyoming is postulated against a number of actual development cases drawing largely from the experiences of the presenter.
Mr. George Bee has been at the forefront of operating and advancing world-class gold mining projects in eight countries on three continents for both major and junior mining companies, including Anglo American, Rio Tinto, Barrick Gold and Kinross Gold. In 2018, he concluded a third term with Barrick Gold as Senior VP Frontera District in Chile and Argentina capping a 16-year history with Barrick Gold in positions that included Mine Manager at the Goldstrike Mine in Nevada during early development and operations, Operations Manager at the Pierina Mine from construction to operations, and General Manager of the Veladero Mine from advanced exploration through permitting, feasibility and into production. As a mining executive, George Bee has held senior leadership and board positions with such companies as Aurelian Resources where he spearheaded early development concepts for Fruta del Norte; Kinross Gold advancing projects in El Salvador and Nevada; Andina Minerals and its 6 million-ounce Volcan Gold Project in Chile; and Jaguar Mining with operating mines in Brazil.
Also joining us Wednesday, May 22 evening during the reception will be Dr. Peter Megaw, when he and Lauren Megaw of Reyna Silver, in a fireside chat will discuss:
Size Matters...But Grade Matters More. Join us for the Megaws' conversation that will reflect on their experience, while focusing on a simple, but very powerful, fun and easy means to generate a powerful metric that can be applied to any metal under any mining conditions. In brief, the Megaws will speak about Archie's Rule (named for Archie Bell, former VPEX of Noranda Mining Company) a simple metric that can be applied quickly and easily to filter exploration and production opportunities for any mineral commodity under either open pit or underground mining scenarios. Archie's Rule states that, for a project to be economically important, you must be able to recover at least twice your all in operating costs. This doubling covers amortization, depletion, depreciation, payback, closure costs, commodity price variations and a minimum 15% after-tax IRR. Plotting the solution to this on a graph of grade (y axis) vs metal price (x axis) yields a nearly hyperbolic curve that flattens as grade diminishes-the flatter the curve gets the tighter the economics are. Profitable projects plot above the curve, and position and distance from the curve give an immediate sense of how profitable a project is/should be and how vulnerable it is to cost or metal price variations. Curves can readily be generated for any cost and commodity price and the field is easily contoured for variations of both. For any given project you can quickly determine what grade is needed to be profitable under what metal price, or conversely what operating costs must be for it to be profitable....in either case whether Archie smiles on the project or not. Spoiler Alert....Archie frowns much more often than he smiles!
Dr. Peter K.M. Megaw Consulting Exploration Geologist President of IMDEX/Cascabel and co-founder of MAG Silver. His Ph.D. work at the University of Arizona was an exploration-focused geological/geochemical study of the Santa Eulalia Ag-Pb-Zn District, Chihuahua and Carbonate Replacement Deposits (CRDs) of Mexico in general. He has published extensively on CRDs and Epithermal Vein deposits and is a frequent speaker at international academic and technical symposia. His primary exploration foci are CRDs and Epithermal Vein Deposits, which he has worked on throughout the Cordillera of North and South America, Ireland and Turkey. Peter was awarded the Society of Mining Engineers 2012 Robert M. Dreyer Award for excellence in Applied Economic Geology and the PDAC 2017 Thayer Lindsley Award for Outstanding Exploration Success for the significant discoveries made by his team at Juanicipio-Fresnillo, Zacatecas; Platosa, Durango; and Cinco de Mayo-Pozo Seco, Chihuahua.
8:30 PM Wednesday May 22 Conclusion of Day Two of CTMF 2024 Conference
