Daily Agenda with Panels & Speakers

Tuesday, May 19, 2026:

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

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

8:30 AM Welcome by New York SME: Conference Chairs:  Alan Oshiki, Chairman, NY SME; Cynthia Urda Kassis, Partner, Global Co-Head of Energy, Natural Resources and Infrastructure and Mining Sector Lead, A&O Shearman, Melissa Russell, CEO and Executive Director, SME and Mary Korpi, President, 2026 Board Chair, SME

8:40 AM Opening Remarks: "Current State of the Mining Finance Industry" from Don Marleau, Sector Lead, Corporate Credit - Metals and Capital Goods, S&P Global Ratings, 

9:10 AM "Overcoming Mine Finance Challenges in 2026" moderated by Grant Malensek, Technical Director - US Mining Advisory, SLR Consulting, and joined by Alvero Belevan, Director - Metals, Mining & Industries, Societe Generale; Evan Musolino, Senior Vice President, Critical Infrastructure, Venn Strategies; Remco Meeuwis, Director - Energy, Infrastructure & Mining, ING Capital LLC; Jay Hemenway, Trader, Ocean Partners; Jon Lamb, Managing Partner, Orion Resource Partners

10:00 AM Andrew Timbers, Goldman Sachs will be interviewed by Grace Asenov, Fastmarkets

10:30 AM "A Copper Renaissance in the US Southwest" moderated by David Rhodes, Managing Director, Endeavour Financial; Jordan Neeser, Chief Financial Officer, Ivanhoe Electric; Alvaro Belevan, Director - Metals, Mining & Industries, Societe General; Bela Onken, Director, Business Development North America, KfW IPEX-Bank

Special Guest: Vicky Peacey, President and General Manager, Resolution Copper

11:15 AM Refreshments: Sponsored by: CohnReznick LLP; Costmine Intelligence

11:30 AM "Partnerships with Australia" moderated by Matt Johnson, Co-Head of Mining & Metals, A&O Shearman; Dan Smart, Country Lead, US and Canada, Export Finance Australia; Jacob LeVine, Associate Director, Bondi Partners

11:30 AM "Regulation to Return: Aligning Permitting Strategy with Capital Allocation Decisions" moderated by Dr. Andrew Harley, Mining Director, SWCA Environmental Consultants; Ross Pilotte, National Policy Director, SWCA Environmental Consultants; Gabriel Sweet, Vice President Operations, Big Rock Exploration; Mark Compton, Executive Director, AEMA

12:15 AM "An Update on Mergers and Acquisitions in the Mining Industry" moderated by Steven McKoen, Partner, Blakes; Todd Sibilla, Commodity Product Specialist, Bloomberg; George Karafotias, Partner, A&O Shearman; John Wilkin, Partner, Blakes; Evan Straight, Partner, Blakes

1:00 PM Networking Lunch Sponsored by: The Government of Quebec and RESPEC Company, LLC

1:30 PM "Funding Instruments of the Future" moderated by Cynthia Urda Kassis, Partner, Global Co-Head of Energy, Natural Resources and Infrastructure and Mining Sector Lead, A&O Shearman; Maryse Belanger, Chair of Board & Interim CEO, Torngat; Sophie Bergeron, Managing Director, Iron & Titanium and Diamonds, Rio Tinto

2:00 PM "Appian/IFC Critical Minerals Fund: A New Funding Source for Emerging Market Mining Projects" moderated by Cynthia Urda Kassis, Global Co-Head of Energy, Natural Resources and Infrastructure and Mining Sector Co-Lead, A&O Shearman; Namratha Thapar, Global Director, Metals & Minerals, World Bank Group; Neil Peirera, Principal Investment Officer, IFC; Timothy Mister, Head of Credit and Royalties, Appian Capital Advisory

2:00 PM "Developments in the Lithium Market" moderated by Andrew Frame, Managing Director, Strategic Advisory, Evercore; David Park, CEO, Standard Lithium; Keith Phillips, Executive Chairman, Q2 Metals; Roshan Pujari, Founder & Executive Chairman, Stardust Power; Lorin Crenshaw, CFO, Avalon Advanced Materials, Inc.

2:45 PM "Reducing Costs and Risks in Mining Projects Through Engineering and Software" Mike Sinden, Managing Director, Costmine Intelligence; Jason Cox, Technical Director, Canadian Mining Advisory, SLR Consulting; Reinis Sipols, Director, Behre Dohlbear, Jay Gillon, Sales Manager - North America, Deswik

2:45 PM "Young Professionals in the Mining and Mining Finance Industries: Continuing to Develop the Talent Pipeline" moderated by Lindsey Schultz, CEO, MRC Recruiting; Curtis Johnson, Founder, CEO & President, Scout Discoveries; Tyler Hall, Co-Founder & President, ExploreTech

3:30 PM "From Data to Dollars: How Advanced Analytics & AI Are Reshaping Mine Development Funding Decisions" moderated by Robert Michel, Principal, Robert Michel Enterprises; Aaron McMahon, Founder, Tacit Vision, LLC; Tyler Hall, Co-Founder & President, ExploreTech; Robert O'Leary, Partner, Projects, Energy, Natural Resources & Infrastructure, A&O Shearman

4:10 PM Refreshments: Sponsored by: CohnReznick LLP; Costmine Intelligence

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

5:15 PM "Geopolitics and Spheres of Influence: Affects in the Current and Future State of the Mining Industry" with Keith Spence, CEO & Partner, Global Mining Capital, Greg McNab, Partner, Mining and Energy, Dentons, and Phillipe Baudry, Global Practice Director, Mining Advisory, SLR Consulting

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

8:00 PM Conclusion

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

Revisit this site often, content is subject to change

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

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

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

9:30 AM "Critical Minerals: Strategy and Policy" Abigail Hunter, Executive Director, SAFE's Center for Critical Minerals Strategy; Olga Puntus, Executive Director, JPMorgan; Erasto Almedia, MINVEST Manager, SAFE's Center for Critical Minerals Strategy; Danielle Woodring, Staff Geologist - Geoscience Policy Lead, Burns & McDonnell

10:30 AM "Critical Minerals: Financings and Market Dynamics" David S. Abraham, Author of "The Elements of Power", and Senior Fellow, Institute for the Analysis of Global Security (IAGS) overseeing the Technology, Rare and Electronic Materials Center (TREM); Matthew Rosales, Hartree Partners

11:15 AM "Advancements in Technology for Exploration and Operations" Tyler Hall, Co-Founder & President, ExploreTech; Ted Feldman, Founder & CEO, Durin; Dr. Dave Lawie, Chief Geoscientist & Chief Technologist, IMDEX

12:00 PM "Nouveau Monde and Troilus" moderated by Laura Konkel, Counsel, AkinGump; Charles Olivier Tarte, COO, Nouveau Monde Graphite; Justin Reid, President & CEO, Director, Troilus Mining

1:00 PM Networking Lunch Sponsored by: The Government of Quebec and RESPEC Company, LLC

1:30 PM Tomasz Nadrowski, Portfolio Manager, Amvest Capital, Author of "Mineral War: China's Quest for Weapons of Mineral Destruction" will give a Fireside Chat with Annemarie Brissenden of Refined Substance on the global landscape for securing mineral supply chains and their strategic importance. 

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

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

1:30 PM "LMEs - Identifying Opportunities in the Face of Financial Distress" Kyle Arendsen, Senior Associate, Squire Patton Boggs; Joe Richman, Managing Director, FTI Consulting; Alice Nofzinger, Counsel, WilmerHale; David Hong, Partner, Paul Hastings; Fred Sosnick, Global Co-Head Restructuring; Executive Committee Member, A&O Shearman

2:30 PM "Education and Research: A Cross-Border Perspective" Francis Fournier, President and CEO, COREM; Dr. Jocelyn Bouchard, Director of E4M, Université Laval; Dr. Mustafa Kumral, McGill University; Dr. Pengbo Chu, Columbia University; Dr. Aaron Nobel, Virginia Tech

3:30 PM "De-Risking the Future: Challenges in Advancing Rare Earth & Minor Metals Projects" moderated by David Anonychuck, Global Vice President, Metallurgy and Consulting, SGS; Neils Verbaan, Senior Director, Technical Services, SGS; Jean-Marc Lulin, President and CEO, Azimut Exploration; Christopher Eager, CEO, Resouro Strategic Metals

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

4:15 PM "Canadian Vanadium and US Battery Technology: Use in the US military, industrial and mining equipment" moderated by Lisa Koch, Partner, A&O Shearman; Sean Cleary, CEO and President, Strategic Resources; GJ de la O', Co-Founder & CEO, Tyfast

5:10 PM "Tales from the Trenches" Briana Clark, Principal, Holbrook & Associates; George Bee, President & CEO, US Gold; Jean-Félix Lepage, President & CEO, Sirios Resources; Ken Darlington, VP Eastern North America, Sedgman

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

Conference Host: A&O Shearman

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

 

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

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

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

Conference Registration is US$600 per delegate.

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

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

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

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