Alex
At Best Startup Canada we track over 100,000 Canadian startups and over 500,000 people who hold key positions in these companies. We use this directory of startups to highlight top employees, founders and board members we think deserve more appreciation than they are currently getting.
This list showcases the top British Columbia based President operating in the Precious Metals space. If you think a President is missing from this list, feel free to contact our editor on editor@beststartup.ca.
The individuals on this list have been included because of exceptional performance in one of the following categories:
- Innovation – Operating as a key part in an extremely innovative business or startup.
- Growth – Operating as a key figure in the growth and upscale of a market leading business or startup.
- Management – Showing exceptional management skills.
- Societal impact – Putting their business on the map for their positive societal or environmental impact.
Our Data – We source our data from OSINT (open source intelligence) and public directories such as Crunchbase, SemRush and many more. The data from these sources should be treated with a degree of caution and verified yourself.
R.Michael Jones
President and CEO, Director of Platinum Group Metals
R. Michael Jones brings over 25 years of experience as a professional geological engineer and has been involved with the raising of over $1 billion for exploration, mining development and production. In addition to co-founding Platinum Group Metals Ltd., Mr. Jones was a founder of Glimmer Resources Inc. and was responsible for the discovery of the Glimmer Gold mine, now Blackfox, in Ontario. During a six-year tenure as President of Cathedral Gold Corp., Mr. Jones ran a producing gold mining company and was involved in the review of a feasibility study and financing for the $1 billion Diavik Mine project during two years as Vice President with Aber Resources. Mr. Jones was a co-founder and director of West Timmins Mining that was purchased by producing company Lake Shore Gold Corp. in 2009 and was a co-founder and former director until 2012 of MAG Silver Corp. Mr. Jones is a Director, President and Chief Executive Officer of West Kirkland Mining Inc. and a director of Nextraction Energy Corp. Mr. Jones served on the Securities Policy Advisory Committee of the British Columbia Securities Commission for six years and holds a B.A.Sc. in geological engineering from the University of Toronto.
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About Nextraction, Platinum Group Metals: Platinum Group Metals is focused on the development of platinum mining operations with targeted production in the near term.
Jorge Ganoza
Co-Founder, President & CEO of Fortuna Silver Mines
Jorge A. Ganoza is a geological engineer with over 20 years of experience in mineral exploration, mining and business development throughout Latin America. He is a graduate from the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology. Jorge is a fourth generation miner from a Peruvian family that has owned and operated underground gold, silver and polymetallic mines in Peru and Panama. Before co-founding Fortuna back in 2004 he was involved in business development at senior levels for several private and public Canadian junior mining companies working in Central and South America. Jorge also serves as Chairman of the Board of Atico Mining Corporation.
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About Fortuna Silver Mines: Fortuna Silver Mines is positioned for sustainable growth with two low-cost underground operating silver mines
Lindsay A Hall
Chief Financial Officer & Senior Vice President of Hecla Mining Company
Lindsay A. Hall was appointed Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer effective July 18, 2016. Prior to his appointment, Mr. Hall was Chief Financial Officer for Goldcorp Inc. from April 2006 to March 2016 and also Executive Vice President from March 2006 to March 2016. Mr. Hall served as Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President for Placer Dome from November 2005 to February 2016. He served as Chief Financial Officer and Group Vice President at Duke Energy Corporation from January 2004 to October 2005 and also served as Vice President and Treasurer from June 2015 to October 2006. He was also Group Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Duke Energy Americas, of Duke Energy Corporation, from January 2005 to October 2005. Prior to that, from 1985 to December 2013, Mr. Hall held various positions with Duke Energy with companies that later became part of Canada’s Westcoast Energy.
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About Hecla Mining Company: Hecla Mining Company is the largest primary silver producer.
Peter Ball
President & COO of Noram Lithium
Mr. Ball brings close to 25 years of extensive experience and leadership as a mining professional. He has held various senior management roles with international precious metals mining companies in corporate finance, mine engineering, business development, corporate communications, public relations and marketing throughout North and South America, Asia, and Europe. Mr. Ball began his career in the late 1980s working as a mining engineer, a technical officer, and in various management and senior executive roles for numerous companies including Hudson Bay Mining & Smelting, Echo Bay Mines Ltd., Eldorado Gold Corp., Adriana Resources Inc., Century Mining Corp., and Argentex Mining Corp. Mr. Ball has also worked as a securities broker with RBC Dominion Securities and is a graduate of the Haileybury School of Mines and of Georgian Business College.
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About Noram Lithium, NV Gold: Noram Lithium is a lithium exploration stage company that develops lithium deposits.
Peeyush Varshney
CEO, Chairman & President of Canada Zinc Metals
Peeyush Varshney is principal and director of Varshney Capital Corp., a public venture capital firm. He is currently a director or officer of several public companies listed on the TSX Venture Exchange and the TSX including Mountain Province Diamonds Inc. (MPVD). Mountain Province Diamonds is a partner in the largest new diamond mine under development globally. The project has the potential to become one of Canada’s major high grade and long-life diamond mines. Mr. Varshney obtained a Bachelor of Commerce degree (1989) and a Bachelor of Laws degree (1993) from the University of British Columbia.
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About Canada Zinc Metals: Canada Zinc Metals is a mineral exploration company focused on unlocking the potential of a future long life mining.
Amir Adnani
President, Founder, Director & CEO of Uranium Energy
Mr. Adnani is a founder of Uranium Energy Corp and has been the President, Chief Executive Officer, and a director of the Company since January 2005. He serves as a spokesman for the uranium industry before all international media, and is frequently invited to speak before major industry gatherings including the Milken Institute Global Conference and the World Nuclear Fuel Conference. He is recognized by Casey Research, a leading investment advisory publisher, as a top-ten leading mining industry entrepreneur and executive. Mr. Adnani is an entrepreneur with a background in business development and marketing. In 2004, he founded Blender Media Inc. where he served as the President and a director until 2006. Blender Media is a strategic communications firm for public companies, and in 2005, was named one of the fastest growing companies in Canada by Profit magazine. He is also a founder and the Chairman of Brazil Resources Inc., a gold exploration company listed on the TSX-Venture Exchange with projects in the gold districts of Brazil. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of British Columbia, and serves on the university’s Alumni Advisory Board.
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About Goldmining Inc, Uranium Energy, Uranium Royalty: Uranium Energy specializes in acquiring exploration databases and leveraging those databases to generate acquisition.
Simon Ingram
President & CEO of Reservoir Minerals
Dr. Ingram currently serves as President, Chief Executive Officer and Director of Reservoir Minerals. Dr. Ingram was a founding director of Reservoir Capital (TSXV: REO) and has 20 years international experience in the exploration and mining industry. He is the founder and principal of a resource services firm, through which he has provided technical and managerial expertise to exploration and mining companies worldwide, throughout the project cycle from early-stage exploration projects to feasibility studies, mine start up and production. Projects that Dr. Ingram has been a consultant and advisor to include; Petropavlovsk Plc (LSE: POG), a London-listed mining and exploration company with its principal assets located in Russia, Anglo American Zambia copper mine production and expansion, Rio Tinto Technical Services for resource definition to mine start up in the Middle East and the resource expansion, mining start up and subsequent sale of a polymetallic mine in Armenia for a private Swiss company. Dr Ingram holds a B.Sc. (Hon) in Exploration and Mining Geology and Ph.D in Mineral Resource Evaluation from Cardiff University.
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About Reservoir Minerals: Reservoir Minerals is a mineral exploration company.
Tim Fletcher
Vice President of Reservoir Minerals
Tim has over 30 years of experience in international exploration with emphasis on exploration for porphyry and epithermal copper-gold deposits. Tim recently focused on the Tethyan Belt for Barrick Gold, and prior to that worked in South America with Magma Copper, Homestake Mining and Mount Isa Mines. Tim joined Reservoir in 2013 as a consultant. Tim has a Ph.D from Aberdeen University and is a Chartered Engineer through the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining.
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About Reservoir Minerals: Reservoir Minerals is a mineral exploration company.
Chris MacIntyre
Vice President of Reservoir Minerals
Mr. MacIntyre currently serves as Vice President Corporate Development. Mr. MacIntyre also presently serves as Vice-President of Corporate Development of Lara Exploration Ltd. (TSXV: LRA), whereby Mr. MacIntyre’s primary responsibilities include corporate and project finance, strategic development, and corporate communications. His promotion from Manager of Corporate Development to Vice-President of Reservoir Capital and Lara Exploration Ltd. followed his role of Manager, Corporate Development with Universal Power Corp. (TSXV:UNX) from October 2008 until March 2010. Mr. MacIntyre holds an Honours Bachelor of Commerce from the Queen’s School of Business at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario.
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About Reservoir Minerals: Reservoir Minerals is a mineral exploration company.
Timothy C. Watson
Senior Vice President, Project Development of Teck
Tim Watson was appointed Senior Vice President, Project Development of Teck in August 2007. Prior to joining Teck, Mr. Watson served as the Chief Operating Officer, Power and Process Division with AMEC. He worked with the company in various other capacities during his tenure from 1999 to 2007. His career in the engineering and construction side of the mining business spans over 30 years. Mr. Watson holds a Bachelor of Applied Science in Chemical Engineering from the University of British Columbia. He is currently a member of the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of BC.
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About Teck: Teck is a diversified resource company with business units focused on copper, steelmaking coal, zinc and energy.
Dale E. Andres
Senior Vice President of Teck
Dale Andres was appointed Senior Vice President, Copper in June 2013. Prior to his current role, he was Vice President, Copper Strategy and North American Operations. Mr. Andres has over 22 years of progressive operating, project and management experience in base metal and gold mines in both North and South America, and Australia. He joined Teck in August 1995 and has held a number of positions in the company, including Vice President, International Mining and General Manager, Underground Operations. Mr. Andres holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering and a Graduate Diploma in Business Administration from Simon Fraser University. He is currently a member of the Association of Professional Engineers & Geoscientists of B.C. and the Canadian Institute of Mining.
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About Teck: Teck is a diversified resource company with business units focused on copper, steelmaking coal, zinc and energy.
Marcia M. Smith
Senior Vice President, Sustainability and External Affairs of Teck
Marcia Smith was appointed Senior Vice President, Sustainability and External Affairs of Teck in January 2012. She joined Teck in 2010 as Vice President, Corporate Affairs. Prior to joining Teck, Ms. Smith was Managing Partner for National Public Relations in British Columbia and its predecessor company, Labrador Communications, from 1993 to 2010. Ms. Smith has also worked for the Governments of Ontario and British Columbia as an advisor to cabinet ministers in a variety of portfolios. Ms. Smith holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts Degree in English and Political Science from Laurentian University.
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About Teck: Teck is a diversified resource company with business units focused on copper, steelmaking coal, zinc and energy.
Donald R. Lindsay
President and Chief Executive Officer of Teck
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About Teck: Teck is a diversified resource company with business units focused on copper, steelmaking coal, zinc and energy.
Alex Christopher
Vice President, Exploration of Teck
Alex Christopher joined Teck’s Exploration Group in 1984 and was appointed Vice President, Exploration in July 2012. He has held a number of positions in the company, including most recently that of General Manager, New Ventures within Teck’s Corporate Development Group. Mr. Christopher holds a Bachelor of Science Honours Degree in Geology from McMaster University and an Environmental Biology Technology Diploma from Canadore College. He is currently a member of the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists B.C. and the Association of Mineral Exploration B.C. where he was previously a member of the Board of Directors. Mr. Christopher is on the Board of Directors of the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada and is a Director of Horizonte Minerals Plc.
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About Teck: Teck is a diversified resource company with business units focused on copper, steelmaking coal, zinc and energy.
Dean Winsor
Senior Vice President & Chief Human Resources Officer of Teck
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About Teck: Teck is a diversified resource company with business units focused on copper, steelmaking coal, zinc and energy.
Curt Bernardi
Senior Vice President, Legal & Corporate Secretary of Wheaton Precious Metals Corp
Bernardi joined the Company in 2008 and has been practicing law since his call to the British Columbia bar in 1994. He worked for the law firm of Blake, Cassels & Graydon in the areas of corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions and general corporate law until leaving to join Westcoast Energy in 1998. Following the acquisition of Westcoast Energy by Duke Energy in 2002. Bernardi continued to work for Duke Energy Gas Transmission as in-house legal counsel, working primarily on reorganizations, mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures and general corporate/commercial work. In 2005, Bernardi joined Union Gas as their Director, Legal Affairs and was responsible for legal matters affecting Union Gas. He obtained his Bachelor of Commerce from the University of British Columbia and his Bachelor of Law from the University of Toronto.
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About Wheaton Precious Metals Corp: Wheaton Precious Metals is a precious metals streaming company dealing with the purchase of precious metals or cobalt production from mines.
Vincent Lau
Vice President, Finance of Wheaton Precious Metals Corp
Vincent Lau is a Vice President, Finance at Silver Wheaton.
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About Wheaton Precious Metals Corp: Wheaton Precious Metals is a precious metals streaming company dealing with the purchase of precious metals or cobalt production from mines.
Haytham Hodaly
Senior Vice President, Corporate Development of Wheaton Precious Metals Corp
Hodaly joined Silver Wheaton in 2012, bringing with him over 16 years of experience in the North American securities industry, most recently as Director and Mining Analyst, Global Mining Research, at RBC Capital Markets. In this role, he was responsible for providing, to a wide range of institutional clients around the globe, up-to-date and insightful research coverage of North American-listed precious metals companies. Prior to this, Hodaly held the position of Co-Director of Research and Senior Mining Analyst at Salman Partners Inc., in addition to holding the titles of Vice President and Director of the firm. During his tenure, he helped to establish Salman Partners Inc. as a leading independent, resource-focused and research-driven investment dealer. Hodaly is an engineer with a B.A.Sc. in Mining and Mineral Processing Engineering and a Masters of Engineering, specializing in Mineral Economics.
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About Wheaton Precious Metals Corp: Wheaton Precious Metals is a precious metals streaming company dealing with the purchase of precious metals or cobalt production from mines.
Neil Burns
Vice President, Technical Services of Wheaton Precious Metals Corp
Neil Burns is a Vice President, Technical Services at Silver Wheaton.
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About Wheaton Precious Metals Corp: Wheaton Precious Metals is a precious metals streaming company dealing with the purchase of precious metals or cobalt production from mines.
Ryan Ulansky
Vice President, Engineering of Wheaton Precious Metals Corp
Ryan Ulansky is a Director of Engineering at Silver Wheaton.
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About Wheaton Precious Metals Corp: Wheaton Precious Metals is a precious metals streaming company dealing with the purchase of precious metals or cobalt production from mines.
Bettina Charpentier
Vice President, Tax of Wheaton Precious Metals Corp
Bettina Charpentier is a Vice President, Tax at Wheaton Precious Metals Corp.
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About Wheaton Precious Metals Corp: Wheaton Precious Metals is a precious metals streaming company dealing with the purchase of precious metals or cobalt production from mines.
Jamie Beirnes
Vice President, Controller of Wheaton Precious Metals Corp
Jamie Beirnes is a Vice President, Controller at Silver Wheaton.
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About Wheaton Precious Metals Corp: Wheaton Precious Metals is a precious metals streaming company dealing with the purchase of precious metals or cobalt production from mines.
John Lando
CEO, President & Secretary/Director of New World Resource
Mr. Lando has more than 20 years of experience working in the equity markets and managing and financing public companies. He has worked for RBC Dominion Securities and has served as a Director of several public companies. Mr. Lando is also the CEO and President of Northern Lion Gold and Nano One Materials Corp.
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About New World Resource: A New Age Of Mineral Exploration In The Americas.
Jonathan Singh
Vice President Finance of Ero Copper
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About Ero Copper: Ero Copper Corp is a base metals mining company featuring a peer-leading organic production growth.
Catalin Chiloflischi
President, CEO & Director of Goldplay Mining
Catalin Kilofliski is the Founder, CEO, President, and Director of Goldplay Mining.
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About Goldplay Mining, Goldplay Mining: Goldplay Mining is a junior exploration company focused on advancing and exploring gold, silver, and copper assets.
Ken Engquist
Vice President, Project Development and Engineering of Pilot Gold
Mr. Engquist brings over 20 years of engineering and project leadership experience to his role at Pilot Gold, where he is primarily responsible for advancing the Company’s portfolio of projects from advanced exploration through to feasibility and development stages. Prior to joining Pilot, he was with AngloGold Ashanti as Manager, Projects Group for the Cripple Creek and Victor Gold Mine, where he managed the mine life extension program. Prior to that, he spent over seven years with Rio Tinto in various project leadership roles, and was responsible for the development of best practices for improving capital effectiveness and project execution across Rio Tinto’s copper projects globally. In his last role at Rio Tinto, Mr. Engquist led the infrastructure engineering for the underground portion of the multi-billion dollar Oyu Tolgoi mine in Mongolia. Mr. Engquist has worked in senior project leadership roles for a variety of other mining and project organizations, including Kennecott Utah Copper. He holds a B.Sc. in Engineering from Michigan Technological University and is registered Project Management Professional.
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About Pilot Gold: Pilot Gold is led by the same management and technical teams that built Fronteer Gold, a strong growth company.
David Tafel
President, CEO & Director of Centurion Minerals
Mr. Tafel contributes over 20 years of corporate structuring, strategic planning, financing and management experience to the Centurion Minerals team. He is the former CEO of Garson Gold Corp. and has been an officer and director of several TSX Venture Exchange listed companies. Prior to his public company experience, Mr. Tafel managed private investment funds at a major Canadian investment firm.
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About Centurion Minerals, Portofino Resources: Centurion Minerals is focused on the exploration and development of gold and other precious metal projects in Southeast Asia
David Dreisinger
Vice President of Metallurgy of TriMetals Mining
Dr. Dreisinger has been working as a metallurgical consultant with the Company since May, 2006. In addition, he currently holds the position of Professor and Chairholder of the Industrial Research Chair in Hydrometallurgy at the University of British Columbia. Dr. Dreisinger, with co-workers, has been actively involved in developing and commercializing hydrometallurgical technology such as the Mt. Gordon and Sepon copper processes in Australia and Laos. Through the Industrial Research Chair in Hydrometallurgy, Dr. Dreisinger is engaged in research and in the teaching technical short courses to the global metallurgical industry. David is a director of PolyMet Mining Corp. and International Nickel Ventures Corporation.
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About TriMetals Mining: TriMetals Mining Inc. is a mining company that focuses on the exploration and development of properties in North America and South America.
Ryan King
Vice President Corporate Development of Calibre Mining Corp
Mr. King has seven years experience in the resource sector. Prior to joining Calibre Mining Corp. he was responsible for institutional and retail marketing and investor communications with several resources companies including Terrane Metals Corp. 2010 Terrane Metals was acquired by Thompson Creek Mining for +$700M and the company is currently in construction of the Mt. Milligan copper gold deposit in central British Columbia. Mr. King is currently on the board of directors of Edgewater Exploration Ltd. and Pinecrest Resources was a member of the board of Sandwell Mining which executed a reverse takeover with MBAC Fertilizer a TSX listed company with advanced stage phosphate and potash projects in Brazil.
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About Calibre Mining Corp, Edgewater Exploration, Newcore Gold: Calibre Mining Corp (CXB) is a Mining and Metals company.
John-Mark Staude
President & CEO of Riverside Resources
John-Mark Staude holds a Ph.D. in economic geology and has over 20 years of diverse mining and exploration experience in precious and base metals. He earned a Masters of Science from Harvard University in 1989 and a Ph.D. in economic geology from the University of Arizona in 1995. Mr. Staude held positions of increasing responsibility with a number of major international mining companies including Kennecott, BHP-Billiton, and most recently Teck Cominco. He also worked with smaller commodity-focused companies like Magma Copper Company and consulted to private investment groups. Mr. Staude’s extensive Latin America mineral resource experience began in Mexico and then extended through South America. Recently, Mr. Staude has ventured into Europe and Asia initiating companies and managing successful exploration programs in Turkey, Romania and China. Mr. Staude has been successful in creating shareholder value through discoveries of gold and copper in Mexico, Peru and Turkey. He has located additional resources in known districts and helped convert discoveries into new mining operations. His technical and managerial experience spans more than 30 countries in diverse geologic environments. Through Riverside Resources, Mr. Staude will continue to build strong portfolios and profitable businesses through prospect generation, early stage partnering and drill discoveries.
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About Riverside Resources: Riverside Resources is a well-funded mineral exploration company advancing multiple projects through JVs and strategic partnerships.
Douglas Turnbull
President & Chief Executive Officer of Black Dragon Gold corp
Mr. Turnbull is a consulting geologist with over 25 years of experience in diamond, precious and base metal exploration. He holds an H.B.Sc. in Geology and is a Qualified Professional Geoscientist recognized by the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of British Columbia. Mr. Turnbull has managed or served on boards of a number of exploration and mining companies with assets ranging from early stage to advanced projects. He has played a key role on teams responsible for the exploration and development of the Eskay Creek Gold Deposit in Canada, the Petaquilla Cu-Au Porphyry Deposit in Panama, the Mt. Kare Gold Deposit in Papua New Guinea and the OJVG Gold Deposits in Senegal.
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About Black Dragon Gold corp: Black Dragon Gold is one of the largest undeveloped gold deposits in Western Europe – the Salave gold project in Spain.
Frederick W. Davidson
President, CEO and Director of Energold Drilling Corp
Fred Davidson is the President & CEO of Energold Drilling Corp. He attended The University of British Columbia.
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About Energold Drilling Corp: Canadian specialty drilling company.
Michael Brown
President & CEO of Argentex Mining Corp
Mr. Brown began his career as a professional geologist in 1994. Since then, he has gained extensive experience in corporate and project development, finance, team building and executive leadership around the world in natural resources, including Argentina. He has participated in the development of multiple $100 million dollar plus projects in Latin America. Mr. Brown was previously employed as the Vice President of Energy at Kinross Gold Corporation from 2009-2012. From 2002-2009 he was employed as Business Development Manager at Pacific Hydro. At Pacific Hydro he opened the company’s offices in Chile in 2002, and played a critical role in establishing a significant new market for the company through the acquisition of two run of river hydroelectric projects and leading the development and project financing of two large run-of-river hydroelectric projects. Mr. Brown has an MBA from the University of Melbourne, 2002, and a double Science (Hons-Geology, 1993) and Arts Degree, 1994, from the University of Melbourne. Mr. Brown is fluent in English and Spanish.
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About Argentex Mining Corp: Argentex Mining Corporation is a junior exploration resource company focused on advancing its Pinguino Silver/Gold Project in Santa Cruz,
Vinay Dhir
President & Executive Officer of Dhir Diamonds
Mr. Dhir is an experienced diamond industry professional. He is a certified professional diamond cutter by the American Institute of Diamond Cutting (AIDC) and is certified to cut various shapes and sizes of fine gemstones. In addition, he has completed diamond appraisal courses through the AIDC (various shapes, sizes, qualities) and also pursuing further training via the Gemological Institute of America (GIA). Mr. Dhir also has broad experience in the marketing industry and has business management training, and he is widely networked in the gemstone industry in Canada, the U.K., and India.
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About Dhir Diamonds: Vinay Dhir is the owner of Dhir Diamonds which is a wholesaler of (loose) finished diamonds.
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