MARK BILLINGS, CFA
Chairman
Mr. Billings is a seasoned director, mining expert and former investment banker. Mr. Billings holds a MBA from Harvard Business School and is a Chartered Financial Analyst. Mr. Billings is a strong business leader of Canadian public venture companies. Mr. Billings founded and managed companies in the junior resource sector, in addition to being CEO, CFO or a director of a number of publicly traded resource companies in Canada and abroad, as well as VP-Corporate Finance at Desjardins Securities, Inc.
ASHWATH MEHRA
Director
Mr. Mehra is an economist by training and received his BSc in Economics and Philosophy from the London School of Economics. Mr. Mehra is the CEO of the ASTOR Group, a private investment and advisory business, working in the fields of Mining, Tech, Biotech and Real Estate. From 1990 to 2000, Mr. Mehra served as a Senior Partner at Glencore International AG where he ran the nickel and cobalt businesses and was responsible for establishing Glencore's operations in India. Mr. Mehra is also director of several companies, both public and private in both executive and non-executive roles, he was the co-founder of GT Gold Corp., which was sold to Newmont in 2021.
Rajesh Sharma, ICD.D
Director
Mr. Sharma holds global leadership experience across industries including mining, exploration, metals and international trade. He has led large-scale mining start-ups, concluded several investments and acquisition deals, forged mutually beneficial stakeholder partnerships and led international businesses. Mr. Sharma has worked in Asia, Africa, NA and Europe, and has served on the boards of various public and private companies. Mr. Sharma held several leadership roles with the Tata Group including as CEO and Board member of various exploration, mining and investment subsidiaries of Tata Steel in Canada and Africa. He also served as Executive in Residence at Investissement Quebec. Mr. Sharma holds management and engineering degrees and was granted the ICD.D designation.
MATHIEU STEPHENS
Director
Mr. Stephens is a professional geologist with over 15 years in the mining industry. Mr. Stephens is the founder and CEO of NeoTerrex Minerals, previously President and CEO of UrbanGold Minerals (acquired by Troilus Gold in 2021) and VP Exploration for Beaufield Resources (acquired by Osisko Mining in 2018). Mr. Stephens also previously worked for Canaccord Capital.
CHARLES TARNOCAI
Director and Technical Advisor
Mr. Tarnocai has a strong technical background with extensive experience in mining and mineral exploration. Mr. Tarnocai’s past roles include, member of the board of directors of GT Gold Corp, Vice President, Corporate Development for Alamos Gold and Chief Geologist with Oro Gold Resources Ltd. Mr. Tarnocai holds a Ph.D in geological sciences from the University of Ottawa.
FRANCIS MACDONALD
Director
Mr. MacDonald brings over 15 years of experience in the mining industry as an exploration geologist by training and as a public markets executive. He currently holds the position of CEO and Director of Li-FT, a mineral exploration company engaged in the acquisition, exploration, and development of lithium pegmatite projects located in Canada. Mr. MacDonald was a Co-Founder and the Executive Vice President of Kenorland Minerals, a North American-focused exploration company that generates greenfield exploration opportunities across different commodities. Prior to co-founding Kenorland Minerals in 2016, Mr. MacDonald spent the majority of his career as a geologist with Newmont Mining Corporation where he was involved in regional exploration programs in Ethiopia, covering a large portion of prospective geology in the Tigray region, as well as in Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, and the Hope Bay Project in Nunavut, Canada.
JASPER BERTISEN
Director
Mr. Jasper Bertisen is a seasoned mining executive with over two decades of leadership experience in global mining investment and governance, with a strong background in the evaluation of mining projects from both technical and financial perspectives. He has spent most of his career in mining private equity with Resource Capital Funds, overseeing due diligence and strategy execution for investments spanning exploration to production stage assets across various commodities and jurisdictions. As a former Partner at Resource Capital Funds, he oversaw an $800 million portfolio and contributed to more than $3.5 billion in capital raised. In addition to serving as an investment committee member with Resource Capital Funds, he currently serves on the board of directors or advisory board of several mining and mining technology companies. He is also an Adjunct Professor at the Colorado School of Mines and holds dual M.Sc. degrees in Mining Engineering and Mineral Economics.
BLAKE RHODES
Director
Mr. Blake Rhodes is a seasoned mining executive with more than 25 years of global experience spanning legal, operational, and corporate development roles. Mr. Rhodes retired from Newmont Corporation in April 2022, where he most recently served as Senior Vice President, Strategic Development, and as a member of the executive leadership team. During his distinguished tenure at Newmont, he held several senior leadership positions, including General Counsel, Senior Vice President of Indonesia, and Senior Vice President, Strategic Development, overseeing mergers and acquisitions. In these roles, Mr. Rhodes played a key part in shaping Newmont’s global portfolio and executing complex, large-scale international transactions. Mr. Rhodes brings extensive transactional and international business expertise, having lived and worked in key mining jurisdictions including Jakarta, Adelaide and Singapore in addition to North America. He played a central role in several of Newmont’s most significant strategic initiatives, including the acquisition of Goldcorp Inc. and the formation of the Nevada Gold Mines joint venture. Mr. Rhodes holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from Iowa State University and a Doctor of Jurisprudence from the University of Pennsylvania. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of Triple Flag Precious Metals Corp.