Management & Directors

Mr. Smith was appointed as the Chief Executive Officer and President of the Company on September 12, 2022. Mr. Smith is also currently the Vice President, Exploration of GoldMining, having held such position since April 7, 2022. Mr. Smith has more than 25 years mineral industry exploration and mining experience, principally exploring for gold mineral systems including orogenic lode gold, porphyry, intrusion related and volcanogenic massive sulphide systems at locations throughout Australia and Canada. Mr. Smith is experienced in exploration project management from generative greenfields to deposit drill-out to feasibility studies. Mr. Smith has a track record of discovery of major gold systems including as Vice President Exploration for Kaminak Gold Corporation where he led the team at the Coffee Gold Deposit in Yukon, Canada and which was acquired by Goldcorp Inc., for C$520 million in 2016. Mr. Smith was Regional Director Generative Exploration, North America for Newmont Corporation from June 2019 to April 2022 and Exploration Director, Goldcorp Inc., from August 2016 to June 2019.

Mr. Smith is a Registered Professional Geoscientist with Professional Geoscientists Ontario and Engineers and Geoscientists British Columbia and holds a Bachelor of Science and Master of Science in Geology from University of Canterbury, New Zealand. Mr. Smith was a co-recipient of the Association for Mineral Exploration British Columbia H.H “Spud” Huestis Award for excellence in prospecting and mineral exploration in 2013, for the drill discovery of the Coffee Gold Deposit

Mr. Wong was appointed as the Interim Chief Financial Officer, Secretary and Treasurer of the Company on April 11, 2023. Mr. Wong has over 15 years of financial and accounting experience working with companies listed on the NASDAQ, NYSE, TSX and TSX-V. He has extensive knowledge in financial reporting, SOX and internal controls. He has served as the Corporate Controller for GoldMining Inc., Gold Royalty Corp., Uranium Royalty Corp., and is an alumni of the audit and assurance group at Deloitte LLP with a focus in the mining sector. Mr. Wong has supported companies through various business transactions including RTO, asset acquisitions and equity offerings in Canada and the US, navigating them through growth and changes, including resolving complex accounting issues and establishing effective policies and procedures for governance. Mr. Wong is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA, CA) and holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of British Columbia.

Mr. Still is co-founder of U.S. GoldMining and was appointed as a director and Chairman of our Company on September 12, 2022. Mr. Still is an experienced mining industry professional with over 25 years of experience including working for some of the world’s largest gold miners. Mr. Still currently serves as Chief Executive Officer of GoldMining and Director of Technical Services for Gold Royalty Corp., having held such positions since April 1, 2021 and October 1, 2020, respectively. Mr. Still also served as Executive Vice President and Chief Development Officer of GoldMining from 2020 through 2021, and Director, Corporate Development for Newmont Corporation (formerly Goldcorp Inc.) from 2015 to 2020. Mr. Still has also worked for other gold miners, including Placer Dome Inc., Kinross Gold Corporation and Agnico Eagle Mines Limited. He has worked within Canada and internationally in a variety of leadership roles in mine operations and project development including as Chief Geologist for the Porcupine (Timmins) Operations, and Project Director leading the acquisition, permitting and construction of the Cerro Negro gold mine in Argentina. Mr. Still has extensive experience in corporate development including global M&A evaluations, due diligence and acquisitions. Mr. Still graduated with a Bachelor of Science (First Class, Honours) from the University of New Brunswick and a Master of Science (Structural Geology) from Queen’s University. Mr. Still serves on the Technical Advisory Committee of Geoscience BC and is a member of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists British Columbia and Professional Geoscientists Ontario.

Mr. Dawson was appointed as a director of our Company on September 12, 2022 and serves as Chairperson of the Company’s compensation committee. Mr. Dawson served as the President of our Company from 2015 through September 12, 2022. Since 2018, Mr. Dawson has served as a member of the board of directors of GoldMining, a public company listed on the NYSE American and Toronto Stock Exchange; and Freegold Ventures Limited, a company listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange, since 2011. Mr. Dawson has also served as a member of the board of directors of Spanish Mountain Gold Ltd. since October 2022. He was Chief Executive Officer of GoldMining from 2014 to April 2021. Mr. Dawson is a geologist with 40 years of experience in the exploration and mining business working with senior and junior mining companies in the Americas, Europe, Africa and China. He has held executive roles with several Canadian mining companies including Chief Executive Officer of GoldMining Inc., Vice President, Exploration of Brazilian Gold and Vice President, Exploration of EuroZinc Mining Corporation. Prior to joining EuroZinc, he consulted internationally and held a number of positions with Battle Mountain Canada Inc., British Columbia Geological Survey and Esso Minerals Canada Ltd. Mr. Dawson is a registered Professional Geologist with Engineers & Geoscientists British Columbia and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Geology from the University of Manitoba and a Master of Science degree in Economic Geology from the University of British Columbia. 

Ms. Bukacheva was appointed as a director of our Company on September 12, 2022, and serves as a member of the Company’s compensation committee and nominating and corporate governance committee, and the Chairperson of the Company’s audit committee. Ms. Bukacheva is currently a member of the board of directors of Probe Metals Inc., where she has served since June 7, 2022, and Montage Gold Corp. where she has served since 2021, and was an independent director at Battle North Gold Corporation from 2018 until May 2021 prior to its acquisition by Evolution Mining Limited. Ms. Bukacheva was Executive Vice President, Corporate Development of Element 29 Resources Inc., a junior explorer focused on copper resource development in Peru from September 2018 until November 2020. She was also a director of Gippsland Prospecting Pty. Ltd., a private Australian company, which was sold to Battery Minerals Limited in October 2020. From 2013 to 2016, Ms. Bukacheva was the Equity Research Analyst Base Metals at BMO Capital Markets. Ms. Bukacheva is the Managing Director of ABUK Consulting Corp., a resource investment and advisory company. Ms. Bukacheva received her Master of Science (MSc.) at the London School of Economics and Political Science in 2005. She also achieved a Certificate in Mining Studies at the University of British Columbia in 2016 and holds a Chartered Financial Analyst designation. 

Ms. Schmidt was appointed as a director of our Company on September 12, 2022, and serves as a member of the Company’s audit committee and sustainability committee and the Chairperson of the Company’s nominating and corporate governance committee. Ms. Schmidt is a global executive with over 30 years of worldwide experience in the oil/gas/new energy industry in Shell. She currently works in Supply Chain in Shell’s Upstream Directorate and has worked for Shell since 1990 in a variety of senior leadership roles across the globe. Ms. Schmidt has held numerous senior positions including V.P. Shell Alaska, V.P. Safety & Environment for Shell’s Integrated Gas & New Energies Directorate, Head of Audit for Shell’s Upstream and Projects & Technology Directorates, as well as engineering and operations positions. Ms. Schmidt holds a Bachelor of Science (cum laude) in Mechanical Engineering from Virginia Tech, a Master of Science in Environmental Engineering, and a Doctor of Jurisprudence (magna cum laude) from the University of Houston. She is a licensed Professional Engineer, licensed US Patent Attorney, and a licensed attorney in Colorado and Texas. She is a Member of the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply. After attending INSEAD’s International Directors Program, she obtained a Certificate in Corporate Governance. She is also an alumnus of Stanford’s Directors College and Harvard Business School’s Women on Boards Program.

Ross Sherlock was appointed as a director of our Company on September 12, 2022, and serves as a member of the Company’s audit committee and compensation committee. Dr. Sherlock is a professional geologist with over 30 years of experience in the mining industry and academic research. Dr. Sherlock has served as a Full Professor and Research Chair in Exploration Targeting at the Harquail School of Earth Sciences, Laurentian University, Sudbury, since 2017. At Laureation Dr. Sherlock is the Director of the Mineral Exploration Research Center and the Metal Earth project. Prior to this, he has held senior positions with major mining companies including Vice President, Geoscience at Kinross Gold Corp. from 2015 to 2016, Exploration Manager, North America at Gold Fields from 2008 to 2015, and Project Manager, Senior Geologist at Miramar Mining Corporation/Newmont Mining Corporation from 2004 to 2008. Prior to this, he was a Research Geoscientist at the Geological Survey of Canada and Senior Geologist at SRK Consulting Engineers. Dr. Sherlock completed a Post-Doctoral Fellowship at the University of British Columbia’s Mineral Deposits Research Unit, PhD at the University of Waterloo, MSc at Lakehead University, and BSc (Honors) at McMaster University, Canada. He is a member of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists British Columbia and Professional Geoscientists Ontario.

Ms. Wade was appointed as a director of our Company on September 12, 2022, and serves as a member of the Company’s nominating and corporate governance committee and the Chairperson of the Company’s sustainability committee. Ms. Wade served as a member of the board of directors of Gold Standard Ventures Corp., a public company listed on the NYSE American and Toronto Stock Exchange, prior to its acquisition by Orla Mining Ltd. from 2021 to August 2022. Ms. Wade is an environmental engineer with over 25 years of experience in the mining industry. Ms. Wade has held environmental engineering, community relations, permitting, managerial and executive positions with a number of mining companies. From 2005 to 2019, Ms. Wade held increasingly senior positions at Goldcorp Inc., in Central America and then as Vice President, Environmental, Reclamation and Closure. Ms. Wade holds both a Bachelor of Science and Master of Science in Environmental Engineering from Montana Tech in Butte, Montana.