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Our Team
Directors and Advisors
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Christopher Taylor, M.Sc.
Chairman
Mining entrepreneur and founder of Kodiak Copper. Structural and economic geologist with more than 20 years of experience with both mid-tier producer and junior exploration companies, including extensive experience in copper porphyry exploration. Founder and CEO & President of Great Bear Resources, which made a district-scale gold discovery in Canada and was taken over by Kinross Gold for $1.8bn, a discovery success recognized industry wide. PDAC’s 2023 Bill Dennis Award, Mines & Money 2022 Mining CEO of the Year, The Northern Miner Mining Person of the Year for 2021, Kitco’s Mining CEO Of The Year 2021, AME 2021 Colin Spence Award & 2018 Bernie Schneiders Discovery of the Year Award by the Northwestern Ontario Prospectors Association (NWOPA).
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Claudia Tornquist, M.Eng, MBA
President and CEO, Director
Formerly General Manager at Rio Tinto working with Rio Tinto’s copper operations. Also held the position of Executive Vice President Business Development for the streaming company Sandstorm Gold. Director of American Lithium & Silver One Resources and former director of Kennady Diamonds, leading the $176m sale of the company to Mountain Province as chair of the special committee of the board.
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Chad Ulansky, B.Sc. P. Geo
Independent Director
Professional geologist with over 30 years of mineral exploration experience that includes the original Ekati diamond discovery. His career has spanned fifteen countries on four continents. Currently President and CEO of Cantex Mine Development and Metalex Ventures.
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Kevin Tomlinson, HBSc. MSc.
Independent Director
Over twenty years as resources investment banker, M&A advisor and company director for companies including Centamin, Orbis Gold and Medusa Mining. Former Chairman of Cardinal Resources, leading its C$587 million sale to Shandong Gold. Structural geologist and investment banker with over 35 years’ experience in exploration, development and financing of mining projects globally in the North American, Australasian and European markets. Chairman of Bellevue Gold.
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Steven Krause, CPA, CA, ICD.D
Independent Director
Has worked extensively with mining, mineral exploration and development stage companies in Canada and the United States. CFO of Viva Gold and President of Avisar Chartered Accountants. Former CFO of Bear Creek Mining and former chairman of Luna Gold, where he led the $360m merger with JDL Gold to form Trek Mining.
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Lana Eagle, CDI.D
Independent Director
Ms. Eagle is an Indigenous relations strategist and a Social Innovator advising companies on how to better engage and work with Indigenous communities. Her background is in banking, economic development, wealth management and mineral exploration. She is a pioneer for Aboriginal women in being one of the first to chair a mineral exploration company in Canada, Electra Gold Ltd. She is an elected Board Member of the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada and Vice Chair of Geoscience BC and a recipient of PDAC’s 2018 Skookum Jim Award and recipient of AME’s 2022 Frank Woodside Gold Pan Award. Ms. Eagle is a member of the Whitecap Dakota First Nation in Saskatchewan.
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John Robins, P.Geo
Advisor
As an award-winning prospector with over 35 years of experience in professional geology, Mr. Robins is a steward of the junior mining industry and the co-founder and principal of Discovery Group. His entrepreneurship has created over $2.6 billion in M&A activity and generated over C$1 billion in direct and indirect mineral expenditures. He was involved in several monumental discoveries including the Yukon’s 5Moz Coffee Gold deposit, Ontario’s Great Bear Project, the Three Bluffs gold deposit in the Committee Bay greenstone belt, and the Aviat/Churchill diamond districts of Nunavut. Mr. Robins holds many leadership positions in the industry, including Executive Chairman of K2 Gold, Non-Executive Chair of Elemental Altus Royalties, Director of Fireweed Metals, and acts as a Strategic Advisor to Defense Metals, Kodiak Copper, CopperEx Resources, Prospector Metals, and ValOre Metals.
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Jim Paterson, B.Comm
Advisor
Mr. Paterson is the co-founder and principal of Discovery Group and has 27 years executive experience in the mining industry. He was a director of Kaminak (Goldcorp), Northern Empire (Coeur Mining), and Great Bear Royalties (Royal Gold). Â In addition to being the Chairman and CEO of ValOre Metals, Mr. Paterson is a director of K2 Gold, and acts as a Strategic Advisor to Kodiak Copper and Prospector Metals.
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Carolyn Clark Loder, MLS-Indian Law, MA
Advisor
Ms. Loder possesses more than 30 years of senior professional experience in the public and private sectors in mining, mineral rights, land management and indigenous relations. Headed up Minerals Rights and Public Lands for Freeport-McMoRan, the world’s largest publicly traded copper producer as well as Mineral Rights and Tribal Relations for LafargeHolcim, the world’s largest cement manufacturer. First living woman to be inducted into the United States National Mining Hall of Fame (2023) and first woman to be inducted in more than 100 years.
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Tom McCandless, Ph.D., P.Geo
Technical Advisor
Dr. McCandless has over 40 years of exploration experience, with a focus on base metal porphyry exploration in southwestern North America and diamonds in the Arctic. He is a professional geologist (BC/NT/NU) and an adjunct professor at the Universities of Arizona and Alberta. Currently he is president of MCC Geosciences Inc., and Vice-President Exploration for Mountain Province Diamonds Inc.