Stephen GillNon-executive Chairman
Mr. Gill is a Managing Partner at Pala Investments Ltd. Mr. Gill has been at Pala since 2008, during which time he has been involved in many of Pala’s principal investments covering a range of commodities, as well mining services and consumables sectors. Mr. Gill has also supported many of Pala’s investee companies in defining and implementing strategic initiatives. He is also involved in the oversight of Pala’s liquid investment strategies portfolio. Prior to joining Pala, Mr. Gill was at AMEC Plc., an engineering consulting firm, where he advised on a range of natural resources transactions, and acted as an advisor across a range of private equity transactions, including investments in businesses spanning mining, metals processing, and mining consumables manufacturing industries. Mr. Gill has acted as a director on a number of private and public mining company boards.
Tom AlbaneseLead Independent Director
Mr. Albanese is currently a Director of Franco-Nevada Corporation. He was previously Chief Executive Officer and a Director of Vedanta Resources plc and Vedanta Limited from 2014 to 2017. Mr. Albanese was Chief Executive Officer of Rio Tinto plc from 2007 to 2013, and previously served on the Boards of Ivanhoe Mines Limited, Palabora Mining Company and Turquoise Hill Resources Limited. Mr. Albanese holds a Master of Science degree in Mining Engineering and a Bachelor of Science degree in Mineral Economics both from the University of Alaska Fairbank.
Michael BrownDirector
Mr. Brown is Managing Partner - Africa at Palaris, a leading international mining advisory firm, established in 2000. Prior to this role, Mr. Brown was Managing Director, Technical and Operations at Pala Investments. Prior to joining Pala, Mr. Brown worked for De Beers Consolidated Mines Ltd. where in his role of Chief Operating Officer he was responsible to the Chief Executive Officer and Board for all operations in South Africa, including production at five mines, the planning and execution of construction projects, strategic business development and health, safety and environmental control. Mr. Brown previously held the position of Head of Strategic Business Development at De Beers, where he was responsible for the full value chain from resource evaluation to strategic business planning, concept studies, feasibility studies and project implementation. He managed a number of major projects, including the $750 million Finsch block 5 feasibility study, the $1.3 billion Venetia underground mine pre-feasibility study; the $35 million Venetia resource extension project, and a $200 million construction project at Voorspoed.
Randy BuffingtonPresident & CEO, Director
Randy Buffington has held the position of President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company since October 2021. With extensive experience in underground and open pit mining operations, both in Nevada and internationally, Mr. Buffington has successfully delivered multiple project ramp-ups and productivity improvements in an underground setting in addition to overseeing the development and operation of multiple large open pit projects. Previously, he held various senior management and leadership positions with Hycroft Mining, Barrick, Placer Dome and Cominco. Mr. Buffington has acted as a director on a number of company boards and is currently a director of 2 other boards.
Lucio GenoveseDirector
Mr. Genovese has 28 years of experience in both the merchant and financial sector of the metals and mining Industry. Mr. Genovese is the CEO of Nage Capital Management in Baar, Switzerland. He is also Chairman of Firestone Diamonds plc and a member of the board of Mantos Copper S.A., Ferrous Resources Limited, Ferrexpo AG and Nevada Copper Inc. He was previously employed at Glencore International AG where he held several senior positions including CEO of the CIS region and manager of the Moscow office. Mr. Genovese is a Chartered Accountant and has a B.Comm and B.Acc from the University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (South Africa).
Evgenij IorichDirector
Mr. Iorich has over 15 years of investment and asset management experience and is currently Managing Partner at Pala Investments Ltd. (“Pala”) and is involved in oversight of Pala’s private equity and liquid equity investment portfolios, as well as high-yield corporate debt portfolio. His commodity experience extends across a broad range of bulk commodities, as well as precious and base metals. Mr. Iorich has worked with a number of Pala’s portfolio companies on a range of strategic initiatives, M&A opportunities, operational and financial planning and structuring. Mr. Iorich serves on the board of Itafos (TSX-V:IFOS). Prior to joining Pala in 2006, Mr. Iorich held senior roles at Mechel. Mr. Iorich graduated from the University of Zurich with a Masters of Arts degree.
G. Ernest "Ernie" NutterDirector
Mr. Nutter is a highly regarded mining analyst, formerly with one of the world’s largest money managers, Capital Group, from 2004 until his retirement in 2017. Prior to this, he spent over 13 years with the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) where he was Managing Director of RBC Capital Markets, Director of RBC’s Global Mining Research team and former Chairman of RBC Dominion Securities’ (now RBC Capital Markets) Strategic Planning Committee. Mr. Nutter holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Geology from Dalhousie University.