ENSIGN MINERALS - Key Persons
A seasoned mining and mineral development professional with over 35 years of international experience. She holds a Bachelors in Geology and her skill set includes mining and mineral development, legislation and government affairs, sustainability and ESG, and project development. She was formerly the President, COO, and Director of US Gold Corp. and is currently the CEO and Director of Remote Energy Solutions LLC.
David Mako, P.Geo VP Generative Geology & Land Mr. Mako is a seasoned exploration geologist with more than 35 years' experience in North America. He previously served as VP USA Exploration of Barrick Gold, leading its USA generative exploration and project evaluation efforts when the Mercur mine was closed in 1997. Prior to that he was with the Getty Mining Company during the period that Getty built the Mercur Mine. He published a compilation of the history and geology of the Mercur district in 1999. In 2011, remote sensing data sparked his renewed interest in some overlooked targets at Mercur. Since then, Mr. Mako founded Rush Valley Exploration Inc., and began consolidating the land position that Ensign now controls. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Geology and a Master of Science degree Geology with emphasis in ore deposits and sedimentary rocks.
David Rhys, P. Geo, is a consulting geologist based in Vancouver, Canada. He studied at the University of British Columbia and subsequently has worked for nearly 30 years in the mining industry applying geological studies with a structural geology focus to exploration, development and mining. Much of his work is on advanced projects and active mining operations, aiding in the interpretation of mine site ore controls and applications of mine geology to local and district scale exploration activities, often with participation in multi-disciplinary technical teams to provide guidance for project advancement or investment. He has extensive experience in the evaluation of gold deposits globally, including significant studies on Carlin deposits in Nevada that are comparable to the Mercur district. He has implemented studies in various deposits globally that have resulted in orebody definition, expansion and new discoveries, and is an advisor to several companies
Job Titles:
- Corporate Secretary
- Retired Lawyer and a Former Partner
Gregory C. Smith is a recently retired lawyer and a former partner in the Vancouver, BC office of a national Canadian law firm. Mr. Smith practiced corporate and securities law for over 30 years, with an emphasis on representing publicly listed mineral exploration corporations. He also has served as the Corporate Secretary for several public company clients. Mr. Smith holds a Bachelor of Law from UBC.
Mr. Knowles has over 30 years of board and executive experience in Canadian and international resource companies, including several years living and working in Ghana, West Africa. He has served as a senior officer of resource companies including Wildcat Exploration Ltd., as President and Chief Executive Officer, Aur Resources Inc., as Executive Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer, and Hudbay Minerals Inc., as Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer. From 2012 until its acquisition in 2021 he was a director of Roxgold Inc. From 2008 until its acquisition in 2018 he was a director of CanniMed Therapeutics Inc. and its predecessor, Prairie Plant Systems Inc., and was its Chief Financial Officer from 2016 to 2018. He served as a director of Wildcat Exploration Ltd. from 2007 until its acquisition in 2016; Hudbay Minerals Inc. from 2009 to 2015; Augyva Mining Resources Inc. from 2011 to 2013 and Tanzania Minerals Corp. from 2011 to 2013. Mr. Knowles is a director of Riverview Health Centre, a Winnipeg community hospital; and Meals on Wheels, a Winnipeg home meal delivery service. He is a Chartered Professional Accountant and holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Queen's University.
Krista Muhr brings nearly 20 years of experience working with public companies in the global metals and mining sector with strong ESG and capital market credentials at senior levels. Advisor to both corporate and trade association boards during her 10 years in executive roles, Krista most recently served as Senior Vice President, External Affairs and Sustainability for Eldorado Gold Corporation. She has been a board member of the Canadian Mining Innovation Council and of the Mining Association of Canada. Ms. Muhr is currently a member of Moneta Gold Inc. Board of Directors. She holds a Bachelor of Commerce from Ryerson University and a Corporate Directors International designation.
Mr. Pitcher has over 30 years of experience in the mining industry and has extensive international expertise in exploration, evaluation and exploitation of open pit and underground mineral deposits. Mr. Pitcher recently served as the President and CEO of Mirasol Resources from February 2019 to October 2020. Prior thereto, Mr. Pitcher served as the President of Eldorado Gold Corporation from July 2012 until December 2015. Prior to becoming President of Eldorado Gold Corporation, he served as Chief Operating Officer of Eldorado Gold Corp., from July 2005 to July 2012. Throughout his career with Eldorado, Pan American Silver, H.A. Simons, Ivanhoe Gold and Pioneer Metals, he was involved in exploration, evaluation and exploitation of open pit and underground mineral deposits on a world-wide basis. Mr. Pitcher is a Professional Geologist and holds a Bachelor of Science in Geology from the University of Arizona.
Mr. Kasaneva is a Geologist from the Universidad Católica del Norte, Chile, with over 30 years of experience in production geology, exploration and operation of precious metal deposits. Throughout his career as a geologist, he worked on exploration and production gaining vast experience in grade control, QA/QC, modeling and geological resources estimation. Mr. Kasaneva led for several years Business Development Departments evaluating a number of mining business opportunities in South America, Central America and North America. He has held the role of General Manager of Mining Operations, Vice-President of Operations and COO. Mr. Kasaneva is currently Executive Director and CEO of Austral Gold.
Mr. Hubert has over twenty years of senior management experience in the mining sector. He served as President & CEO of Andean Resources Ltd. from 2006 until 2010 when Andean was acquired by Goldcorp Inc. for $3.5 billion. Prior to Andean Resources Ltd., Mr. Hubert was a Senior Executive with Meridian Gold Inc. Mr. Hubert is a Director of Revival Gold Inc., Austral Gold Ltd., and InZinc Mining Ltd. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Cape Town (1985) and an MBA from Brigham Young University (1990).
William Wulftange, P.Geo Vice-President, Exploration Mr. Wulftange has over 38 years of international experience finding and developing world class low and high sulfidation gold-silver deposits, Carlin style gold deposits and copper-gold porphyry style deposits. He contributed to the exploration, discovery, and development of the Paradise Peak gold-silver deposit in Nevada in 1984 and the El Penon gold-silver deposit in 1996, in Chile. Mr. Wulftange played a key role as VP Exploration at Andean Resources directing the discoveries of the Mariana and San Marcos deposits that significantly increased the global resource base, leading to the friendly acquisition by Goldcorp in 2010. Most recently, he spearheaded Global exploration as SVP Exploration for Yamana Gold and successfully grew and replaced reserves and resources during his tenure. Mr. Wulftange graduated from the University of Colorado with a B.A. Geology in 1982, is a Registered Member of the SME, a Licensed Professional Geologist (Utah), and is deemed a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101. Mr. Wulftange currently volunteers as SEG Foundation, Past President, and serves as an independent director at Barksdale Resources Corp.