Management & Directors
Michael Cowin
Chairman & Director
Mr. Cowin has 20 years of investment experience. Since 2007, he has been a director of Northcape Capital ("Northcape"), a boutique investment fund based in Australia which manages over A$8.0 billion. Over that period he has been the portfolio manager/analyst for the Emerging Companies Fund. Prior to Northcape, Mr. Cowin was a senior portfolio manager at AMP from 2004-2007. From 2003-2004, he managed the Small Companies Fund at UBS and was an industrial analyst with sector responsibility for the basic industries, healthcare, media and diversified industries. While at UBS from 1999-2003, he also held the position of Head of Research and Deputy Portfolio Manager for the UBS Australian Share Fund. Between 1996-1999, he was a research analyst with BZW Equities. Mr. Cowin holds a Masters of Business Administration from the Australian Graduate School of Management and a Bachelor of Chemical Engineering (Honors) from the University of NSW.
John M. Mirko
President, CEO, and Director
Mr. Mirko has 48 years’ experience in the mining industry and is currently the founder and President of Canam Mining Corporation, and the President and CEO of Rokmaster Resources Corp. He was the founder and recent President of Canam Alpine Resources Ltd. before selling it to Vizsla Silver Corp. in September 2019. Since 1972, Mr. Mirko has consulted and prospected internationally with successful experience in discovery, permitting, mine construction and operation. He was a founder of several companies including Pacific Rim Mining Corp., Frontier Pacific Mining Corp., Roca Mines Inc., and Stikine Gold Corp.
In 2008, Mr. Mirko received the “E. A. Scholtz Medal for Excellence in Mine Development” from the Association for Mineral Exploration of British Columbia and in 2009, the Mining Association of British Columbia’s “Mining and Sustainability Award” for the MAX Mine. He is a member in good standing of the Society of Economic Geologists, Inc. (“SEG”), the Canadian Institute Of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (“CIM”), and the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada.
Michael Kordysz
Vice President, Business Development and Strategy
Mr. Kordysz has worked within the mineral exploration and technology industries for over 25 years in senior management positions in the areas of finance, business development, strategic planning, and corporate restructuring. Mr. Kordysz has also been involved in the listing of companies on the Toronto Stock Exchange, the TSX Venture Exchange, and the OTC markets, and has had successful business experience with mining companies operating in Canada, USA, Argentina, and Indonesia. He holds a Bachelor of Business Administration and additional courses focusing on securities compliance, investor fundamentals, disclosure and management education.
Connor Malek
Vice President Exploration
Mr. Malek has been active in the mineral exploration business for over 12 years. Following two years' experience in remote geochemical sampling and underground and open-pit gold production in Western Australia, Mr. Malek completed a B.Sc. (High Honors) in Geology from the University of Saskatchewan. Mr. Malek then assisted with the expansion of Nexgen Energy's Arrow uranium deposit before starting with a partner at First Geolas Consulting, where he worked for multiple mineral exploration companies while prospecting and developing exploration projects. With extensive experience in the research and exploration of many commodities in multiple geological environments and jurisdictions, Mr. Malek has come to manage numerous prospecting, geochemical sampling, geophysical, and complex drilling programs, specializing in efficient planning, execution and reporting on field work.
Adam Pankratz, MBA, MA
Director
Mr. Pankratz is currently a professor of Business Economics and Strategy at the University of British Columbia-Sauder School of Business. He brings experience and expertise ranging from 7 years of financial services management to leading a federal election campaign. He is multilingual in French, Spanish, German, and English.
Dennis Cojuco, CA
CFO and Corporate Secretary
Mr. Cojuco is a graduate of the University of British Columbia (BSc. Chemistry and Diploma in Accounting) and is a Chartered Accountant in British Columbia. Mr. Cojuco articled with PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP from 2006 to 2009 and with Staley, Okada and Partners from 2004 until the two firms combined in 2006. Mr. Cojuco worked primarily in the mining practice of both firms where he assisted clients in the areas of public financings, mergers and acquisitions, public company reporting and various other areas. Since the fall of 2009, he has been working in senior accounting capacities with junior mining companies, both in the production and exploration stage.
Craig Parry
Senior Advisor
Mr. Parry has been a founder, CEO, senior executive, geologist and business development geologist working across a broad range of commodities with companies including; IsoEnergy Ltd., Skeena Resources Limited, Vizsla Resources Corp., NexGen Energy Ltd., EMR Capital, Tigers Realm Coal Limited, Tigers Realm Minerals, G-Resources Group, BlockHead Technologies Ltd., Surge Copper Corp., Gold Bull Resources Corp., Oxiana, Rio Tinto and RSG Consulting. Mr. Parry holds an Honours Degree with University Medal in Geology from the University of New South Wales and is a Member of the Australian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy.
James (“Jim”) Oliver, Ph.D., P. Geo.
Exploration Manager and Senior Advisor
Dr. Oliver has more than 38 years of mineral exploration experience specializing in global mineral deposit evaluations and early to advanced stage project valuations. He served as Senior Geologist for Teck Resources from 1992-1995 and V.P. Geology for the Hunter Dickinson (HDI) Group of Companies.
Dr. Oliver has served as a Geological Consultant to major mining companies including Placer Dome Inc., Falconbridge Limited, Esso Minerals Ltd., Homestake Mining Corp., Agnico Eagle Mines Limited and Taseko Mines Ltd., as well as numerous junior companies including Dundee Precious Metals, Sun Metals, Serengeti Resources, Detour Gold Corp., Skeena Resources.
Dr. Oliver is an active member of the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientist’s of British Columbia (P. Geo.) and The Society of Economic Geologists, Inc., Winner of the CIM 2014 Barlow Medal and the 2019 Frank Woodside Award for distinguished service to the mineral exploration industry. as "Advisor and Consultant
Mark Rebagliati
Advisor
Mr. Rebagliati is a geological advisor and has held positions with a number of major mining companies. He graduated from Michigan Technological University in 1969 with a B.Sc. in Geological Engineering. In 1986, Mark formed Rebagliati Geological Consulting Ltd. based in Vancouver, Canada.
As a mineral exploration consultant with a portfolio of ideas he developed an association with the Hunter Dickinson Group exploring for PGE in South Africa and Brazil and epithermal, massive sulphide and porphyry deposits in North and South America, the Pacific Islands and Asia.
He played a leading role in the discovery of the Mount Milligan, Southern Star and Kemess South porphyry copper/gold deposits in British Columbia, a cluster of polymetallic VMS deposits at Campo Morado, Mexico, the Pebble East porphyry copper/gold/silver/moly deposit in Alaska and the Xietongmen and New-Tongmen porphyry copper/gold deposits in China.
Mr. Rebagliati is the recipient of several mining industry awards including the BC Chamber of Mines "H.H. Huestis Award" (1992) for excellence in mineral exploration, the "Bill Dennis Prospector of the Year Award" (1997) from PDAC (Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada), a co-recipient of the "Thayer Lindsey International Discovery Award" from PDAC (2007), the "Robert M. Dreyer Award" (2008) from the Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration to recognize outstanding achievements in applied economic geology accomplished through commercial exploration or development of mineral deposits, and most recently the "Colin Spence Award" (2009) from the Association for Mineral Exploration BC for global exploration excellence.
Ted Muraro
Advisor
Mr. Muraro has dedicated over 40 years to the mineral exploration industry, and spent over 30 years at Cominco Ltd. as Chief Geologist and internal Consulting Geologist to the Exploration Division. Mr. Muraro holds a B.Ap.Sc. In Geological Engineering from the University of British Columbia, a M.Sc. In Geological Engineering from Queens University, and completed post graduate studies at Stanford University. He serves as a Director of Imperial Metals Corp.
Harvey Tremblay
Advisor
Mr. Tremblay is the founder and President of Hy-Tech Drilling Ltd. based in Smithers, BC. A northerner all his life, Mr. Tremblay grew up in Kitimat and eventually moved to Smithers in 1977 to raise his family.
In 1991 Mr. Tremblay founded Hy-Tech Drilling and built it up from a single drill operation to a fleet of 25 drills operating throughout Canada and Europe. Hy-Tech Drilling clients include the Lundin Group, Goldcorp, Seabridge, Xstrata, Rubicon and Dennison. Working closely with his engineering team, Harvey helped design the unique patented diamond drill that is exclusive to Hy-Tech Drilling. Prior to starting Hy-Tech Drilling, Mr. Tremblay worked in every area of the mining industry including camp construction, soil sampling, claim staking and diamond drilling.
Mr. Tremblay is active in the community as a sponsor, volunteer and mentor. He is currently a Director of the Canadian Diamond Drilling Association (CDDA) and is a strong believer in developing and fostering a culture of safety and environmental awareness. He received the "David Barr Award" (2010) for leadership and innovation in mineral exploration, health and safety from the Association for Mineral Exploration B.C.