Joseph A. Kizis, Jr., P.Geo., B.S., and M.S.
Director & President
Mr. Kizis is a Certified Professional Geologist with a B.S. in Geology from Kent State University and an M.S. in Geology from the University of Colorado. He has 40 years of experience in exploration for gold, silver, copper, molybdenum, lead, zinc, and uranium in the U.S., Canada and abroad. He is the President and a director of Bravada Gold Corporation and Equity Metals Corporation, director of Nickelex Resource Corporation, and previously of Homestake Resource Corporation as well as Fortune River Resource Corp. (which amalgamated with Bravada Gold Corporation in 2011). Mr. Kizis has held previous executive positions and directorships with Fairmile GoldTech, Sierra Geothermal, the Geological Society of Nevada, and the GSN Foundation.
Robert W.J. Macdonald, MSc., P.Geo.
Vice President of Exploration
Mr. Macdonald is the Vice President of Geological Services for the Malaspina-Manex Group and in such capacity has been the Exploration Manager for several publicly listed companies including Homestake Resource Corporation (formerly Bravo Gold Corp.), Southern Silver Exploration Corp., Valterra Resource Corporation, Duncastle Gold Corp. and Fortune River Resource Corp. Mr. Macdonald has overseen the exploration of many projects throughout North America including the discovery and delineation of the high-grade 1.2 million ounce Homestake Ridge Au-Ag deposit in northern British Columbia and is currently advancing Southern Silver’s 12million tonne Cerro Las Minitas Ag-Pb-Zn project, Durango State, Mexico. Mr. Macdonald graduated with a B.Sc. (Hons) from Memorial University of Newfoundland in 1990 and earned a MSc. from the University of British Columbia in 1999. Over his career in the geosciences Mr. Macdonald’s work has focused on vein and intrusion-related gold systems and VMS environments. Prior to joining Manex, Mr. Macdonald worked as a geologist with the British Columbia Geological Survey and Teck Exploration on projects in Alaska, Peru and British Columbia.
Jay Oness
Vice President of Corporate Development
Mr. Oness has over 25 years of corporate communications, strategic marketing and corporate development experience and has been a director and officer of numerous publicly traded North American resource companies. Mr. Oness will be responsible for general corporate development, and supporting management to evaluate and execute new investment opportunities.
He is currently serving as the VP of Corporate Development at Malaspina-Manex Group where he is responsible for overseeing, implementing, and managing various corporate functions and shareholder programs for public and private companies.
Lawrence Page, B.A., LL.B., K.C.
Director & Chairman
Lawrence Page obtained his law degree from the University of British Columbia in 1964 and was called to the Bar of British Columbia in 1965 where he has practiced in the areas of natural resource law and corporate and securities law to the present date. Through his experience with natural resource companies and, in particular, precious metals development, Mr. Page has established a unique relationship with financiers, geologists and consultants and has been counsel for Public Companies which have discovered and developed producing mines in North America. Specifically, he has been a Director and Officer of Companies which have discovered and brought into production the David Bell and Page Williams mines in Ontario, the Snip, Calpine/Eskay Creek and Mascot Gold Mines in British Columbia, as well as the discovery of the Penasquito Mine in Mexico.
He currently serves as a director of four public companies, including Bravada Gold Corporation, Equity Metals Corporation, Nickelex Resource Corporation, and Southern Silver Exploration Corp.
Killian Ruby, CPA, CA
Director & Chief Financial Officer
Mr. Ruby is the President & CEO of Malaspina Consultants Inc. in Vancouver and focuses on clients in the resource and junior public sector. Mr. Ruby advises clients on matters related to financial management and public company reporting and is particularly adept at handling complex issues and multiple stakeholders with a collaborative, team-based approach. He is also the principal of the Manex Resource Group of Vancouver which provides administrative, financial, corporate, corporate finance and geological services to a number of public companies in the mineral resource sector.
Prior to joining Malaspina, Mr. Ruby was an Assurance Partner at Wolrige Mahon LLP (now Baker Tilly Canada) working predominantly with resource and other junior public companies and formerly was a Senior Manager with KPMG LLP working on a range of public companies and reporting issuers. He holds a BSc. (Accounting) from University College Cork, Ireland, a Post-Graduate Diploma in Corporate Treasury from Dublin City University, Ireland, and received his Chartered Accountant designations from Canada and Ireland in 2010 and 2002, respectively.
John R. Kerr, P. Eng.
Director
Mr. Kerr graduated from the University of British Columbia in 1964 with a BASc degree in Geological Engineering. He has participated continuously in the mining industry since graduation as an exploration geologist, representing Canadian Johns-Manville Co. Ltd. in all areas of Canada during his early career in the 1960s. During the 1970s and early 1980s, he initiated a consulting business out of Kamloops, British Columbia, participating in exploration programs in all areas of North America, moving to Vancouver in 1984 to assume the role of managing director of several junior mining companies. As a consultant, John specialized in supervising remote projects in the High Arctic regions of northern Canada and Greenland.
John has gained experience in recognition and identification of mineral potential in a diversified field of geological environments. His expertise is epithermal and sedex-hosted precious metal deposits in the southwest United States, strata controlled gold deposits and porphyry copper/gold/molybdenum deposits of the western Cordillera, and VMS deposits in all areas of North America. Successful ventures include:
- Recognition and discovery of the Santa Fe gold mine in Nevada;
- Identification of the Calvada gold mine in Nevada;
- Discovery of the Mindora gold/silver deposit in Nevada;
- Early identification of two VMS deposits in Newfoundland;
- Recognition of several copper porphyry deposits in British Columbia;
- Discovery of the Frasergold strata controlled gold deposit in British Columbia; and
- Development of the Malmbjerg molybdenum deposit in Greenland.
John maintains a geological consulting practice out of Vancouver, B.C. with projects located in all areas of North America. He is currently President and Director of Nickelex Resource Corporation (NICK), and Director of Bravada Gold Corporation (BVA), Searchlight Resources Inc. (SCLT), and Equity Metals Corporation (EQTY) listed on the TSX Venture Exchange.
Courtney Shearer, B.Sc (Eng.), MBA, CPA, CMA
Director
Mr. Shearer has been an entrepreneur all his working career. After working in the BC timber industry and in a junior silver producer in the Canadian Arctic, he co-founded and ran a private oilfield service company in Alberta for a decade and successfully sold it to a large, multi-national corporation.
He was involved in several junior Canadian exploration and production companies for 15-years as a board member and in the C-suite, including being CFO for Merit Mining Corp. when they opened the Greenwood Gold Project in 2008.
He was also a director and consultant for San Gold Corporation when they opened the Rice Lake, Manitoba gold mine and grew from a market capitalization of $18 million to over $1.1 billion in 6 years. He worked on the business development team that raised over $120 million to finance that growth and conversion from the TSX Venture Exchange to the TSX.
He is currently a partner in a private company that provides implementation of land development, funding and financial strategies to private, public and not-for-profit organizations.
Arie Page, B.A., LL.B.
Corporate Secretary
Arie Page obtained her law degree in 2004 and was called to the Bar of British Columbia in 2005. Ms. Page currently serves as corporate secretary to several public resource companies in the minerals sector including Bravada Gold Corporation, Equity Metals Corporation, Pacific Ridge Exploration Ltd., Southern Silver Exploration Corp. and Valterra Resource Corporation.