Golden Opportunities: Uncovering the Lifecycle of Gold Mines

Dan Wilton has 25 years of experience in M&A, corporate finance and principal investing in the mining sector, having executed as principal or advised on more than $10 billion of mergers, acquisitions and divestitures and more than $1 billion of financings. Dan was most recently a Partner at Pacific Road Capital Management, a mining-focused private equity investment firm with approximately $800 million under management. Prior to joining Pacific Road, Dan’s previous roles included Managing Director and Head of the Global Mining and Metals Group at National Bank Financial Inc.; Managing Director in Business Development at General Electric based in London, England; and other corporate finance and M&A roles at global financial institutions based in Toronto and New York. Dan currently serves as Vice Chair of the Board of Directors and is Chair of the Audit and Finance Committee for Providence Health Care in Vancouver, Canada. Dan holds a B.Comm (First Class Honours) from Queens University and an MBA (with Distinction) from INSEAD in France.

Mr. Iwanaka is a founding member of the BeMetals executive management team. He has over 18 years of investor relations and corporate development experience in the mining industry. Over the course of his career, he has been involved with over 20 mergers, acquisitions and property divestures, and he has played key roles in raising over US$100 million through various equity financings, including one of the first at-the-market (“ATM”) financings by a Canadian brokerage firm. Prior to joining BeMetals, Mr. Iwanaka oversaw the marketing programs for a number of mining companies traded in Canada, USA, Germany and the UK.

Rick has more than 40 years of experience in the natural resource sector. Before joining Contango Ore in January 2020, he was President and Chief Executive Officer of Trilogy Metals, who are currently developing the high- grade Upper Kobuk Mineral Projects located in the Ambler Mining District of Alaska. Trilogy is a company which was created in 2012 as a spin-out from NOVAGOLD, a well-known company he founded over 20 years ago. NOVAGOLD is currently finalizing permits for the 40 million ounce Donlin Gold Project in Southwest Alaska with partner Barrick Gold, the world’s largest gold company. Previous to his role as Founder, President, and CEO of NOVAGOLD, he held the position of Vice President of Exploration for Placer Dome Inc. from 1990 to 1997. In addition to his international exploration perspective, Rick brings years of working experience in and knowledge of Alaska to Contango. Rick has managed projects from grassroots discovery through to advanced feasibility, production and closure. He has played a key role in setting up several other corporate entities including: Alexco - where he remains a Director - which is rejuvenating the Keno Hill Silver District in the Yukon; Tintina Resource (now Sandfire Resources America), which discovered and is now completing a feasibility study + permitting the high grade Black Butte copper project in Montana; and SolidusGold, where he is Chairman. Rick holds a Candidature degree in Science from the Université de Louvain, Belgium, and a Master of Science degree in Geology from the University of Arizona. He received the Thayer Lindsley award in 2009 for his role in the Donlin Gold discovery and the Colin Spence Award in 2016 for his role in the Bornite Discovery.

Stephen has more than a decade of experience in the mining industry, in both technical and capital markets roles. While at Vale’s Thompson operation, he oversaw multi-million dollar construction contracts, evaluated the economics of new mining complexes and was integral to the development of the long-range mine plan for the T3 operation. Mr. Soock spent 5 years in various mining engineering positions at sites across Canada before moving into mining equity research with GMP Securities – now Stifel GMP. Since that time, he’s covered senior and intermediate gold producers, base metal producers and exploration companies, as well as providing macro-economic analysis for factors related to precious metals. He currently covers 10 companies in the junior gold and silver space (including Steppe Gold). Stephen has a B. Sc. in Mining Engineering from Queen’s University, is a Chartered Financial Analyst and a registered Professional Engineer.