Board of Directors
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Nick Appleyard
President & CEO, Director![]()
Nick Appleyard was appointed President and CEO in December 2015. He has executive experience in mining having previously been the CEO of Chaparral Gold and Vice President Corporate Development for International Minerals. Nick has over 25 years international experience in precious metals exploration and mining. He has managed exploration, development and production JVs in North and South America, including extensive project development experience in South America with more than ten years in-country, and prior to that in Australia.
Nick is fluent in Spanish, holds a Bachelor of Science (Geology) from Curtin University, Australia.
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Mark E. Jones III
Chairman of the Board![]()
Mark E. Jones, III, has been associated with several mining companies including Brazauro Resources, where he served as founder and Chairman (acquired by Eldorado Gold Corporation in 2004); founder and Director of Crown Resources (acquired by Kinross Gold in 2006); Director of Arequipa Resources (sold to Barrick Gold for C$1 billion). Prior to 1984 Mark was involved in the investment banking business as a partner in Jones Lloyd & Webster. -
Rod McKeen
Director![]()
Mr McKeen retired as of January, 2018, and has over 35 years of legal experience acting for Canadian public companies with an international focus, primarily in the natural resources sector. His practice included all types of corporate equity and debt financings, mergers and acquisitions and mining agreements and transactions. A number of his clients progressed from private start-up companies to publicly-listed emerging companies with established businesses trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange and U.S. and European stock exchanges. He also gained significant experience in the complex issues that cross-border transactions create. The broad geographic scope in which his mining clients operated included 14 countries on five continents.
A number of his resource clients successfully developed mines to production, and significant exposure to project debt and equity financing and related mine development issues was a recent focus area, along with mergers and acquisitions. Other focus areas include corporate governance and corporate disclosure.
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Carlos Vilhena
Director![]()
Mr. Vilhena is a partner at the law firm of Pinheiro Neto Advogados, in Brasilia, Brazil. Mr. Vilhena acts as the International Affairs Officer of the Brazilian Mining Association – IBRAM. He also acts as Secretary of the Mining Committee of the Section on Energy, Environment, Natural Resources and Infrastructure Law of the International Bar Association. Mr. Vilhena holds an LLM degree in Natural Resources Law from the Centre for Energy, Petroleum, and Mineral Law and Policy at the University of Dundee, Scotland and an LLB in Law from the University of Brasilia Law School.
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Eric Zaunscherb
Director![]()
Mr. Zaunscherb is a Canadian geologist with over thirty-two years, and six cycles, of experience as a mining analyst. He most recently served as Managing Director, Research – Metals & Mining Analyst at Canaccord Genuity where he coordinated the firm’s global mining equity research team. He has enjoyed working in Toronto, Vancouver, and London, experiencing best practices in Capital Markets at several leading firms and conducting hundreds of exploration, development and mining project site visits globally. He embraces new technologies and industry initiatives in diversity and socially responsible investing, ensuring that local communities receive lasting benefits from mineral resource development.
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Jessica Van Den Akker
Director![]()
Ms. Van Den Akker is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CA) with 15 years' experience in the resource sector. She is currently the CFO of Kore Mining. She gained extensive experience through a Canadian audit firm providing reporting and accounting assurance services to publicly traded companies, primarily in natural resources. Ms. Van Den Akker is a graduate of Simon Fraser University where she received a Bachelor of Business Administration.
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Mark Isto
Director![]()
Mr. Isto has 38 years of experience in mining engineering, mine management, and project development on a regional and global basis. Mr. Isto retired from the role of Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for Royal Gold Corporation in 2023..
Previously he served as Vice President, Operations for First Nickel Inc. and Senior Vice President in the Projects Group at Kinross Gold Corp. He served as Mine General Manager of Golden Sunlight Mines, Inc. (Placer Dome America) and previously held numerous other management positions in Placer Dome’s global operations, including Chief Engineer, Mine Superintendent, Project Director and Senior Advisor over a nearly 25-year career with Placer Dome.
Mr. Isto holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mining Engineering from Montana College of Mineral Science and Technology, as well as a Master of Business Administration degree in Business Administration from the University of Nevada – Reno.
