Management & Directors

Gene McBurney, Chairman
- Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of Canaccord Genuity Emerging Markets Ltd.
- Co-founder of GMP Securities, one of Canada’s most entrepreneurial and long-standing independent investment dealers.
- Over 25 years of international banking experience, leading multiple landmark transactions in the mining and natural resources sectors.
- Based in Nassau, Bahamas, Mr. McBurney provides advice and services to clients in both resource and non-resource sectors.
Campbell Becher, CEO
- Mr. Becher has over 20 years of experience in investment banking, including the founding of Byron Capital Markets, an investment bank focused on the electric metals sector
- Served as Byron’s CEO from 2008 to 2014 and led its sponsorship of the Electric Metals Conference for several years as well as sponsoring the Industrial Minerals World Lithium Conference.
- Currently serves as a board member at Royal Helium Ltd. and Strategic Minerals Europe Corp.
- Previously served as a Managing Director at Haywood Securities Inc.
Jeff Holmgren, CFO
- Mr. Holmgren has an extensive background in corporate financial reporting and finance beginning his career with Ernst & Young LLP, where he provided audit and advisory services to a diverse range of private and public companies around the globe, with particular focus in Latin America, South Africa and Australia.
- For the past 15 years, he has served as CFO of numerous public and private energy & retail companies.
- Mr. Holmgren has been instrumental to countless complex M&A and public market transactions.
Mike Jones, COO
- Mr. Jones is a professional mining engineer with over 40 years of experience in the metals and mining industry, across six continents, all major commodities, and most principal mining methods.
- Mr. Jones held various roles with organizations throughout his earlier career where he served across all levels of mining operations and management, then with Canaccord Genuity as a highly regarded securities analyst in the metals and mining sector before becoming Global Co-Head of Mining Corporate Finance. Thereafter Mike served as an executive for African Minerals Limited, a multi-billion dollar mine, rail and port integrated development corporation where he worked on the Tonkolili iron ore mine, and associated operations including Marampa and Tambao mines.
- Most recently, Mike was the Regional Director for Africa Europe and Middle East with a focus on M&A due diligence and business improvement advisory for Hatch Consulting, a global mining and metals engineering company.
Serafino lacono, Independent Director
- Over 30 years of experience in capital markets and public companies; raised more than four billion dollars for various natural resource projects.
- Co-founder of Aris Mining Corp. and previously chairman of Western Atlas Resources Inc.; co-chairman and executive director of Pacific Exploration and Production Corp.; director of Petromagdalena Energy Corp.
- Mr. Iacono is involved with multiple resource business ventures in Spain & Latin America.
David T. Young, Independent Director
- 20 years of experience as an investor, advisor, and operator across a range of industries.
- Previously a principal at the Carlyle Group, one of the world’s largest private equity firms, with over $300 billion in assets.
- While at the Carlyle Group, part of the leadership team managing over $4.0 billion in natural resource investments, with a primary focus on upstream development and midstream related assets. Prior to joining the Carlyle Group, Director at Talara Capital Management, sat on the board of directors of multiple upstream oil and gas development companies.
John Morris Pereira, Technical Advisor
- Mr. Pereira has 15+ years of experience in prospecting, research and exploitation of mineral resources, in project management as a geologist in companies with advanced experience in mineral resource licensing process.
- Projects involved include licensing spodumene concentrate production at Savannah Resources’ Mina do Barroso and scoping study and EIA application for Lusorecursos’ Romano / Sepeda.
- Mr. Pereira holds a Master’s of Science focused in Mining Resources Evaluation from Universidade do Porto.

Gene McBurney, Chairman

Campbell Becher, CEO

Jeff Holmgren, CFO

Mike Jones, COO

Serafino lacono, Independent Director

David T. Young, Independent Director

John Morris Pereira, Technical Advisor