Management

Mr. Gary O’Connor, is currently CEO and Chief Geologist and Director of the Company. He has over 30 years of experience in international mineral exploration and development. He is a Member of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (FAusIMM), a Fellow of the Society of Economic Geology, and holds a graduate degree in geology, geophysics and environmental studies from the University of Auckland.

Mr. O’Connor was Vice-President of Dundee Resources from 2007 to 2017 where he guided investment decisions with his technical due diligence on 200+ resource projects across all continents and covering gold, diamonds, base metals, bulk commodities and uranium.

From 2000 to 2007, Mr. O’Connor was Vice-President, Exploration of Gabriel Resources Ltd. where he directed the drill out and feasibility of the 16+Moz Rosia Montana gold resource, the discovery and scoping of the Rodu-Frasin gold deposit (~2Moz), as well as the drill out and scoping studies of the large (500+MMt) Tarnita and Rosia Poieni Cu-Au porphyry deposits. Mr. O’Connor was Vice-President, Exploration of European Goldfields from 2000 to 2003 where he was responsible for the discovery, drill out and scoping studies of a number of deposits in the belt including the Certej gold deposit (3Moz), the Teascu (0.5Moz) gold deposit, and Hanes gold deposits (0.6Moz).

From 1990 to 2000 he worked as District Exploration Manager for Freeport-McMoRan (“Freeport”) in Indonesia where he was responsible for exploration of the Papuan Belt. His successes include the discovery, drill out, resource estimation and scoping study of the Wabu Gold skarn deposit (12+Moz), the drill out of two large (500+MMt) Duwagu and Komopa Cu-Au porphyry deposits, the discovery of the Etna Bay Cu-Au porphyry deposit for which he received the Freeport President’s Award for exploration success, the discovery of the Mamoa Au-Cu porphyry system, as well as a number of epithermal gold, skarn and porphyry copper-gold projects including the Siduarsi Ni-Co laterite deposit (100+MMt @ 1.1% Ni, 0.12% Co). During his term at Freeport, Mr. O’Connor also worked on the due diligence which led to the revelation of the major fraud committed by Bre-X Minerals with its Busang gold “deposit” in Kalimantan, Indonesia.

Mr. Jason Macintosh is currently CFO and Corporate Secretary of the Company. Mr. Macintosh is a CPA, having completed his BComm at Dalhousie University and his MBA at Laurentian University. He is also a graduate of the Haileybury School of Mines. Mr. Macintosh has over 20 years of broad strategic and operational financial management experience including the preparation and oversight of a life-of-mine budget totaling CA$2.6B. Mr. Macintosh has also worked in commercial banking and business process outsourcing in addition mine contracting, iron ore and industrial minerals experience in the mining industry.

Mr. Jason Dankowski is Vice President of Technical Services and Geology for Moneta Gold. Mr. Dankowski is a registered Professional Geologist with an Executive MBA from the Smith School of Business at Queen’s University, a Bachelor of Science in Geological Sciences from the University of Manitoba, and a Post Graduate Diploma in Applied Geostatistics from the University of Alberta.

With more than 15 years of experience at major mining companies, Mr. Dankowski is a leader in the industry, focusing on delivery, integration, optimization, and risk mitigation across the entire exploration and mining value chain. Most recently, with Appian Capital Advisory, a mining-focused private equity firm engaged in equity and credit investments, Mr. Dankowski steered and supported portfolio company management teams in exploration, geology, and mine planning initiatives and led technical and business environment due diligence on potential investment opportunities worldwide.

Prior to Appian, Mr. Dankowski was at Nevada Gold Mines, a Barrick and Newmont joint venture, as Mineral Resources Manager at their Phoenix Mine, where he led the team in ore control, geological modelling, resource and reserve estimation, mine-to-mill reconciliation, strategic mine planning, and near-mine exploration. Before this, Mr. Dankowski was Resource Geology and Growth Lead for De Beers, where he managed the exploration program that resulted in the discovery of two new kimberlites and the multi-year growth of the Life-of-Mine at the Gahcho Kue Mine.

Mr. Gerald Rogers, is VP Projects for Moneta Gold.  Mr. Rogers has over 35 years of experience in international mine development, operations and contract mining with both underground and surface projects.

Mr. Rogers was part of the operating team that built the Eskay Creek Mine in Northern British Columbia, Cliff’s Mine in the goldfields of Western Australia, and multiple mines in Africa.  As well as building mines, Mr. Rogers has operated over four major mines as the General Manager with a notable focus on safety unit cost, technology, and volume deliverables.

Prior to joining Moneta Gold, Mr. Rogers was Underground Operations Manager at Kinross Gold’s Chirano Gold Mines Ltd responsible for operating four underground gold mines and developing two gold mines.

Mr. Rogers holds a B.Sc Geological Engineering Degree from the University of Manitoba, and is presently a registered Professional Engineer with the Professional Engineers of Ontario.

Mr. Ardem Keshishian has over 15 years of experience in the capital markets, with a focus on the natural resources sector through tenures at Van Berkom & Associates, precious metals equity research at Haywood Securities and Pollitt & Co. and chief financial officer at Royal Road Minerals Ltd. Mr. Keshishian is a CFA charter holder, holds a bachelor of science from Concordia University and a master of business administration from the John Molson School of Business.

Mr. Vince Deschamps has over 30 years of professional experience across a range of sectors in Canada and internationally, with interests in sustainability as it relates to impact assessment and mitigation, Indigenous land use planning systems and biodiversity conservation. Within the mining industry, Mr. Deschamps has overseen programs to assess the impacts of mining activities on biodiversity domestically in Northern Ontario, Quebec and Labrador, as well as internationally in Indonesia and Romania. The biodiversity component of these projects comprised a variety of tasks, including the production and review of ecological baseline studies, the development and coordination of extensive ecological field investigations, the management of expert staff and sub-consultants, data analysis, management options, report preparation, client management and agency, rights-holder and stakeholder consultation.

Mr. Deschamps expertise reflects the broad variety of experiences related to the projects he has worked on. In addition to serving as the terrestrial biodiversity lead on Environmental Assessments of Rosia Montana (Romania), Martabe and Weda Bay (Indonesia) and most recently Greenstone (Ontario), he has also conducted land use compatibility studies for Iron Ore Company of Canada’s mine in Labrador City and served as the biodiversity lead for the external audit of the PT Freeport Indonesia mining operation in Papua, Indonesia. He has coordinated EA reviews on behalf of Indigenous communities, including the technical review of the Detour Gold EA for the Taykwa Tagamou Nation in northern Ontario. His involvement in Indigenous planning extends to drafting a Community Based Land Use Plan for Attawapiskat First Nation in the James Bay Lowlands, as well as conducting a comprehensive review of the Gwich’in Land Use Plan for the Gwich’in Land Use Planning Board in Inuvik, Northwest Territories. Within Northern Ontario, Mr. Deschamps also has experience in the planning and assessment of ancillary facilities that support the mining industry, including natural gas pipelines, roads and renewable energy.

He holds a BES (Hons) from the University of Waterloo and an M.Sc. in Rural Planning & Development from the University of Guelph. He is certified as a Verification Service Provider for Mining Association of Canada’s “Towards Sustainable Mining” initiative. Mr. Deschamps is a Registered Professional Planner and a citizen of the Métis Nation of Ontario.

Mr. Stephen McGinn is a human resources and health & safety management specialist with more than 30 years’ experience in the field of human resources, general management and consulting.  He has worked as Vice President Human Resources and Health & Safety at Labrador Iron Mines Ltd. was Vice President of Operations of Kivalliq Marine Transportation Services and held senior roles with Dumas Contracting Ltd., KLG, and a large multi-trade construction and facility maintenance company, Black and McDonald Ltd. 

 Mr. McGinn brings recruitment strength in serving Impact Benefit Agreements and promotion of aboriginal youth into trades and semi-professional positions.  He has been instrumental in hiring over 60 indigenous trainees into the Timmins mining camp. 

 He holds an Executive Master's Degree in Human Resources Management (M.HRM) from York University, BA (Law & Sociology) from Laurentian University and a Law and Security Administration diploma from Cambrian College.  Mr. McGinn has served on the boards of Northcore Resources Inc., Antoro Resources and  Silver Eagle Mines Inc., Bancroft Community Airport, and Lambton Condominium Corporation.

Ms. Linda Armstrong is a strategic investor relations and corporate communications professional who has designed and implemented successful programs for more than 25 years for publicly traded firms in a variety of sectors including technology, mining, real estate, oil and gas and financial services. Ms. Armstrong enjoys building solid relationships with the investing community and helps firms identify and communicate their corporate advantages to achieve fair valuations. Her strong knowledge of the capital markets and financial analysis provides the investing community with the background they need to make informed decisions and investments.

Ms. Armstrong has also led successful business development and marketing teams as Vice President, Sales, Marketing and Corporate Development with BCE Emergis' newswire division. She graduated from the University of Western Ontario with a Bachelor of Management and Organizational Studies and has also completed the Canadian Securities Course. Ms. Armstrong holds the designation of CPIR, Certified Investor Relations Professional, from the IVEY Business School and the Canadian Investor Relations Institute.