John Proust, C.Dir.
Chief Executive Officer
Mr. Proust is lifelong entrepreneur and has been an active participant in the Canadian capital markets for more than 35 years. An independent businessman, Mr. Proust is a founder, builder, financier, and principal shareholder of numerous public and private resource-based companies. He holds and has held senior operating roles and board positions of public companies on the TSX Venture Exchange (TSXV), Canadian Stock Exchange (CSE), Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), and Alternative Investment Market (AIM). Mr. Proust is currently Chairman & CEO of Japan Gold Corp., Chairman & CEO of Southern Arc Minerals Inc., President, and Director of Lincoln Ventures Ltd., and Director of Rise Gold Corp. Mr. Proust is a graduate of The Directors College, Michael G. De Groote School of Business at McMaster University and holds the designation of Chartered Director (C. Dir.).
Fraser MacCorquodale, BAppSc (Hons)
President and Discovery Lead
Mr. MacCorquodale is a mining expert in a variety of gold and copper deposits built through exploring and assessing over 300 global projects. He has over 35 years of global gold and copper exploration experience, including leading Newcrest Mining’s global exploration team from 2008 to 2023, which resulted in the discoveries of Golpu Deeps, (Papua New Guinea), East Ridge (Canada), Havieron (Australia), Toguraci Deeps (Indonesia), and Seguela (West Africa). Mr. MacCorquodale is skilled in strategy development and execution, development of growth pipelines, mergers and acquisitions and targeting, built on a deep technical knowledge of epithermal gold and porphyry copper-gold deposits. He has expertise in near-mine, brownfield, and greenfield exploration across different cultural and geographical settings, including Australia, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Canada, USA, Ecuador, Argentina, and Chile Mr. MacCorquodale is a recipient of the Colin Spence Award for Excellence in Global Mineral Exploration from the Association for Mineral Exploration.
Vincent Boon, CPA, CA
Chief Financial Officer
Mr. Boon is a chartered accountant with over 15 years of professional accounting experience with private and public companies focusing on financial reporting, regulatory compliance, internal control, and corporate finance activities. Mr. Boon’s experience includes financial reporting for both Canadian and U.S. listed companies with international subsidiaries, strategic planning, tax planning, corporate governance, equity financings and due diligence for acquisitions. Mr. Boon is also the CFO of Southern Arc Minerals Inc., Lincoln Ventures Ltd., and Rise Gold Corp. Mr. Boon holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of British Columbia and is a Chartered Professional Accountant, CPA, CA.
Alexia Helgason, BA
VP Corporate Communications
Ms. Helgason is a seasoned Corporate Communications and Investor Relations professional with a track record of over 30 years’ experience in corporate environments, working for TSX Venture Exchange, Canadian Securities Exchange and OTC traded companies. She has expertise in developing and implementing communication strategies and investor relations programs aimed at building awareness of public issuers, engaging, and guiding stakeholders, and supporting business strategies. Ms. Helgason worked for TSX Venture Exchange for 12 years in business development and marketing, focusing on promoting TSXV listings and services. She subsequently served as the TSX Relationship Manager for Western Canada. In this role, Ms. Helgason managed the relationships with over 800 mining issuers and the mining community. Ms. Helgason holds a BA in Political Science from the University of British Columbia.
Yoshio Nojima, LL.B, MBA
General Manager, Business Administration
Mr. Nojima worked for Sumitomo Corporation for 40 years specializing in mineral resources and investment. He worked in Tokyo, London, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Latin America, where he managed mining and subsidiary companies in Bolivia, Colombia, and Ecuador. In the Tokyo Head Office of Sumitomo Corporation, Mr. Nojima was General Manager responsible for investing in private equity globally.
Takashi Kuriyama, B.Eng.
Chief Operating Officer
Mr. Kuriyama served in increasingly senior roles with Sumitomo Metal Mining Co., Ltd. from 1974 until his recent retirement as General Manager of its Global Exploration and Development Department. During his career at Sumitomo, Mr. Kuriyama held the role of Exploration and Geology Manager at Sumitomo’s Hishikari world class gold mine in Kyushu, Southern Japan, and subsequently held senior exploration positions in Africa, Australia, Mexico, Canada and the United States. In the roles of Executive Vice President of Sumitomo Metal Mining America Inc. and Managing Director of Sumitomo Metal Mining Oceania Pty Ltd., Mr. Kuriyama oversaw the development of the Northparkes copper-gold porphyry copper mine and the Pogo gold mine in Alaska. During his career with Sumitomo, he was seconded to Japanese government organizations serving as Councillor at the Metals Exploration Group of the Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation (JOGMEC) and Director at the Joint Venture Exploration Division for the Metal Mining Agency of Japan (MMAJ). Mr. Kuriyama also served as a Director of Teck Resources Limited from 2006 until 2016. He is a geology graduate of the Mining and Geology Department of Akita University.