Directors & Management

Terry Lyons – BSc (Civil Eng), MBA
Chairman & Non-Executive Director

Terry is a civil engineer with an MBA from the University of Western Ontario and has over 33 years experience in the development and management of natural resource, manufacturing, real estate and merchant banking companies.

Terry is also Chairman of Northgate Minerals Corporation and a director of several public including Sprott Resource Corp. and Polaris Minerals Corporation and private corporations and currently serves as the Lead Director and Chairman of the Audit Committee of Canaccord Capital Inc. He also sits on the Advisory Board of the Richard Ivey School of Business and is active in sports and charitable activities, is a Governor of the Olympic Foundation of Canada, past Chairman of the Mining Association of BC and in 2007 was awarded the INCO Medal by the Canadian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy for distinguished service to the mining industry.

Darren P. Townsend – B.Eng (Mining-Hons) EMBA
President, CEO & Executive Director

Darren is a mining engineer with extensive mining and corporate experience. Previously Darren worked at De Grey Mining Ltd where he held the position of Managing Director from May 2006 to December 2007. Prior to that he was General Manager of Operations at Sons of Gwalia’s (Now Talison’s) Wodgina Tantalum operations, over a period of five years he led and managed the development of the mine to become the world’s largest (over 1mlbs per annum Ta2O5 production) and at the time most profitable hard rock Tantalum operation.

Christopher J. Lalor – B.Juris, LLB
Non-Executive Director

Chris is a lawyer with over 20 years mining and Tantalum industry experience. In his role as Executive Director - Legal and Commercial at Sons of Gwalia, Chris was responsible for managing all the commercial and legal matters for the company. Chris was instrumental in helping build Sons of Gwalia into the world’s largest and most profitable Tantalum Mining Company.

David A. Paull – BCom. MBA (Dist) F.Fin ACA
Non-Executive Director

David is a corporate finance executive with 20 years experience in the resources industry focused on mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures, asset divestments and minerals marketing. From 1989 – 2004 he worked at Sons of Gwalia as Executive General Manager of Marketing and Business Development. David has experience in transaction negotiation, commercial due diligence and strategic market development. Key responsibilities at Sons of Gwalia included managing a small team of technical marketing professionals generating sales revenue of $200m pa. This represented approximately half of all tantalum and two thirds of all lithium minerals sold globally on an annual basis.

Rakesh Garach –BCom, CA (SA)
Non-Executive Director

Rakesh is a business consultant and independent non-executive director. He serves on the Boards of Directors of Hosken Consolidated Investments Ltd (HCI), Johnnic Limited and Kwa Zulu Natal (KZN) Growth Fund Managers. He also serves on the audit committees of Financial Sector Charter Council as well as the KZN Growth Fund and chairs the Audit and Risk Committee of HCI. Business consulting services include strategic advisory services (capital structuring, financial strategy, M&A) to select mid-sized corporates. Previously he was Chief Operating Officer of Deutsche Bank in South Africa

Yunis Shaik –B.Proc (UniSA)
Non-Executive Director

Yunis is an attorney of the High Court of South Africa and presently runs his own private practice, specialising in Labour Relations and Tax. He is also a director of Hosken Consolidated Investments & Seardel Investment Corporation.

Terese Gieselman
CFO & Corporate Secretary

Terese has had 23 years experience with junior mining and exploration companies listed on the TSX, TSXV, OTCBB, NASDAQ and AMEX, in the roles of Chief Financial Officer, Treasurer, and Corporate Secretary. During her tenure in the resource sector, Terese has accumulated an extensive background in corporate and financial reporting and compliance for Canada and the United States, including particularly relevant experience in financings, treasury, international corporate structures and financial reporting in Mexico, Peru, Chile, Argentina and Zimbabwe.

Darryl Levitt - BComm LLB
Non-Executive Director

Darryl consults with domestic and foreign companies on transactions involving Canada, South Africa and other Southern African countries such as Mozambique, Botswana and Namibia. While involved in resource projects throughout the world, Darryl's practice is also heavily involved with the related corporate and business matters.
 
Darryl specializes in representing corporations and investment banks on corporate finance transactions, securities and mergers and acquisitions.  He has extensive international corporate finance experience involving stock exchange listings, financings and takeovers of issuers on the JSE, AIM and Toronto Stock Exchanges. He also advises resource issuers regarding joint ventures and commercial mining agreements including product supply, farm-in, and offtake agreements.

He is qualified to practise law in South Africa and Ontario. Darryl has been recognised as a one of the world's leading mining and business lawyers by the prestigious International Who's Who of Business Lawyers and Lawday. He is often quoted on CNBC, Reuters and the National Post.

Timothy D Major
BSc Hons (UK), MSc (UK), Grad Dip Applied Finance and Investment (Australia)
Head of Geology

Mr Major is an exploration and mining geologist with extensive experience in a wide range of commodities and over many projects spanning 30 years. More recently he has been an exploration manager at Gindalbie Metals (iron-ore), Compass Resources (base metals and uranium) and Jabiru Metals (base metals). Mr Major has worked in Kenya with Panorama Resources exploring for gold and base metals during 1997-1998 and has also worked as an exploration and mine geologist at the Greenbushes tin tantalum and lithium pegmatite resource.