John Passalacqua is an international business strategist with over 35 years of extensive technology and capital markets experience. In 1998, John gained the title of a top 50 international business strategist on the early internet. He is involved in private and public market planning for companies in nascent, visionary industries. John has lived in Quebec and is fluently bilingual.

Laurence W. Zeifman is an audit partner of Zeifmans LLP, a mid-sized Toronto public accounting firm. Larry has four decades of experience in public accounting and served for many years as chair of Nexia Canada, the Canadian division of one of the largest international accounting networks. He is also former Director of the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club / former Alternate Governor of the National Hockey League.

Bennett Kurtz is principal of Kurtz Financial Group. He has experience in financing public companies and taking private companies public. Bennett has multi-faceted business experience in finance, management, sales, marketing and administrative functions including business analysis, public business unit segmentation, internal and external analytics.

Peter Nicholson is a recognized leader in Canadian tax assisted investments, with a specialized focus on philanthropic tax planning and tax reduction and the mining industry. Through work with numerous donors, foundations, institutions, and boards, Peter has helped generate over $350 million for client donations. Peter is also a generous philanthropist in his own right and a tireless supporter of community initiatives.

Armand MacKenzie was raised in traditional Innu territory. He has practiced law for 15 years and was chief legal advisor on land rights for the Innu Nation. He was special advisor/negotiator on the drafting and adoption of the UN General Assembly Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. He has negotiated numerous impact benefit agreements. He has been a mining executive for the last 15 years.

David Dufour has over 30 years experience in the development and the management of high-growth businesses in Saguenay, Quebec. He has worked as land surveyor, project manager and director of economic development. He also worked in economic development for the Government of Quebec. David specializes in the areas of eco-responsibility and local governance issues.

Gilles Laverdiere is a geologist with more than 40 years of experience in mining exploration. Gilles has planned and supervised drilling projects in Quebec and elsewhere. He was President and CEO of HMZ Metals Inc. Gilles has served as a senior executive and board member of many public mining companies and is a member of the Ordre des Géologues du Québec.

Steeve Lavoie completed a bachelor’s degree in geology, with a concentration in environmental studies, at the University of Quebec at Chicoutimi (UQAC). He has over 20 years of experience in mineral exploration. Steeve has planned and supervised drilling projects in Quebec and Nunavut. He has participated in two mining project start-ups for Agnico Eagle Mines and promoted them to local communities.

Mario Bouchard was Assistant Deputy Minister for Strategic Industries and Major Economic Projects at the Ministère de l’Économie et de l’Innovation du Québec. He was also Associate Deputy Minister for Energy, Natural Resources and Finance. Mario was involved in major corporate financing by the Québec government, the creation of state-owned companies / privatizations.

Gary Stanley is former Director of the Office of Critical Minerals and Metals at the U.S. Department of Commerce. He has 40+ years experience serving under every U.S. President from Ronald Reagan to Joe Biden. Mr. Stanley worked with both public and private sector stakeholders to strengthen American supply chains and U.S. global competitiveness in critical minerals. He was lead author of the 2019 US Federal Critical Minerals Strategy.

Yves Desrosiers is a metallurgical engineer having managed major site operations and engineering projects in the mining sector as manager, general manager, and vice-president. He has knowledge of mining, concentrators, engineering, environment, health & safety/maintenance. He focuses on production costs while respecting deadlines and budgetary constraints.

Mehrdad Taheran has a solid foundation in chemical engineering and water sciences combined with a drive to advance innovative metallurgical solutions. With over 15 years of experience in research, product development, and project management, he specializes in optimizing extraction and refining processes, enhancing operational efficiency, and ensuring consistent product quality.

Frédéric Lalancette has three years of experience as an environmental project manager at an engineering consulting firm. She holds a bachelor’s degree in geological engineering and a master’s degree in earth sciences—environmental technologies. She brings unique expertise, particularly in geology, environmental law, environmental impact studies, and hydrogeology.

Arnab De has over 20 years of experience in financial management, financial planning, business optimization and strategy development. He worked for Tata Group as CFO in the JCAPCPL joint venture with Nippon Steel and Tata Steel Minerals Canada, where he oversaw the DSO project from conception and managed a +$1.5B investment of in equity/debt.

Valérie Morin brings experience gained in accounting firms, both in audit and assurance as well as advisory services, where she worked with organizations with a wide range of business models. She brings a rigorous and structured financial perspective as to the viability and economic potential of projects and supports informed investment decisions.

Alexis de la Renaudière is a business development professional with extensive capital markets experience. He was at the core of the development of Peterson Capital building and managing relationships with strategic and institutional investors. He is an out-of-thebox thinker who pursues new business opportunities from a strategic perspective.