Keynotes 2020 Precious Metals Summit Beaver Creek (Virtual)

Geologist and resource company entrepreneur with over 46 years of experience in the international minerals and renewable energy industries. Founder and Chairman, Pan American Silver Corp., one of the world’s leading silver producers, and Equinox Gold Corp., a major gold producer, he has also founded and divested a number of other public mineral resource companies including Alterra Power Corp., a clean power producer. Beaty is President of Sitka Foundation, one of Canada’s leading environmental foundations and Patron of Beaty Biodiversity Center, University of British Columbia. He is also Director of a number of environmental NGOs, including Panthera, the BC Parks Foundation and the Pacific Salmon Foundation. Former President, World Silver Institute, Washington DC. Fellow: Geological Association of Canada; Society of Economic Geologists; Canadian Institute of Mining. He has received many awards and honours for business and philanthropic achievements, including the Canadian Mining Hall of Fame (2018), Order of Canada (2017) and Doctor of Laws honoris causa, University of British Columbia (2018).

Dr. Thomas Kaplan is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The Electrum Group, a privately held global natural resources investment management company that manages the portfolio of Electrum. He is also NOVAGOLD’s Chairman of the Board and the company’s single largest shareholder. Dr. Kaplan is an entrepreneur and investor with a track record of both creating and unlocking shareholder value in public and private companies. Dr. Kaplan served as Chairman of Leor Exploration & Production LLC, a natural gas exploration and development company founded by Dr. Kaplan in 2003. In 2007, Leor’s natural gas assets were sold to EnCana Oil & Gas USA Inc., a subsidiary of Encana Corporation, for $2.55 billion. Dr. Kaplan holds Bachelors, Masters and Doctoral Degrees in History from Oxford University.

Marin Katusa is a professional investor and the founder of Katusa Research, an independent investment research firm. He is widely considered to be one of the most trusted and well-connected dealmakers in the junior resource sector.  Over the last decade, Marin’s 2009 Fund Partnership (KC50 Fund, LLC) has outperformed the comparable index, the TSX-V, by over 600%.  Marin provides sought-after research reports and original ideas that thousands of investors and speculators have followed over the last decade. He is also the author of a New York Times Bestseller, The Colder War. Marin’s insights have been featured in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Bloomberg and CNBC.

Stephen Moore, who formerly wrote on the economy and public policy for The Wall Street Journal, is the Distinguished Visiting Fellow, Project for Economic Growth, at The Heritage Foundation.  Moore, who also was a member of The Journal’s editorial board, returned to Heritage in January 2014 — about 25 years after his tenure as the leading conservative think tank’s Grover M. Hermann Fellow in Budgetary Affairs from 1984 to 1987. As Distinguished Visiting Fellow at Heritage, Moore focuses on advancing public policies that increase the rate of economic growth to help the United States retain its position as the global economic superpower. He also works on budget, fiscal and monetary policy and showcases states that get fiscal houses in order. Moore’s early career was shaped by three people who had a profound influence on him: Julian Simon, the late Cato Institute scholar; Edwin J. Feulner, a co-founder of Heritage; and Art Laffer, the economist best known for the Laffer curve.  Moore calls his creation of the Club for Growth the defining moment of his career. The organization, which he left in 2004, helps elect conservative members of Congress (including Heritage President Jim DeMint when he first ran for Senate).  Moore next founded the Free Enterprise Fund before joining The Wall Street Journal. As senior economics writer for the newspaper’s editorial board, he covered Washington policy debates and state issues. Moore, who grew up in New Trier Township, Ill., received a bachelor of arts degree from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He holds a master’s of arts in economics from George Mason University.

Alix Drapack is the Senior Vice President of Sustainable Development of Osisko Mining. Ms. Drapack’s portfolio at Osisko Mining includes Community and Indigenous Relations, Environment, Health & Safety and Human Resources. Ms. Drapack is a professional engineer with over 28 years of experience in managing mining, environmental and transportation projects in Canada and the USA, spanning operations, consulting and corporate office settings. Alix graduated from UBC with a Bachelor of Applied Science in Mining and Mineral Process Engineering. She also holds an MBA from Arizona State University and is a member (P. Eng.) of the Professional Engineers of Ontario. From 2011 to 2014, as Director of Sustainable Development for Osisko Mining Corporation, she led the combined federal and provincial environmental assessment process for the Osisko Hammond Reef Project and was responsible for Indigenous engagement, public consultation and government relations. Previously she developed and implemented the Environmental Management Program for TransLink and has had mining operations experience including working as a Mill Shift foreman for Inco Ltd.

Resa Furey leads marketing for Stantec’s global mining business and has more than eighteen years of experience in the mining industry. She is a passionate believer that diversity, especially diversity of thought, leads to better decisions and business outcomes. In 2016 she founded the ‘International Women in Mining’ session at SME to inspire diverse populations to create their future in the mining industry. It will be renamed ‘International Diversity in Mining’ in 2021.  She established the CIM Diversity and Inclusion Award to recognize exceptional efforts within the Canadian mining industry. It was awarded for the third time in 2019.  She is multi-lingual and has published widely on tailings, water and diversity in mining.  She was named to the100 Inspirational Women in Mining list in 2018.

A genuine, energetic, and driven manager, Jill utilizes her engineering, construction, and operations background to recruit exceptional talent in the Mining and Natural Resources industries. A Mining Engineer, Jill started her diversified career with Shell Mining and later joined the waste industry for BFI, and Rocky Mountain Arsenal. Contributing to her mining alma mater, Jill spent three years fundraising for SDSM&T. She then segued into recruiting with Downing Teal in Denver in 2008. Jill and Lois Brooks’ started Brooks & Nelson, a recruiting & HR Solution company focused in mining in 2016.  Jill’s extensive industry experience and business development background drives her passion for matching top end talent with the right opportunity for Brooks & Nelson clients.

David is the President of Laurel Hill Canada.  He responsible for the strategic shareholder solutions, business development and overall operations of Laurel Hill’s. David is an industry veteran with over 20 years of experience in progressive leadership roles, including operational, business development and management. He has been with the Laurel Hill team since their inception 13 years ago and brings his extensive experience and success to his new role. During this time, David directly provided consulting and insight on contentious and non-contentious shareholder meetings, solicited and unsolicited tender offers, and corporate governance issues, including many of the largest transactions in Canada. David is currently a director of a publicly-traded company and previously a board member of the not-for-profit Canadian Investor Relations Institute, BC Chapter, and co-chaired the True Patriot Love Foundation Vancouver event. David is a member of the Canadian Investor Relations Institute and the Canadian Society of Corporate Secretaries.

Ms. St-Germain is the CFO of Integra Resources Ltd. and an experienced mining finance executive with an extensive background in banking, mining finance and financial management. She began her career in investment banking before joining Golden Queen Mining Co. as CFO in 2013. During her tenure at Golden Queen, she played an instrumental role in securing project finance and overseeing Golden Queen as it transitioned from development and construction to commercial production. She joined Integra Gold as CFO in early 2017 and helped oversee the sale to Eldorado Gold Corporation in July 2017 for C$590 million. Ms. St-Germain is a director of Ascot Resources Ltd., Osisko Mining Inc. and the Association of Mineral Exploration (BC).

Steve is CEO and Co-Founder of VRIFY, a technology platform being used by some of the world’s most prominent mining companies to communicate their value to investors with 3D models, virtual tours, and interactive presentation tools.

Prior to VRIFY, Steve was CEO of Integra Gold, a Quebec-focused resource exploration company, where he developed and then marketed with an app that showcased a virtual tour of their asset. He led the business from a $10M valuation in 2012 to a $590M acquisition in 2017. The Integra Gold Rush Challenge, a global million-dollar crowdsourcing competition, became the annual #DisruptMining challenge focused on bringing disruptive and exponential technologies to the mining sector.

Steve is also Chairman of Integra Resources and has twice been nominated as a finalist for the E&Y Entrepreneur Award in 2017 and 2019.

Maria Smirnova has 20 years of investment experience. She first joined Sprott Asset Management LP in 2005 as a research associate supporting the metals and mining team. She currently serves as Lead Portfolio Manager of Ninepoint Silver Equities Class and Co-Portfolio Manager of Ninepoint Gold and Precious Minerals Fund. Prior to joining Sprott, Maria served as a Product Development Analyst at Fidelity Investments. 

Ms. Smirnova holds a Master of Business Administration degree from the Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto, and a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Toronto. She has been a CFA charterholder since 2002.

Robert is joint Portfolio Manager for Geiger Counter Limited, Golden Prospect Precious Metals Limited and City Natural Resources High Yield Trust plc. Rob joined CQS as an Analyst for the New City managed natural resources funds in 2011 and has previously held analyst roles at the Universities Superannuation Scheme and HSBC Global Asset Management where he focused on the resource sector.

Robert is a CFA Charterholder and holds a BSc in Geological Sciences from the University of Leeds.