Board of Directors
Bruce D. Hansen
Chairman of the Board
Mr. Hansen is the former Chief Executive Officer and a former director of General Moly Inc., having served in such capacities from 2007 to November 2020. Mr. Hansen additionally served as the Chief Financial Officer of General Moly Inc. from May 2017 to November 2020. Prior to that, Mr. Hansen was Senior Vice-President, Operations Services and Development with Newmont Mining Corporation. He worked with Newmont for ten years, holding increasingly senior roles, including Chief Financial Officer from 1999 to 2005. Prior to joining Newmont, Mr. Hansen spent 12 years with Santa Fe Pacific Gold, where he held increasingly senior management roles including Senior Vice President of Corporate Development and Vice President Finance and Development. Mr. Hansen is currently a director of New Moly LLC, a private molybdenum development company, and also served as a director of ASA Gold and Precious Metals Ltd from 2014 to 2024. In addition to his directorships, Mr. Hansen also currently serves as a Senior Advisor with Headwall Partners LLC, an independent investment banking firm focused on the steel, metals and mining industries. Mr. Hansen holds a Master of Business Administration in Finance from the University of New Mexico and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Mining Engineering from the Colorado School of Mines. Mr. Hansen’s vast financial expertise attained through his years of work in such management and executive positions, and most significantly through his roles as Chief Financial Officer of Newmont Mining Corporation and General Moly Inc., qualifies him as a financial expert on the Company’s Audit Committee.
Mark Chalmers
President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
Mr. Chalmers is currently the Chief Executive Officer of the Company, a position he has held since February 1, 2018. From July 1, 2017 to January 31, 2018, Mr. Chalmers was President and Chief Operating Officer of the Company and, from July 1, 2016 to July 1, 2017 was Chief Operating Officer of the Company. From 2011 to 2015, Mr. Chalmers served as Executive General Manager of Production for Paladin Energy Ltd., a uranium producer with assets in Australia and Africa, including the Langer Heinrich and Kayelekera mines where, as head of operations, he oversaw sustained, significant increases in production while reducing operating costs. He also possesses extensive experience in ISR uranium production, including management of the Beverley Uranium Mine owned by General Atomics (Australia), and the Highland mine owned by Cameco Corporation (USA). Mr. Chalmers has also consulted to several of the largest players in the uranium supply sector, including BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto, and Marubeni, and until recently served as the Chair of the Australian Uranium Council, a position he held for 10 years. Mr. Chalmers is a registered professional engineer and holds a Bachelor of Science in Mining Engineering from the University of Arizona.
J. Birks Bovaird
For a majority of his career, Mr. Bovaird’s focus has been the provision and implementation of corporate financial consulting and strategic planning services. He was previously the Vice President of Corporate Finance for one of Canada’s major accounting firms. He is an independent director of Spruce Ridge Resources Ltd and sits on the audit committee. He is an independent director of Noble Mineral Exploration Inc. where he is a member of the audit committee and chair of the compensation committee. Additionally, he serves as an independent director of Copper Road Resources Inc. where he sits on the audit committee. Mr. Bovaird has previously been involved with numerous public resource companies, both as a member of management and as a director. He is a graduate of the Canadian Director Education Program and holds an ICD.D designation.
Benjamin Eshleman III
Mr. Eshleman is currently a director on the Board of Mesteña, LLC, a privately held energy company headquartered in Corpus Christi, Texas. Mr. Eshleman previously served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Mesteña, LLC, during which time he was responsible for the oil, gas, and uranium leasing activities under 200,000 mineral acres located in South Texas. Mesteña built, operated, and mined several million pounds of uranium through its Alta Mesa plant in the mid-2000s. Mr. Eshleman also serves as Co-Manager of the Eshleman-Vogt Ranch and sits on the board of the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association, a well-known business association advocating for landowner rights. Mr. Eshleman is a 1979 graduate of Menlo College with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration.
Ivy Estabrooke
Dr. Estabrooke is an expert in the development and commercialization of emerging technologies at the intersection of national and economic security. She currently advises government, public and private entities in optimizing their approaches to innovation and technology development for national security, economic and social impact in her role as Director, Innovation Programs and Policy for RTI International, an independent non-profit research institute. From 2020 to 2022, Dr. Estabrooke held the role of Vice President of Operations and Corporate Affairs at IDbyDNA Inc., a venture backed commercial stage biotech company that was acquired by Illumina (Nasdaq: ILMN) in 2022. From 2018 to 2020, she served as the Vice President of Corporate and Government Programs for PolarityTE, Inc. (Nasdaq: PTE). Prior public service included as the Executive Director of the Utah Science, Technology and Research Initiative and science advisor to the Governor of Utah and as a technical program manager for the U.S. Department of the Navy. Dr. Estabrooke earned her doctorate in neuroscience at Georgetown University in 2005, received a master’s degree in national resource strategy from the National Defense University in 2013 and a bachelor’s degree in biological sciences from Smith College in 1998. She holds the NACD.DC and Department of Defense Senior Acquisition Professional certifications. Dr. Estabrooke is a member of advisory boards at Arizona State University and The University of Texas at Arlington. She is on the board of the Utah chapter of the National Association of Corporate Directors and the Utah District Export Council.
Barbara Filas
Ms. Filas has hands-on experience with operating gold and coal mines and processing facilities; executive experience in consulting, public companies, and non-profits; and technical expertise in base and precious metals, coal, uranium and industrial metals in various engineering and environmental capacities. From 2009 to 2013, she held several roles including President and Chief Administrative officer of Geovic Mining Corp., a publicly traded company with an advanced cobalt, nickel, and manganese exploration project in Cameroon. She was President and Chief Executive of Knight Piésold and Co., a leading global mining and environmental consulting firm, where she held roles of increasing responsibility from 1989 to 2009. Prior to joining Knight Piésold, she worked at several operating mines and processing facilities. She is now a director and audit committee member of Austin Gold Corp., a publicly traded company on NYSE American (AUST); and a former director of Knight Piésold Holdings Limited, a private international consultancy, and Moroccan Minerals Ltd., a private company that explored for base and precious metals in Morocco and Serbia. She currently serves as the Chair of the Board of Governors and Nominations Chair for the National Mining Hall of Fame. Ms. Filas was the first female President of the Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration in 2005, the world’s largest mining technical organization. She is an internationally recognized thought-leader on mining sector topics including environmental, social, and governance (“ESG”) matters, waste management, closure, and sustainability; and has experience in both developed and developing countries on six continents. She has a degree in Mining Engineering from the University of Arizona and is a Licensed Professional Engineer.
Jaqueline Herrera
Ms. Herrera has over 27 years of experience in water treatment and process improvements in multiple industries including the oil refinery, petrochemical, chemical, mining & mineral processing and food and beverage industries. From 1998 to 2019 she worked for Nalco Water, an Ecolab Company and leader in water hygiene, treatment and process improvements and energy and air solutions, in increasingly senior management roles, including sales-operations, and global industry development for the base metals and iron ore industries. In that role, Ms. Herrera worked in the bauxite mining and alumina processing sectors in South America, the United States and the Caribbean then expanded her career into global base metals with a focus on the copper and molybdenum markets in various regions. In 2019, Ms. Herrera moved to the Food & Beverage Division within Ecolab Inc. She currently serves as Vice President of Sales. She is a US. Patent holder on functionalized silicones for froth flotation. Ms. Herrera has volunteered for UNICEF and Water for People in remote communities in Latin America, providing education and technical expertise in water treatment for drinking water to schools in remote communities. Ms. Herrera is an active member of the Society of Women Engineers and is a board member of a non-profit organization to help youth in disadvantage financial conditions to develop leadership skills. She holds a Bachelor of Science in both metallurgical engineering and industrial engineering from the Universidad Nacional Politécnica “Antonio José de Sucre” in Venezuela, a Master of Sciences in material science from the Universidad de Oriente, Venezuela, and a Master of Business Administration in operations from the University of Phoenix, Baton Rouge, LA. Mrs. Herrera completed a program at Wharton Business School on Corporate Governance: Maximize effectiveness in the Board Room. She is fluent in Spanish, Portuguese and English.
Dennis Higgs
Mr. Higgs has been involved in the financial and venture capital markets in Canada, the United States, and Europe for over forty years. He founded his first junior exploration company in 1983 and took it public through an initial public offering in 1984. Since then, Mr. Higgs has been involved in the founding, financing, initial public listing, and building of several companies. Mr. Higgs was directly involved with the founding and initial public offering of Arizona Star Resource Corp. and the listing and financing of BioSource International Inc., both of which were the subject of takeover bids. Mr. Higgs was the founding director and subsequently Executive Chair of Uranerz Energy Corporation before it was acquired by the Company. Mr. Higgs was Executive Chair of the Board of Directors of Uranerz from February 1, 2006 until June 18, 2015. He currently serves as the President and sole owner of Ubex Capital Inc., a management consulting business, as well as the President and a director of Austin Gold Corp., a publicly traded company on NYSE American. Mr. Higgs holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of British Columbia.
Robert Kirkwood
Mr. Kirkwood is a principal of the Kirkwood Companies, including Kirkwood Oil and Gas LLC, Wesco Operating, Inc., and United Nuclear LLC. Mr. Kirkwood has been with the Kirkwood Companies for over 37 years and has been involved in all aspects of oil and gas exploration and operations. From 2000 to date, the Kirkwood Companies have grown from less than 500 barrels of oil per day and 7 employees to over 3,000 barrels of oil per day and 60 employees with field offices in Ft. Washakie, Wyoming; Baggs, Wyoming; Moab, Utah; and Ely, Nevada. The Kirkwood Companies have identified, evaluated, negotiated and closed over $110,000,000 of production acquisitions in the Rocky Mountain States. Mr. Kirkwood is a 1982 graduate of the University of Wyoming with a Bachelor of Science in Petroleum Engineering.
Alex Morrison
Mr. Morrison is a mining executive and Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA CA) with over 38 years of experience in the mining industry. Mr. Morrison currently serves as the Lead Independent Director of Nations Royalty Corp, a director of Deterra Royalties Limited and a director of Venerable Ventures Ltd. In addition, he has held senior executive positions at a number of mining companies, most recently serving as Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Franco-Nevada Corporation. Prior to that, Mr. Morrison held increasingly senior positions at Newmont Corporation, including Vice President, Operations Services and Vice President, Information Technology; was Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of NovaGold Resources Inc.; Vice President and Controller at Homestake Mining Company; and held senior financial positions at Phelps Dodge Corporation and Stillwater Mining Company. Mr. Morrison began his career with PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP after obtaining his Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration from Trinity Western University in British Columbia, Canada. Mr. Morrison is a member of the Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada (CPA CA) and a Certified Public Accountant in Illinois (inactive). Mr. Morrison’s qualifications as a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA CA), together with his vast financial expertise obtained through his years of work in public accounting and through such management and executive positions, qualifies him as a financial expert on the Company’s Audit Committee.
Michael Stirzaker
Mr. Stirzaker has over 30 years of commercial experience, mainly in mining finance and mining investment. He began his career in Sydney as a Chartered Accountant with KPMG before moving into investment banking with the HSBC Group and then Kleinwort Benson Limited in London. From 1993 to 2007, he was part of the natural resource advisory and investment firm, RFC Group Limited, where he became Joint Managing Director. He has also been a shareholder and director of Tennant Metals Pty. Limited, a privately owned physical metal trader and investor, was the finance director of Finders Resources Limited, an ASX listed company producing copper in Indonesia, and was a non-executive director of Prodigy Gold NL, an ASX listed gold exploration company. From 2010 until 2019, Mr. Stirzaker
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was a partner with private equity mining fund manager, Pacific Road Capital Management. The Pacific Road Resources Fund II was a major shareholder of Base Resources. Mr. Stirzaker is also a non-executive director of Southern Palladium Ltd.
From 1993 to 2007 he was part of the natural resource advisory and investment firm, RFC Group Limited, where he became Joint Managing Director. He has also been a shareholder and director of Tennant Metals Pty. Limited, a privately owned physical metal trader and investor, was the finance director of Finders Resources Limited, an ASX listed company producing copper in Indonesia.
From 2010 until 2019, Mr Stirzaker was a partner with private equity mining fund manager, Pacific Road Capital Management.
For the past five years Mr Stirzaker has acted as a non-executive director of several junior mining companies and is currently also a non-executive director of Southern Palladium Ltd.
Mr Stirzaker was Chair of the Base Resources Board until its acquisition by Energy Fuels.
