• Robert Friedland

    Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors

    Robert Friedland has served as our Executive Chairman since November 2022, having previously been the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Friedland has over 30 years of experience and has been recognized by leaders of the international financial sector and mineral resource industries as an entrepreneurial explorer, technology innovator and company builder. Mr. Friedland’s experience is extensive.

    Mr. Friedland has been the Director, President and Chief Executive Officer of Ivanhoe Capital Corporation (“Ivanhoe Capital”) since July 1988, the executive Co-Chairman since September 2018 (previously the Executive Chairman from May 2012 until September 2018) of Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. and the Co-Chair Director of SK Global Entertainment, Inc. from February 2017 to December 2021. Under Mr. Friedland’s tenure, Ivanhoe Capital has invested in a diverse portfolio of businesses. Additionally, Mr. Friedland has been the Chief Executive Officer of HPX since December 2015. HPX is 85% owner of the Nimba high-grade iron Ore deposit in Guinea.

    Mr. Friedland was the Director, Chairman and President of Ivanhoe Pictures, Inc. from May 2013 to December 2021, and a Director since December 2016, and Chairman, since June 2018, of VRB Energy. As one of the most recognized mining personalities and achievers in the world, Mr. Friedland is dedicated to serving on numerous boards in the natural resources sector. These positions include serving as a Co- Chairman and Director of Sunrise Energy Metals Limited (formerly Clean TeQ Holdings Limited) since September 2016, a Director of I-Pulse since April 2008 and a Director of Kietta SAS since November 2009. From June 2020 to June 2021, Mr. Friedland served as Chairman of Gold X Mining Corp., which was acquired by Gran Colombia in June 2021, at which time Mr. Friedland left the board of directors. Mr. Friedland founded Ivanhoe Capital Acquisition Corp., a NYSE-listed special purpose acquisition corporation that completed its merger with SES AI Corporation (“SES”), a lithium-metal battery developer, in February 2022. He continues to serve as a director of SES. Mr. Friedland graduated with a degree in political science from Reed College. Mr. Friedland currently resides in Singapore.

  • Taylor Melvin

    President, Chief Executive Officer and Director

    Mr. Melvin has served as President, Chief Executive Officer and Director since November 2022. Taylor has over 20 years of experience in the natural resources sector as a senior corporate development professional and investment banker. He was most recently Vice President, Corporate Development for Freeport McMoRan Inc. (NYSE: FCX), a leading international mining company focused on copper, headquartered in Arizona. Prior to joining Freeport-McMoRan in 2008, Mr. Melvin was an Executive Director in J.P. Morgan’s Natural Resources investment banking group in New York. Mr. Melvin received his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and his MBA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

  • Russell Ball

    Director

    Russell Ball is an international mining executive with thirty years of experience. He was the Chief Executive Officer of Calibre Mining Corp. (TSX: CXB) from October 2019 to February 2021 and Chair of the board beginning in 2018. From May 2013 to December 2017, Mr. Ball held various executive positions with Goldcorp Inc. (TSX: G; NYSE: GG) and was Goldcorp’s Executive Vice President Corporate Development and Chief Financial Officer from March 2016 to November 2017. Prior to that, Mr. Ball held various positions with Newmont Mining Corporation (NYSE: NEM) from 1994 to 2013, and was Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Newmont Mining from 2008 to May 2013. Mr. Ball is a director of Trevali Mining Corporation (TSX: TV). Mr. Ball is a Chartered Accountant (South Africa) and a Certified Public Accountant in the United States. He holds a Masters in Accounting and Diploma in Accounting from the University of Natal (South Africa). Mr. Ball resides in West Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

  • Sofia Bianchi

    Director

    Ms. Bianchi has over 28 years of finance experience, including several executive positions at Pricewaterhouse Coopers, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund, BlueCrest Capital Management, and Commonwealth Development Corporation Group plc – all of London, United Kingdom. She is the Chief Executive Officer and founding partner at Atlante Capital Partners of Zug, Switzerland. Ms. Bianchi is also currently Chair of Canagold Resources Ltd. of Vancouver, Canada, and a Non-Executive Director of Ma’aden of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and Yellow Cake plc of Jersey, Channel Islands. Ms. Bianchi holds a Master’s degree in finance from the University of Pennsylvania – Wharton Business School, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from George Washington University.

  • Victoire de Margerie

    Director

    Prof. Victoire de Margerie is Founder and Co-Chair of World Materials Forum as well as Executive Chairman/Reference Shareholder of Rondol Industrie, a deep technology startup that develops extrusion machinery for drug formulations and other high-tech applications. Since 2023, she also chairs the Technology and Growth Committee on the Board of Verkor (EV batteries). Prof. de Margerie has spent 35 years in the Materials Industry in Canada, France, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States, first as an Executive and since 2003 also as a Board Director (now Ivanhoe Electric and Verkor, previously Arkema, Eurazeo, Babcock, Italcementi, Morgan Ceramics, Outokumpu & Norsk Hydro). Prof. de Margerie was elected an Academician at the National Academy of Technologies of France in 2019 and she joined the board of Mines ParisTech in 2021. She graduated from HEC Paris and Sciences Po Paris and holds a PhD in Management from Université de Paris 2.

  • Hirofumi Katase

    Director

    Hirofumi Katase currently serves as Executive Vice Chairman, Director General of Industrial Science and Technology and a member of the Board of Directors of I-Pulse since December 2017. Mr. Katase is also President of I-Pulse Japan Co., Ltd., I-Pulse’s operating subsidiary in Japan, since January 2018. Prior to these roles, he most recently served as Japan’s Vice Minister for International Affairs at the Ministry of the Economy, Trade and Industry (“METI”) from June 2016 to July 2017. He held numerous management positions in trade, energy and industrial policy at METI since joining in 1982. During his time at METI, Mr. Katase served in multiple Director General positions, including for the Industrial Science and Technology Policy and Environment Bureau and Trade Policy Bureau, where he led efforts that contributed to the signing of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, among other international agreements. He also was previously Deputy Secretary-General of the Secretariat of Strategic Headquarters for Space Policy at the Cabinet Office, where he helped establish the Office of National Space Policy — the headquarters responsible for Japan’s development of space policy and deployment of space infrastructure. He also was Director of the Oil and Natural Gas division at METI, where he led Japan’s upstream hydrocarbon policy for four years. Also at METI, he was Director of the Aerospace and Defense Industry division where he worked on launching the Mitsubishi Regional Jet (MRJ) program and cultivated international partnerships for the development of aircraft and aircraft engines. He has been a director of MinebeaMitsumi, a manufacturing company, since June 2021. Mr. Katase earned a Bachelor’s degree in law from the University of Tokyo and a Master’s degree in applied economics from the University of Michigan. Mr. Katase resides in Kanagawa, Japan.

  • Patrick Loftus-Hills

    Director

    Mr. Loftus-Hills brings over 35 years of experience in the global mining industry and is currently a Senior Advisor at Moelis & Company, a New York-based investment bank. He is also a former Partner and Managing Director at Moelis & Company. Mr. Loftus-Hills was previously the Joint Head of the Asian Industrials Group and Head of Natural Resources at UBS in Hong Kong, and held leadership roles in the UBS global mining team in New York and Australia. He spent over 25 years in investment banking, advising global mining companies on a range of transactions including cross-border M&A and capital raisings. Mr. Loftus-Hills holds Law and Science degrees from Monash University in Australia. He is also a Managing Member of Sweetwater Royalties LLC, an Orion Resource Partners portfolio company, Chairman of the Monash University US Leadership Council, Co-Chairman of the US Friends of the Australian Chamber Orchestra and Vice Chairman of the AUS USA Foundation.

  • Priya Patil

    Director

    Priya Patil is an experienced corporate director, former senior public company executive and investment banker. She was Global Head, Business Development (Diversified Industries) of the TSX. She was Managing Director, Partner and Founding Partner (Eastern Operations) of PI Financial and a Managing Director, Partner and Head of Investment Banking of Loewen Ondaatje McCutcheon. Ms. Patil was the global general counsel of Breakwater Resources, a Canadian and U.S. listed mining company. She started her career as an attorney with Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison LLP in Palo Alto, California. Ms. Patil is a director of Rambler Metals & Mining PLC (AIM of LSE: RMM), Chair of its Compensation, Governance and Nominations Committee and a member of its Audit and Safety, Health, Environment and Community committees. She is also a board member of Signature Resources Inc. (TSX-V: SGU) and was a member of the board of directors of Alexandria Minerals Corporation, Chair of its Audit Committee and a member of the Management & Special Committees from 2016 to 2019. Ms. Patil hold a B.Sc. (Statistics and Computer Sciences), University of Bombay and a J.D. from the University of Ottawa. Ms. Patil also completed the Directors Education Program (ICD.D), Rotman School of Management (University of Toronto) and the Innovation Governance Program of the Council of Canadian Innovators. She is a member of the State Bar of California, the Ontario Bar (Law Society of Ontario) and Charter of the Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD.D).

  • Ronald Vance

    Director

    Mr. Vance is a corporate director and retired senior executive with a distinguished track record in corporate development, corporate finance advisory and marketing management. He has over 40 years of experience in mining and corporate development. Mr. Vance retired from Teck Resources Limited where he served as Senior Vice President, Corporate Development from 2006 to 2014. Prior to joining Teck Resources, Mr. Vance worked as a Managing Director of Rothschild (Denver) Inc. from 1991 to 2000 and as Managing Director/Senior Advisor of Rothschild Inc. from 2000 to 2005. Mr. Vance is currently an independent director of Royal Gold Inc. (NASDAQ: RGLD) and serves as a member of its Compensation, Nominating and Governance Committee. Mr. Vance served as Chairman of the Board of Southern Peaks Mining, L.P. in 2018.