Board Of Directors
EWAN DOWNIE
CHAIRMAN
Ewan Downie is a successful company builder and entrepreneur with over 25 years of experience in the mining industry. He currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer of i-80 Gold Corp. Prior to this, he held the position of President and CEO of Premier Gold Mines Ltd and is now serving as Non-Executive Chairman and Director of Wolfden Resources Corporation, as well as a Director of Clean Air Metals Inc. Throughout his career, Ewan has been a part of several gold and base metal discoveries, earning recognition for his achievements, including being awarded the 2003 Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada’s “Bill Dennis Prospector of The Year.”
FARIAH MIR
Director
Fariah Mir is also currently the Senior Manager, Accounting Policy & Advisory at TD Bank Group. Prior to that, Fariah worked as a Senior Accountant, Assurance Advisory at Deloitte LLP from September 2014 to September 2017 and as a Senior Financial Analyst at IAMGOLD Corporation from September 2017 to July 2019. Fariah holds a degree in Bachelor of Commerce, Honours Accounting from York University. She is also a member in good standing with the Chartered Professional Accountants of Ontario.
MICHAEL VITTON
Director
Michael served as the Executive Managing Director and Head of US Equity at BMO Capital Markets, where he was instrumental in originating and executing over USD $200 billion worth of public and secondary offerings and M&A transactions across all sectors. In the metals and mining sector, he has been involved in numerous significant deals as a seed investor, lead/co-lead underwriter, or in a M&A capacity. Michael was a co-founder of MMX Minerals e Metalicos SA (Brazil) and LLX Logistica SA (Brazil), returning $8.4 billion USD. Co-founder of Petro Rio SA, a leading USD $7 billion public oil and gas producer. Co- founder of P5 Infrastructure, selling with EQT, Global Gateway South for $2.3 billion USD. Recently, he has acted as seed investor and capital markets advisor to Newmarket Gold Inc. , which was sold to Kirkland Lake Gold for CAD $1 billion, subsequently combining with Agnico Eagle. Michael acted as investor and capital markets advisor to ASX listed Gold Road Resources Ltd. bringing the Guyere gold mine into production jointly with Gold Fields Ltd. Michael acted as investor and capital market advisor for Cardinal Resources Ltd. , acquired by Shandong Gold. Served as investor and director of Premier Gold, acquired by Equinox Gold with I-80 Gold spinco. Seed investor of Go Gold Resources and director of Western Copper and Gold Corporation. He holds a degree from the University of Michigan Business School and has served as a Seat Holder on the NYSE and President of the New York Society of Metals Analysts. Michael has a strong track record of investing and partnering with some of the largest sovereign funds, private equity funds, mutual funds, and hedge funds and focuses on opportunities in the energy, infrastructure, industrial, and mining sectors.
PETER VAN ALPHEN
PRESIDENT & CEO, Director
Peter van Alphen has over 25 years of experience in leadership roles in the mining industry, covering all aspects from construction projects to production. Most recently, he served as the Chief Operating Officer at Premier Gold Mines Ltd, managing the company’s mining and development endeavors. Before that, Peter held positions such as the Country Manager for Canada at Pan American Silver, Vice President of Operations for both Tahoe Resources and Lake Shore Gold, and various management roles with FNX Mining in Sudbury. He was involved in the construction of the Podolsky Mine and the reopening of the Levack Mine. Peter holds a Bachelor of Science in Mining Engineering from the University of the Witwatersrand.
STEVEN BOWLES
Director
Steven Bowles has extensive experience in the Mining & Metals sector, encompassing private equity investment, project management, and operations management. He currently serves as Managing Director at Nebari Partners. Prior to this role, he held the position of Senior Director of investment in natural resources and energy within Investment Quebec’s private equity group. Throughout his career, Steven has led development teams on numerous large-scale mining projects, guiding them from study phases to construction and commissioning in various regions, including the Canadian Arctic, the Middle East, and Latin America. He also served as Operations Manager for the Raglan Nickel Operation, which includes four underground mines. Steven holds an MBA from the Richard Ivy School of Business at Western University and a BSc Engineering from the University of Waterloo. He has been recognized for his outstanding leadership and was awarded the Bedford Canadian Young Mining Leaders Awards.