Leadership

Martino De Ciccio

Martino De Ciccio has over 15 years of experience in the mining industry with a strong value creation track record and significant knowledge across strategy, capital markets, corporate finance, and ESG, coupled with a profound understanding of the African mining landscape.

Martino most recently served as Deputy CFO and Head of Investor Relations at Endeavour Mining (LSE: EDV, TSX: EDV), a position he assumed in January 2023. He joined Endeavour Mining in 2015 as Vice President, Strategy and Investor Relations. He played a pivotal role in Endeavour’s transformation from a $250 million market cap company to a FTSE100 listed company and one of the largest gold producers in the world. During this time, he garnered more than 25 investor relations achievement nominations, including numerous awards for best-in-class investor relations in the gold industry and across all sectors.

Prior to joining Endeavour, Martino played a key role in growing La Mancha Resources from a $20 million market cap which culminated in a $500 million take-private offer. As Strategy and Business Development Manager, he then helped lead the private company’s transformation from an emerging gold producer into one of the largest gold investment funds with cornerstone holdings in Evolution Mining and Endeavour, which was recognized with an Emerging Leader Award. Martino currently serves on the Board of Directors of Northisle Copper and Gold (NCX: TSXV) and Bluestone Resources (BSR: TSXV).

Martino earned a B.Com in Finance from McGill University in Montreal, Canada and is a CFA charterholder.

Hugh Stuart

Mr. Stuart is the President and a Director of Montage. He is one of the founders of Montage and is a professional geologist with over 25 years of international experience in mineral exploration. During his career, Mr. Stuart has been instrumental in the grassroots discovery of three gold deposits and the significant growth of two pre-existing gold deposits in Africa. From 1994 to 2001, Mr. Stuart worked for Ashanti Goldfields Inc. and led the team responsible for the discovery of the multi-million ounce Geita gold deposit in Tanzania. The Geita gold deposit entered production in 2000 and is currently owned by Anglogold Ashanti and is one of its flagship mines today. In 2003, Mr. Stuart joined Red Back Mining and for 7 years he led the exploration teams responsible for significant growth in Mineral Resources at the Chirano gold deposit in Ghana and the Tasiast gold deposit in Mauritania, both of which are significant multi-million ounce gold deposits that are currently in production. While with Orca Gold, Mr. Stuart was responsible for the grassroots discovery of the multi-million ounce Block 14 Gold Project located in Sudan and the Koné deposit at the Koné Gold Project.

Peder Olsen

Peder Olsen has over 15 years of experience in project development, operational, technical services and executive roles within the mining sector. He has a demonstrated track record in advancing large-scale projects from the initial study stage to the successful completion of construction, particularly in West Africa. 

Peder has played a key leadership role in building the following projects on time and on budget: Endeavour’s Houndé mine in Burkina Faso during 2016-2017, Endeavour’s Ity mine in Côte d’Ivoire during 2017-2019, Adamus' Agbaou mine in Côte d’Ivoire during 2012-2013 and Adamus' Nzema mine in Ghana during 2009-2010. In addition, as Director of Projects for Papillion Resources, he played a pivotal role which culminated in the $620 million sale of the Fekola mine to B2Gold in 2014.

Since 2021, Peder has served as the Founder and Managing Director at Orange Mining, a global mining consultancy firm with a strong African presence, which specializes in offering owners project management, study and construction services, and commercial support including tendering services, project and equipment finance.

Between 2018 and 2019, Peder held the position of Director for Africa and Europe at Ibaera Capital, a Perth, Australia-based private equity fund. Prior to this, from 2015 to 2019, he held various roles with Endeavour Mining, including Senior Vice President – Projects, Mining & Technical Services. From 2008 to 2014, Peder held various Project Director and Engineering roles at Papillon Resources, Ampella Mining, Adamus Resources, and NS Projects.

Peder holds a Bachelor of Applied Science in Construction Management & Economics from Curtin University in Perth, Australia.

Silvia Bottero

Silvia Bottero has more than 20 years of experience in the mining industry with a proven track record of making highly economic greenfield discoveries and in developing brownfield projects up to DFS, notably in Africa. Prior to joining Montage, she held the position of Senior Vice President of Exploration at Endeavour Mining, overseeing all its African exploration activities. Silvia joined Endeavour in 2016 and played a pivotal role in the discovery of +18Moz of M&I gold resources over her eight-year tenure.

Having been based in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, since 2013 through her positions with Endeavour Mining and previously with La Mancha, she has developed a deep understanding of the region’s geological setting and established strong relations with local stakeholders. Over the last decade, she has been credited with the discovery of over 15Moz of M&I gold resources in Côte d’Ivoire, with notably the discovery of +8Moz of M&I gold resources at the Ity mine which transformed the asset from a 50kozpa heap-leach operation to a +300kozpa CIL operation, the discovery of over 3Moz of M&I gold resources at Lafigué which led to a construction decision within 2 years, and most recently the discovery of Tanda-Iguela greenfield property unlocking approximately 4.5Moz of M&I gold resources which has the potential to be a Tier 1 asset. In her roles, Silvia was responsible for overseeing all exploration activities ranging from exploration permit identification and grant application, drill programmes (grassroots, brownfield, near-mine, and resource infill drilling), and activities linked to studies (PEA, PFS and DFS). In addition, Silvia played a key role in the mine permitting process and in ensuring high ESG standards given her involvement with Endeavour’s Economic Development Fund and its Steering Committee. 

Prior to her Exploration Manager position at La Mancha, she held the position of Exploration Manager for West African Minerals in Sierra Leone and Cameroon. Prior to this, she held various positions at AREVA, working across Niger, Namibia, South Africa, Central African Republic, Kazakhstan, Wyoming, and France. 

Silvia holds a Masters in Geology from the Università degli Studi di Genova, Italy, a Post Masters degree in Geosciences from Université Joseph Fournier in Grenoble, France, and a Master of Business Administration degree from Walden University in Minneapolis, USA. Silvia is fluent in English, French and Italian.

Adam Spencer

Mr. Spencer is the Executive Vice President, Corporate Development of Montage and brings over 15 years experience in all aspects of mining capital markets. Mr. Spencer is a former Senior Vice President of Corporate Development at Sandstorm Gold Royalties, a position he held until November 2020. Prior to Sandstorm, Mr. Spencer was a Director of Investment Banking at Cormark Securities Inc. Mr. Spencer has extensive experience in capital raising, advisory, complex structuring and corporate development. Mr. Spencer also serves as a Director of Reefton Goldfields Ltd., a private mineral exploration company with properties in New Zealand.

Kevin Ross

Mr. Ross has 40 years of experience leading mining operations in Africa, Australia, North and South America, and Europe—Mr. Ross (Eur Ing, MBA, MIMMM) contributes a wealth of knowledge and technical expertise to Montage. Mr. Ross has served as COO of Orca Gold Inc. where he was responsible for the Feasibility Study and planning for development of the Block 14 Gold Project. He was the former COO of Red Back Mining Inc., where he led its operations and directed the development of the Akwaaba Deeps underground mine, the Chirano plant expansion and the Tasiast plant compliance and expansion. Mr. Ross served as the COO of Sirocco Mining Inc., New Gold Inc., Invernia Inc., and was the former CEO of ARCON international. Mr. Ross also serves on the Board of Directors of Great Panther Mining Limited.

Constant Tia

Constant Tia has over 18 years of experience in the mining industry with a strong track record of establishing and leading the finance function across various operations and overseeing major capital projects, notably in West Africa. He has strong expertise across financial reporting, treasury, tax, audit, budgeting, capital management, and financial systems. 

Prior to joining Montage, Constant held the position of regional Chief Financial Officer for Kinross Gold Corporation and was responsible for overseeing the Africa and Chile regions, and previously also the Russian region. His 14-year tenure at Kinross, which commenced in 2010, was marked by a progression of senior leadership roles at mine sites, regional offices, and at the corporate office. Constant played a key role in establishing and leading the finance function at the Tasiast gold mine in Mauritania, initially while at Red Back Mining and thereafter with Kinross. Constant notably had oversight of the execution of a +$4 billion expansion projects at Tasiast which transformed the mine into a top tier operation.  

Before joining Kinross, Constant served as Financial Controller for Endeavour Mining in Burkina Faso in 2010 and Audit Supervisor at PricewaterhouseCoopers in Côte d’Ivoire between 2005 and 2010, where he audited and consulted for numerous clients in the mining industry across West Africa (such as Barrick Exploration, Newcrest, First Quantum, Nordgold, and the Ivorian State mining company SODEMI).  

Constant holds a Master of Science in Commerce from ESCA Business School (National Polytechnic Institute of Yamoussoukro, Côte d’Ivoire), and is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) in New Hampshire, USA. His credentials include certifications as an Internal Auditor (CIA), Fraud Examiner (CFE), and Project Management Professional (PMP). He is fluent in French, English, Spanish, and several Ivorian dialects.

Mike Robinson

Before commencing with Montage Gold Corporation in November 2023, Mike was Country Manager with Red Back Mining in Mauritania where he oversaw the development and expansion of the Tasiast Project from the initial buyout from Rio Narcea until the eventual sale to Kinross Gold Corporation. Prior to this, Mike was the Engineering Manager for Red Back Mining at their Chirano Gold Mine in Ghana where he was responsible for the commissioning and ongoing development of the Chirano Project. Over his career, which has spanned over 40 years, Mike has played a key part in the development and success of three Projects and upgrades designed and built by Lycopodium in Ghana, Tanzania, and Mauritania.

Joseph Tano

Joseph Tano is the General Manger of Montage Gold in Côte d’Ivoire. He joined Montage Gold since 2019 as managing director of all the Montage subsidiaries in Côte d’Ivoire. He has over 19 years of experience in accounting and administration of exploration and mining companies in Côte d’Ivoire.

Prior to joining Montage Gold, Joseph held several senior management positions including  Finance manager of Newmont in Côte d’Ivoire (2010–2013), West Africa Administrative and Finance Manager of Energold Group, Consultant in Human Resources Management of China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) in Côte d'Ivoire for their project of extension of the Autonomous Port of Abidjan and managing partner of the firm Business Support Services, assisting mining companies in administration, finance, tax, HR and logistics in Côte d’Ivoire.

Peter Mitchell

Mr. Mitchell is a Chartered Accountant (CPA-CA) with over 35 years of senior financial management experience in both public and private equity sponsored companies. Most recently, he was Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Coeur Mining, Inc., a precious metals producer operating mines throughout North America. Peter joined Coeur in 2013 and was responsible for investor relations, financial planning and analysis, financial reporting, information technology, tax and compliance, in addition to serving as a key team member on the Company’s acquisition and divestiture team as well as leading all capital markets activity in multiple equity and debt financings.

He is currently a member of the Board of Directors of Taseko Mines Ltd., Stabilis Energy Inc. and Northcliff Resources Ltd. He earned a BA in Economics from Western University and an MBA in Finance from the University of British Columbia.

Ron Hochstein

Mr. Hochstein is currently the President and Chief Executive Officer of Lundin Gold, which owns and operates the high-grade, multi-million-ounce, Fruta del Norte (“FDN”) gold mine in southeast Ecuador. Under Mr. Hochstein's leadership, Lundin Gold acquired FDN in late 2014, completed a feasibility study, signed several agreements with the Ecuadorian Government, financed, and then constructed the mine and infrastructure on time and on budget – achieving first gold production in November 2019. Prior to his position at Lundin Gold, he served as Executive Chairman, and President and Chief Executive Officer of Denison Mines Corp. from 2009 to 2015. Mr. Hochstein is a Professional Engineer and holds an MBA from the University of British Columbia and a B.Sc. from the University of Alberta. Mr. Hochstein continues to serve as a director of both Denison and Lundin Gold.

David Field

David Field, BEc (H) / BSc ANU Australia, has had 25 years’ participation in the capital markets and a wealth of experience in evaluating, investing and financing mining projects globally. Mr. Field spent 10 years at Australia’s largest retail fund manager, Bankers Trust Financial Group, as head of their Global Basic Materials Group before joining Carmignac Gestion, the largest boutique fund manager in continental Europe. While at Carmignac Gestion, Mr. Field ran a US$ 2 billion mining fund and invested more than US$ 10 billion of the firm’s funds under management in the commodities sector globally before his departure in late 2014.

Alessandro Bitelli

Alessandro is a Chartered Professional Accountant of British Columbia with over 30 years of experience in the resource industry and finance, having worked both in North America and Europe. A member of the senior management team at the Lundin Group of Companies since 2007, he joined Lundin Gold in 2016 and was previously CFO of Orca Gold Inc. Prior to that, Alessandro served as CFO for Red Back Mining Inc., a gold mining company with two African operations that was acquired by Kinross for $9.2 billion in 2010. He is also a director of Filo Mining Corp and Group Eleven Resources Inc.

Aleksandra Bukacheva

Ms. Bukacheva is a capital markets and finance professional focused on the metals and mining industry. Ms. Bukacheva is currently a member of the Board of Directors of Probe Metals Inc. and was an independent director at Battle North Gold Corporation prior to its acquisition by Evolution Mining Limited earlier this year. Ms. Bukacheva was Executive Vice President, Corporate Development of Element 29 Resources Inc., a junior explorer focused on copper resource development in Peru from September 2018 until November 2020. She was also a director of Gippsland Prospecting Pty. Ltd., a private Australian company, which was sold to Battery Minerals Limited in October 2020. Ms. Bukacheva brings with her a wealth of capital markets and finance experience. Ms. Bukacheva was previously a top-ranked Equity Research Analyst for BMO Capital Markets and spent seven years in investment research (2010–2016) with coverage of more than 40 mining companies. Ms. Bukacheva received her Master of Science (MSc.) at the London School of Economics and Political Science in 2005. She also achieved a Certificate in Mining Studies at the University of British Columbia in 2016 and holds a Chartered Financial Analyst designation.

Anu Dhir

Ms. Dhir is co-founder of Wshingwell, a for-profit community relationship platform that allows individuals, communities and organizations to micro-fundraise around experiences and events. Prior to starting Wshingwell, Ms. Dhir spent 20 years in the resources sector; most recently, as a co-founder and executive of ZinQ Mining, a private base and precious metals company that focuses on the Latin American Region. Prior to ZinQ Mining, Ms. Dhir was Vice President, Corporate Development and Corporate Secretary at Katanga Mining Limited. Ms. Dhir currently serves as a non-executive director on the Boards of Taseko Mines Limited and Lomiko Metals Inc. Ms. Dhir is a graduate of the General Management Program (GMP) at Harvard Business School and has a law degree (Juris Doctor) from Quinnipiac University and a Bachelor of Arts (BA) from the University of Toronto.

Richard P. Clark

Mr. Clark has a long and highly successful track record in the mining industry including Red Back Mining Inc. where as President and CEO he led Red Back to become an intermediate gold producer. Mr. Clark successfully guided Red Back through all facets of growth including discovery, feasibility, financing and production coupled with successful corporate acquisitions culminating in the sale of Red Back to Kinross Gold Corporation in late 2010 for US$7.1 billion. In addition to his success at Red Back, Mr. Clark was instrumental in the discovery and feasibility of the Block 14 Gold Project in Sudan through Orca Gold, which was acquired by Perseus Mining in 2022. Mr. Clark has a geological background and was formerly a lawyer and is a CGIC / ICSA Accredited Director.

Hugh Stuart

Mr. Stuart is the President and a Director of Montage. He is one of the founders of Montage and is a professional geologist with over 25 years of international experience in mineral exploration. During his career, Mr. Stuart has been instrumental in the grassroots discovery of three gold deposits and the significant growth of two pre-existing gold deposits in Africa. From 1994 to 2001, Mr. Stuart worked for Ashanti Goldfields Inc. and led the team responsible for the discovery of the multi-million ounce Geita gold deposit in Tanzania. The Geita gold deposit entered production in 2000 and is currently owned by Anglogold Ashanti and is one of its flagship mines today. In 2003, Mr. Stuart joined Red Back Mining and for 7 years he led the exploration teams responsible for significant growth in Mineral Resources at the Chirano gold deposit in Ghana and the Tasiast gold deposit in Mauritania, both of which are significant multi-million ounce gold deposits that are currently in production. While with Orca Gold, Mr. Stuart was responsible for the grassroots discovery of the multi-million ounce Block 14 Gold Project located in Sudan and the Koné deposit at the Koné Gold Project.