BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Andrew Bowering, Chairman
Andrew Bowering is a venture capitalist with over 30 years of operational experience and leadership in mineral exploration and development worldwide. Among his accomplishments, he is a founder of Millennial Lithium Corp, which was acquired by Lithium Americas Corp. in 2022 for CDN $491 million. Over the decades, Mr. Bowering has founded, funded, and managed numerous companies that have been active in the exploration and development of precious metals, base metals, and industrial metals, mostly in North American and Latin America. In total, he has to date raised hundreds of millions of dollars in equity financings. Mr. Bowering is also currently an Executive Advisor and director of Prime Mining Corp., the Chairman of Apollo Silver Corp, a Special Advisor to American Copper Development Corp, and a Strategic Advisor for United Lithium.
Simon Clarke, CEO & Director
Mr. Clarke brings over 25 years of experience in building companies and implementing successful capital markets and growth strategies focused on mining, energy, and energy technology. Most recently, Mr. Clarke was the founder, CEO, and director of M2 Cobalt Corp. (cobalt/copper exploration in East Africa), which was acquired by Jervois Global in June 2019. Jervois is a world leader in the development and mining of cobalt and nickel projects and is operating cobalt and nickel refineries, benefitting from a market capitalization exceeding CDN $1 billion. The transaction involved Mr. Clarke remaining with Jervois for 12 months as a director and senior executive. Mr. Clarke was also a co-founder, executive, and director of Osum Oil Sands Corp. a company valued in excess of US $1 billion at its peak market capitalization. Osum grew its production to approximately 20,000 bopd before being acquired by Watreous Energy Fund for around CDN $400 million in 2021. Mr. Clarke benefits from extensive experience and knowledge of the battery metals space spanning more than a decade. This includes his past senior executive roles with M2 Cobalt and Jervois Mining, as well as advisory roles in the vanadium exploration/development sector. Mr. Clarke holds an LLB and Diploma in Legal Practice from Aberdeen University, Scotland.
Dr. Laurence Stefan, President, Chief Operating Officer and Director
Dr. Laurence Stefan, has over 30 years of experience in the mining industry (exploration, development, mining, processing and marketing), serving as managing director in Peru since 2007. Dr. Stefan was the founder of Plateau Energy Metals prior to their acquisition by the Company, and previously worked at Gold Fields of South Africa and JCI Pty. Ltd., where he was involved in the beneficiation of a wide variety of solid metal/non-metal commodities. He has vast experience covering over 100 projects on six continents and led the discovery team for the Falchani lithium project.
Claudia Tornquist, Director
Ms. Tornquist, M.Eng., MBA, benefiting from many years of experience in the mining industry, serves currently as President, CEO, and director of Kodiak Copper Corp. Previously, she served as Executive Vice President of Business Development at Sandstorm Gold, a gold streaming and royalty company. Additionally, she worked for nine years at Rio Tinto, as general manager in strategy, business evaluation, M&A and business development. In her various senior management roles at the world’s second largest mining multinational, she developed considerable expertise in assessing and evaluating the financial merits of large-scale mineral development projects across a variety of commodities including lithium. Ms. Tornquist is also a director of Silver One Resources and is a former director of Kennady Diamonds, which was acquired by Mountain Province. Additionally, she has worked as a consultant to Western Potash, which was acquired by China National Offshore Oil Corp. Ms. Tornquist holds a Master’s degree in engineering and Master’s degree in business administration.
G. A. (Ben) Binninger, Director
Mr. Binninger is a chemical engineer who brings a wealth of experience in senior management and board roles over a career spanning more than 35 years. Ben has held a number of high-profile roles in a variety of sectors including mining, energy, materials, environmental and advanced technologies. Mr. Binninger has direct experience in lithium and related minerals having been CEO of Potash Minerals and a member of the advisory Board of Millennial Lithium. He has also created sophisticated process and services companies for global leaders such as Rio Tinto and ARCO. Mr. Binninger will provide key strategic advice as development of the TLC Lithium Project (“TLC”) continues to evolve in line with continued de-risking and as the need for large-scale, domestic lithium projects becomes more widely recognized. Mr. Binninger holds an MBA from Harvard Business School, where he attended on a Teagle Foundation Fellowship, and BChE from Manhattan College (New York State Scholarship).
Alex Tsakumis, Director
Mr. Tsakumis is a public markets specialist with over 25 years of experience in all aspects of mining from exploration to production. He has represented mining resource companies listed on major stock exchanges (including TSX and NYSE). Responsibilities have included corporate governance, finance, corporate communications, and maintaining strong relationships within investment banking and institutional investors. He is currently the Vice President of Investor Relations for Prime Mining Corp as well as former VP of Belcarra Group, Alio Gold/Timmins Gold, and Orko Silver and is a founding Director of Mexican Gold Producer Magna Gold Corp.
Carsten Korch, Director
Mr. Korch is a Peru based entrepreneur with more than 30 years' experience as a founder, co-founder and board member of companies across a variety of sectors, including his involvement in Asante Gold Corporation (West Africa) having supported the company through exploration, development and into production. He specializes in project development and government issues, having significant experience in audit and compensation committee matters. Carsten has lived in Peru for over 20 years and is an established member of that community with deep relationships throughout the country.
