Gold Nuggets – Mercury Free Gold in Papua New Guinea

Gwen brings a fresh perspective to traditional business expectations, which not only influences return on investment and shareholder value, but also focusses on environmental and social dimensions. With over 30 years’ entrepreneurial experience in the United States, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Switzerland, Gwen brings a sought-after voice in today’s global marketplace.

Gwen is an advisory board member of The World Food Bank whose mission is to revolutionize the agricultural markets in the global south through innovative finance and investment that empowers stakeholders across sectors and creates efficiencies in food production. Gwen is also an advisory board member to RESOLVE.ngo, who seek to improve the social and environmental, contributions of the natural resource sector, and accelerate the transition to a low-carbon future through sustainable production and re-use.

Gwen also heads regional projects for PHYLA Earth working on long-term commitments to the regeneration of healthy and productive landscapes. Phyla’s investments into agroforestry and essential supporting systems helps communities and landowners enhance biodiversity, build healthy soils, and mitigate and adapt to climate change.

Gwen resides in the US but has never stopped her cultural and entrepreneurial activities in sub-Saharan Africa and often acts as a bridge between north and south.
In that light, Gwen co-founded and introduced a cable tensioned membrane structure concept from South Africa to the Southwest United States. Now twenty years later the market for shade structures has grown and is has been widely adopted by many sectors Keeping cool came naturally to Gwen as she learned its essential importance through her extensive experience managing international conference logistics and the protocols required by of many countries, their delegates, and heads of state in high pressure environments. This has added a rare and vital project management component to Gwen’s suite of skills.

Urnaa (Uranbileg) is a Professional Geoscientist and Environmental Professional with over 15 years of experience working as an Exploration Geophysicist and in Project Management in Mongolia, Australia, China and Canada. She possesses deep mineral exploration expertise, gained from her work on the massive Oyu-Tolgoi (OT) Copper-Gold mineral deposits in Mongolia, as well as extensive geophysical and geological field experience on the Cadia Copper-Gold deposit in New South Wales, Australia.

Urnaa has an MBA in Sustainable Innovation at the University of Victoria. She is a Board Member of the BC Society of Engineering & Geoscience, the advocacy body for Engineers and Geoscientists of BC. Urnaa is a Towards Sustainable Mining (TSM Verifier) and a Copper Mark Assurance Provider. TSM and the Copper Mark are the globally recognized sustainability and assurance framework that supports mining companies in managing key environmental, social risks and to promote responsible practices across the copper, molybdenum, nickel, zinc, and elements of the gold supply and value chains.

Urnaa brings an exceptional professional profile to AGE, strongly aligning with our strategic needs and mission to transform artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) into a more professional sector. 

With over 15 years of international experience in mineral exploration and mining, including significant leadership roles, Urnaa possesses deep expertise in many aspects of mining including ASM experience and ESG and sustainability frameworks. 

Urnaa’s experience with international projects, global reporting systems, due diligence processes, and her science background are invaluable to our supply chain, technology development, and mineral production initiatives. 

Celia Lira is an accomplished corporate and mining attorney with over 12 years of experience in contract negotiation, corporate structuring, and regulatory compliance. Based in Peru with an international outlook, she advises diverse mining operations—from grassroots ventures to large-scale projects. Her expertise spans strategic project structuring, environmental and community engagement, and risk management. Fluent in Spanish and English, Celia partners with stakeholders and operators to develop sustainable initiatives that align with industry best practices and government regulations.

Daniel is a Professional Geologist with more than 20 years experience in the public and private sector. He is the legal representative of AGE’s Peruvian subsidiaries – Artisanal Gold Peru SAC and Artisanal Gold Peru Tech SAC and has been leading AGE’s work on clean technologies to replace the use of mercury in artisanal mining and managing AGE’s Peruvian team and its engagement with Artisanal Mining cooperatives in Cusco, Madre de Dios, Puno, Arequipa, and Cajamarca.

Daniel obtained his Masters degree in Economic Geology in 2009 at the University of Geneva in Switzerland, and prior his Bachelor in Geological Engineering at the National University of Engineering, Lima, Peru, where he maintains an active presence and engagement with students and professors.

Daniel has extensive experience with artisanal and small scale mining in Peru. He has been a Project Manager for the Artisanal Gold Council from 2019 to 2022 to create new methods for the storage and disposal of waste mercury to help the government of Peru comply with its obligations for the Minamata Convention on Mercury. From 2015 to 2018 Daniel worked for the government as the Director of Mining and Energy of Ica Province, leading Mining Formalization Process and the supervision of Ica’s Metallurgical Plants.

Daniel also has extensive experience in Geological Exploration and Environmental Compliance. He has explored for epithermal, mesothermal, IOCG, porphyry Cu-Au, and alluvial deposits in Latin America and in the Middle East. He has experience in mine scale geology, geological logging, modeling and environmental permitting.

Brad received his BSc. (Honours) Geology from the University of Manitoba in 1985. With over thirty five years of experience in the mining and resource business, he has provided expertise as an exploration geologist, project manager, and executive in both the corporate environment and as a consultant. 

Brad has held the position of VP Exploration for four mineral exploration companies, three of which he was a founder and integral part of the financing and marketing efforts. 

Most recently Brad was a cofounder and CEO of Fathom Minerals / Nickel from 2015 to 2022 and played a key role in transitioning Fathom from a private company to a CSE listed company and raising $16 million in the process. 

Throughout his career, Brad has had the opportunity to work extensively with local communities and the artisanal and small-scale mining sector in developing countries. He is an advisor to the Artisanal Gold Council and a proponent of its mission to improve the livelihoods of small scale miners.

Abidh got his MBA from university of Kannur. He started his career as a banker with HDFC bank in India. His association with gold started when he relocated to UAE and joined Emirates Gold as their chief compliance officer. Heading the compliance function, he started extensive engagement with the Artisanal and Small Scale Gold Sector (ASGM) as the only source of primary gold into the refinery. He subsequently moved to the Dubai Multi Commodities Commission (DMCC), a government authority to handle their gold desk. DMCC selected Abidh for his impressive track record on progressing the Dubai Good Delivery standard and knowledge of the precious metals industry. Subsequently, when UAE decided to bring precious metals under the regulatory regime and the Ministry of Economy (MoE) was chosen to be the regulator, MoE turned to Abidh for expertise in the domain and Abidh has become an integral part of the regulatory team, providing his expertise in various regulatory activities.

With over 12 years experience in the industry, Abidh is a large “value add” for AGE with his understanding of the entire value chain, from mine to market.

Luo started his career with KPMG LLP as an auditor in 1998. Luo has over 20 years experiences in the Canadian mining industry for companies in different development stages. From 2003 to 2005, Luo was the Controller of AFCAN Mining Corp. (TSXV: AFK) which was building an open pit gold mine in China and was later sold to Eldorado Gold.

From 2005 to 2012, Luo was the Finance Manager for Eldorado Gold (NYSE: EGO) and was responsible for mine reporting in Turkey, group consolidation, and financial analysis. From 2012 to 2021, Luo was the CFO for Selwyn Chihong Mining Ltd which has spent over C$300M to explore and develop a large scale Zinc and Lead mine in Yukon Canada. In 2022, Luo worked as the Controller for both Gold Royalty Corp. (NYSE: GROY) and Uranium Royalty Corp. (NASDAQ: UROY) where he was exposed to the mineral royalty and streaming businesses. Luo currently holds CFO positions in a few Canadian publicly listed early stage exploration companies.

Luo holds CPA, CMA from CPA BC and MBA from University of Western Ontario. Luo joined AGE in summer of 2023 to provide his extensive experience in the Canadian mining industry and capital market.

Scott is a registered as a professional engineer and geologist in British Columbia with 20 years of experience in multiple facets of the precious metals industry. Following the completion of a degree in Geological Engineering from the University of British Colombia, Scott began his career in geotechnics as an engineering consultant with Golder Associates and Hatch Mott MacDonald. Scott then went on to complete a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from the University of Western Ontario to pursue an interest in investment.

Scott began his finance career with BMO Capital Markets in Toronto conducting equity research of mining companies in the precious metals sector. Post BMO, Scott was an Associate Portfolio Manager at BCI responsible for covering the gold sector and gold mining companies.

Shawn Blore has over 20 years’ experience working to ensure the compliance of high-value artisanal mineral chains with international standards. Since graduating with a B.Eng (Hons) from Ottawa’s Carleton University in 1989, Shawn has worked on artisanal mineral supply chains including gold, diamonds and 3T minerals (tin, tantalum, tungsten). His work has included substantial time in the field on artisanal mine sites in South America, Africa and the Asia-Pacific. In 2007, Shawn served on the Kimberley Process Review Mission to Liberia, charged with determining whether post-civil war Liberia’s internal controls on rough diamonds were sufficiently rigorous to merit lifting the UN sanctions on Liberia’s rough diamond exports. From 2010-2014 Shawn designed and successfully implemented the ICGLR Regional Certification Mechanism for gold and 3T minerals in Central Africa. The work was carried out in cooperation with the governments of the DR Congo, Rwanda and Uganda. Shawn also developed and implemented the Just Gold project, which piloted bringing artisanal gold from conflict-affected areas of the Eastern DR Congo to world markets in full compliance with the OECD due diligence standards.

Throughout his career, Shawn has been a strong proponent for artisanal miners and worked to help ensure they have fair and secure access to world markets. Shawn is fluent in English, French and Portuguese, and has lived or worked in over 25 countries in Africa, South America and the Asia Pacific. He currently divides his time between Canada and Brazil.

Kevin received his PhD from the University of Ottawa in Geochemistry in 1997 and held a tenured Professorship at the School of Earth and Ocean Sciences, University of Victoria from 1999- 2013. He founded the Artisanal Gold Council (AGC) in 2008 and left academia in 2013 to lead it full-time. Kevin started his work in artisanal mining in 1995 in the Brazilian Amazon and in the following 25 years has built a vast professional network while working in more than 30 countries across three continents.

In 2019, Kevin created Artisanal Gold Enterprises Inc. (AGE) – a social enterprise focused on using business development to improve artisanal mining and bring its 500 tonnes of annual gold production into the formal economy where it can fetch a better price and receive the accolades it deserves for being a responsible and productive source of gold that delivers huge ESG impact.

Kevin has extensive experience and credibility in technical, policy, and business capacities, in the field with miners, with governments, international institutions, civil society, and with industry. He is a world-renowned expert and a voice on the international stage with numerous presentations and publications on ASGM, including authoring the global estimate for mercury use in ASGM used to negotiate the Minamata Convention.
Kevin has raised more than US$50M to advance AGC projects in the non-profit sector and has already generated more than US$100M in revenues in the private sector with AGE.