President, CEO, and Director
Mr. Nelsen is the President, CEO, and Director of Avanti, and he currently serves as a Director of New Gold Inc. (since June 2008). He was the founder and Chairman of Metallica Resources Inc. (from 1994 to 2008). He previously served as Chief Executive Officer of that company from 1994 to 1999. In June 2008, a three-company merger between Metallica, Peak Gold, and New Gold Inc. was finalized, forming the new, larger gold producer known as New Gold Inc., listed on both the Toronto Stock Exchange and American Stock Exchange. Mr. Nelsen served as the Executive Vice-President, Exploration, for Gold Fields Limited (from 1999 to June 2007), one of the world's largest gold mining companies, listed on the Johannesburg Securities Exchange in South Africa and also on the New York Stock Exchange, London Stock Exchange, Euronext in Paris and Brussels and the SWX Swiss Exchange. Mr. Nelsen holds a Master of Science degree in Geology from the University of New Mexico and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Geology from the University of Montana.Director
Mr. Barnes is a Director of Avanti and currently the President and Chief Executive officer (since April 2006) and the founder, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer (from 2004 to 2006) of Silver Wheaton Corp., a public company listed on the Toronto and New York Stock Exchanges. He currently serves as a Director of Golden Oasis Exploration Corp. (since 2005) and American Copper Corp. (since 2006), both public companies listed on the TSX Venture Exchange. Mr. Barnes was previously Executive Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer of Goldcorp Inc. (from 2005 to 2006) and Chief Financial Officer of Wheaton River Minerals Inc., which merged with Goldcorp. Inc. (from 2003 to 2005). Mr. Barnes is a Chartered Accountant and received his B.Sc. in Economics from the University of Hull, England.Director
Mr. Cross is a Director of Avanti and also the Founder, Chairman and a Director of Bankers Petroleum Ltd. (since 2004), a public company listed on both the Toronto Stock Exchange and the London Stock Exchange. He was the Chairman and a Director of Northern Orion Resources Inc. (from 2001 to 2007), prior to it being acquired by Yamana Gold Inc. In 2002, Mr. Cross was Chairman of EAGC Ventures Corp., a TSX Venture Exchange company which was subsequently sold to Bema Gold Corporation. Between 1996 and 1998, he was the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Yorkton Securities Inc., and from 1987 to 1994 he was a Partner-Investment Banking of Gordon Capital Corporation in Toronto. Mr. Cross has an Engineering degree from the University of Waterloo and received his Masters of Business Administration from Harvard Business School.Director
Mr. Bennett is a Director of Avanti and currently a Partner with Resource Capital Funds (since 1998), a private equity group of funds that invests in development and growth stage mining companies. From 1992 to 1998, Mr. Bennett held various positions within NM Rothschild & Sons in Denver and Rothschild Australia Limited in Sydney, where he was principally responsible for the technical analysis of mining projects seeking debt finance. Prior to joining Rothschilds, he worked as a geologist for the United States Bureau of Mines and a private exploration company focused on Alaska, as well as a mining engineering consultant for Caterpillar. Mr. Bennett has a Masters' of Science degree in Mining Engineering from Colorado School of Mines and a Bachelors of Science degree in Geological Engineering and Mathematics from the University of Wisconsin - Madison.Director
Mr. Arnold is a Director of Avanti and is also currently the Sr. Vice President, Chief Operating Officer and board Member of Romarco Minerals, a junior gold mining company focused on the construction and commissioning of the Haile Mine in South Carolina. Prior to joining Romarco Mr. Arnold was the Sr. Vice President of Colorado Operations for Climax Molybdenum, a division of Freeport McMoRan, overseeing the Henderson Mine and the Climax project. Henderson Mine is the world's largest molybdenum mine and the world's lowest cost underground mine. In addition, he has held various high ranking positions with Coeur d'Alene Mines, Knight Piesold, Kinross, and Santa Fe Pacific Gold Corp. Mr. Arnold became President of the Society for Mining Metallurgy and Exploration (SME) in 2007. Mr. Arnold holds a B.S. in Metallurgical Engineering from the University of Idaho and an M.S. in Engineering Management from the University of Missouri.Director
Mr. Smith is a Director for Avanti and is currently Chief Executive Officer, member of the Board of Directors and a shareholder of Molycorp Minerals, LLC. Molycorp Minerals is headquartered in Greenwood Village, Colorado and owns and operates a rare earth mine and processing facilities in Mountain Pass, California, where it produces various forms of rare earth products for sale. Molycorp Minerals is also engaged in technology development concerning rare earth applications and has several patents in this regard. Prior to Molycorp Minerals, Mr. Smith was the president and Chief Executive Officer of Chevron Mining Inc. a wholly-owned subsidiary of Chevron Corporation. Mr. Smith was appointed president and Chief Executive Officer in April 2006. Chevron Mining Inc. operated five mines and was engaged in a joint venture with CONSOL Energy Inc to develop the Youngs Creek Mine, a surface coal mine in Wyoming. Prior to this appointment, Mr. Smith was a Vice President for Unocal Corporation, where he was responsible for managing the real estate, remediation, mining and carbon divisions. Mr. Smith worked for Unocal for over 22 years. Mr. Smith received his Bachelor of Science degree in agricultural engineering from Colorado State University in 1981 and his Juris Doctor, cum laude, from Western State University, College of Law, in 1990. He is a registered professional engineer and an active member of the State Bar of California and Colorado.Chief Financial Officer
Mr. Ali is the Chief Financial Officer of Avanti. He is a Chartered Accountant with over 25 years experience in the mining industry. Most recently, he was the Chief Financial Officer of Centenario Copper Corporation, a company listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Previously, Mr. Ali was the Executive Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer of EuroZinc Mining Corporation (2004 to 2006), a public company listed on both the Toronto and American Stock Exchanges. Mr. Ali was the Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer of Resource 21 (1998 to 2003), a subsidiary of Boeing, formed to produce satellite-based imaging data and information services primarily for the agricultural industry. Mr. Ali was the Vice-President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer of Vista Gold Corp. (1992 to 1998), a public company listed on the Toronto and American Stock Exchanges. He is a director of Centenario Copper Corporation. Prior to the merger of Peak Gold, Metallica Resources and New Gold Inc., Mr. Ali served as the Director and the chair of the Audit Committee of Metallica Resources Inc. Mr. Ali is also a member of the Financial Executives International and the Institute of Corporate Directors.Vice-President, Exploration
Mr. Blair is the Vice-President, Exploration for Avanti. From 1989-1999 he was Chief Geologist for Cyprus Amax Inc. Since 1999, he has been a consulting economic geologist. Prior to 1989, Mr. Blair was Chief Geologist for Coeur d'Alene Mines and Geology Superintendent at the Coeur Rochester Mine. Before 1986, Mr. Blair was Senior Technical Specialist for the Getty Minerals Division of Getty Oil; Consulting Geologist for Perry, Knox, Kaufman; and Chief Geologist for Oceanic Oil. From 1961 to 1969 he was a geologist at the Climax mine and then Senior and Resident Geologist for the Urad-Henderson operations of the Climax Molybdenum Division of Amax Inc. Mr. Blair was one member of the team of three geologists directly responsible for the discovery of the world-class Henderson molybdenum mine at Red Mountain, Empire, CO. He has more than 35 years of experience directly devoted to the exploration and discovery of porphyry molybdenum and copper deposits.Senior Vice President, Project Development
Mr. Collison is the Senior Vice President, Project Development for Avanti. Mr. Collison has over 30 years of experience in the mining industry. Most recently, he served as Chief Operating Officer of Thompson Creek Metals, which included the responsibility for the operations of the Endako and Thompson Creek molybdenum mines. From 2001 to 2004, Mr. Collison worked for the State of Alaska managing construction of sewer and water systems for rural Alaska with extensive dealings with rural populations including first nation communities. In addition, he has held various high ranking positions with Coeur d'Alene Mines and Rio Algom Limited. Mr. Collison has served as a director of the Mining Associations of Canada and BC as well as president and director of the Nova Scotia Chamber of Mineral Resources. Mr. Collison holds a B. Sc. in Mining Engineering and a Masters of Engineering in Mining; he received both from University of Saskatchewan.