Our Team
This group of highly disciplined and creative gold mining professionals has demonstrated an uncommon ability to make big discoveries in places overlooked or abandoned by others – and to leverage these elusive ‘sweet spots’ on the mining continuum into uncommon value creation and returns for shareholders. It’s in their DNA. Today, the leadership group is fully committed and vested. Because it’s not what you say. It’s what you do.
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Jon Gilligan, B.Sc. (Hons.), Ph.D.President, CEO and DirectorDr. Jonathan Gilligan is a senior mining executive with over 35-years of multi-commodity, international experience across technical services, capital projects, open pit mine construction and operations. Prior to joining Liberty Gold, he held senior technical and projects roles with both Torex Gold Resources Inc., SSR Mining Inc., and BHP. Dr. Gilligan has been instrumental in advancing many mining operations around the world including the Marigold open-pit heap leach operation, Nevada, USA; Chinchillas open pit mine, Argentina; Olympic Dam Expansion Project, South Australia; Escondida Mine, Chile; Escondida Norte open pit copper mine, Chile, and many more. Dr. Gilligan holds a B.Sc. (Hons.) in Geology from University College London, UK and obtained a Ph.D. in gold mineralization in Archean rocks from the University of Southampton, UK. |
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Joanna Bailey, B.Sc. Ph.D., CA (ICAS)Chief Financial Officer and Corporate SecretaryDr. Bailey is a Chartered Accountant (ICAS) with over 10 years of experience in accounting and financial reporting in Canada and the UK. After completing a Ph.D. in Chemistry at the University of Cambridge, UK, Dr. Bailey joined PricewaterhouseCoopers LLC in 2004 specializing in statutory reporting audits across a variety of industries including mining, retail, production and services. In 2009, Dr. Bailey joined the accounting team at Fronteer Gold and was the Corporate Controller at Liberty Gold since its inception in 2011. Dr. Bailey is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland. |
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Peter Shabestari, B.Sc., P.Geo.Vice President of ExplorationMr. Shabestari was a member of the Fronteer Long Canyon Team, and manages the Goldstrike and Black Pine Projects for Liberty Gold. He is focused on the advancement of our projects through development and de-risking, including oversight of engineering, metallurgical, hydrological and geotechnical studies, as well as community and stakeholder liaison. Mr. Shabestari is a Utah native, and has worked in mineral exploration in the Great Basin and around the world for over 25 years. |
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Tyler Cole, MBA, B.Sc. (Mining Eng.)Vice President, Project DevelopmentMr. Cole is a mining executive with 20 years of combined mining and construction experience, including leadership roles in mine engineering, capital project execution, and operational management across both surface and underground operations, with specific expertise in gold heap leach operations. He has held key positions at Kinross Gold, where he served as Manager of Site Capital Projects at the Bald Mountain Mine; at Evolution Mining, as Projects Director at the Red Lake Complex; and most recently at Worley, based in Salt Lake City, as a Portfolio/Senior Project Manager overseeing major infrastructure and site development programs across North America. Mr. Cole holds a Master of Business Administration from Warwick Business School, (UK), a Bachelor of Science in Mining Engineering from Montana Tech (USA), and a Diploma in Mining and Mineral Exploration from the British Columbia Institute of Technology (Canada). |
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Richard Zaggle, B.Sc., M.Sc., RM-SMESenior Director, Mining and MetallurgyMr. Zaggle is a multidisciplinary mining professional with 13 years of experience in mine development, process design, and heap leach optimization across large-scale gold operations. He has most recently served as Study Manager at SSR Mining’s Marigold Mine, where he previously held the roles of Process Manager and Chief Metallurgist. He also held senior metallurgical positions at SSR Mining’s Cripple Creek & Victor Mine. Mr. Zaggle specializes in mine to mill optimization, strategic de-risking of mine plans, metallurgical test work, recovery modeling, and the commissioning and operation of large-scale gold leach facilities. |
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Matthew Zietlow, B.Sc. (Hons.)Director, Regulatory Affairs & SustainabilityMr. Zietlow has over 30 years of experience in mine permitting, operational compliance, reclamation, and closure at multiple active and idled locations throughout the western United States. He has held senior roles in community affairs, media relations, and academic advisory boards related to the mining sector, and also served as State chair of the Nevada Mining Association Executive Environmental Committee. Most recently he served as Manager of Environment and Lands with Coeur Mining at their Wharf mine in South Dakota, where he was often requested as a guest lecturer at the South Dakota School of Mines on mine permitting and compliance, as well as due diligence for natural resource acquisitions. Matthew is an active member of multiple community and industry boards in South Dakota, and a frequent contributor to local and State regulatory committees on issues of relevance to the mining sector. Mr. Zietlow is a veteran of the United States Air Force and holds a Bachelor of Science (honors) in Environmental Engineering with a minor in Business Finance & Management from the Montana School of Mines in Butte, MT. |
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Owen Nicholls, M.Sc., P.Geo.Director, Technical ServicesMr. Nicholls brings 18 years of technical and operational experience spanning greenfields exploration, resource development and mine operations across North and South America, Australia, and Europe. As U.S. Exploration Manager at Equinox Gold, he led the definition of over five million ounces of gold at the Castle Mountain Mine and supported long-term planning and recovery modeling at the Mesquite Mine. In his most recent role as Vice President, Exploration at Argonaut Gold, he oversaw exploration at five operating mines and was responsible for mineral resource and reserve reporting, ore grade control, and reserve reconciliation. Mr. Nicholls holds an M.Sc. in Economic Geology from the Colorado School of Mines and is a Registered Professional Geologist. |
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Charles Mumford, B.Sc.Senior Environmental and Permitting SpecialistMr. Mumford is an environmental professional with over 10 years of experience managing permitting processes, regulatory compliance, and environmental oversight for mining and infrastructure projects across the western United States and Alaska. Most recently, he was with SLR Consulting, where he served as an environmental permitting and compliance consultant. He previously worked with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, giving him direct insight into the National Environmental Policy Act (“NEPA”) framework and agency coordination. Mr. Mumford has led baseline environmental studies, managed stakeholder engagement programs, and successfully advanced multiple federal and state permit applications. Mr. Mumford holds a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Geography from Utah State University. |
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Cal Everett, B.Sc.Senior Financial StrategistMr. Everett is a geologist with more than 14 years of surface and underground exploration experience with senior mining companies. He moved to the financial sector in 1990, and spent 12 years with BMO Nesbitt Burns focused on resource equities, and seven years with PI Financial Corp. in senior resource institutional sales and capital markets. From 2008 to 2015, he was President and Chief Executive Officer of Axemen Resource Capital. Mr. Everett holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Economic Geology from the University of New Brunswick. |
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Moira Smith, B.Sc. Ph.D., P.Geo.Corporate Technical AdvisorFormerly Vice President, Exploration and Geoscience with Liberty Gold, Dr. Smith has been instrumental in identifying gold exploration opportunities such as Black Pine in southeastern Idaho. As Chief Geologist, Nevada for Fronteer Gold, Dr. Smith was instrumental in the successful advancement of Long Canyon, Fronteer Gold’s flagship project. She developed an understanding of the geology and controls on mineralization at Long Canyon, and built the geological model for ongoing exploration and resource growth. At Fronteer Gold, she managed exploration programs for Teck on several high-profile, advanced-stage projects (now operating mines) throughout the Americas, including the 5.5 million ounce Pogo gold deposit in Alaska; the 1.5 billion tonne Petaquilla (Cobre Panama) Cu-Mo-Au porphyry deposit in Panama; and the 3.5 million ounce El Limon gold deposit in Mexico.Dr. Smith has a Ph.D. in geology from the University of Arizona and is a P.Geo. (British Columbia). She has held board or executive positions with numerous industry associations and is currently president-elect of the Society of Economic Geologists and recent winner of the Colin Spence award from the Association for Mineral Exploration of B.C. Dr. Smith is a director of Discovery Metals Corp. |