Board of Directors
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Joanne C. Freeze, P.Geo.
Joanne (Joey) C. Freeze is CEO and co-founder of Alta Copper Corp. Since entering the mineral exploration business in 1979, Ms. Freeze has managed exploration programs and evaluated projects for both junior and major international mining companies such as Queenstake Resources Ltd., Arequipa Resources Ltd., Mountain Province Mining Inc., Placer Dome Inc., Dia Met Minerals Corp., Hughes/ Lang Group and Utah Mines Ltd. (BHP).
Ms. Freeze lived and worked in Peru from 1994 to 1997 where she carried out both project generation work and property evaluations for Canadian and Peruvian companies. As a result of her experience in Peru, a partnership was formed with Peruvian geologist Ing. Fredy Huanqui (co-discoverer of the Pierina gold mine) and a new mineral exploration company was born. Candente Resource Corp. was established in 1997, which operated privately until going public on May 15, 2000. Since then Candente Resource Corp. has spun-out various assets to form two other companies, Xali Gold Corp. (once Candente Gold Corp.) and Cobriza Metals Inc. Ms. Freeze is CEO of all three companies and President of Xali Gold Corp.
Ms. Freeze obtained a B.A. in Geography from the University of Western Ontario in 1978 and a B.Sc. in Geology from the University of British Columbia in 1981. She is a Fellow Member of the Geological Association of Canada and is registered with the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of British Columbia, Canada.
In 2011, Ms. Freeze was appointed as a Member of the International Advisory Board for the Institute for the Study of International Development at McGill University - http://www.mcgill.ca/isid/ -
Larry Kornze, P.Eng.
Mr. Kornze holds an exceptional 34 year career in international gold exploration. He retired from Barrick Gold Corporation as the General Manager of Exploration for Mexico and Central America, and International Evaluations. Prior to working internationally, Larry was the US Exploration Manager for Barrick Gold Exploration Inc. and was responsible for the Goldstrike Mine exploration with discoveries at Betze, Meikle, Deepstar, Screamer and Rodeo.
Prior to joining Barrick in 1985, Mr. Kornze held various positions with Newmont and Getty Mining Co. in North America. -
Matthew Melnyk, M.Sc.,CPG
Mr. Melnyk is a Professional Geologist (AIPG) with 20 years of experience throughout the Americas, Africa and Australia. With Aquiline Resources he was responsible for identifying the geochemical anomalies that led to the company's acquisition of the Navidad Silver Deposit in Argentina and ultimately the buyout of Aquiline by Pan American Silver in 2009. For Aurelian Resources, his work on drill target definition contributed to Aurelian's march toward the Fruta del Norte discovery in Ecuador and eventual acquisition by Kinross in 2008.
He served as Manager of Project Evaluations for Agnico Eagle's Southern Business Unit from 2015-2018 with a focus on identifying district scale opportunities in Latin America. His expertise is Structural Geology which he has utilized most recently in tackling structurally complex projects with Silver Bull Resources in Coahuila, Mexico and Titan Mining in New York State.
Mr. Melnyk holds a M.Sc. in Geology from the University of Southern Mississippi and a B.A in Geology from SUNY Buffalo. He studied Structural Geology towards a graduate degree at the University of Toronto on work that he has published in the Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences. -
George Elliott, BA (HONS) LL.B
George Elliott has over 40 years of experience in legal affairs and corporate finance throughout a variety of industries. As an advisor to the AuRico Gold Board of Directors, Mr. Elliott was instrumental in the reorganization of Gammon Gold through the name change to AuRico. Prior to 2000, Mr. Elliott was Senior Counsel at the law firm Gowling Lafleur Henderson (now Gowlings). Since 2000, Mr. Elliott has held the roles of Chairman and CEO for Titanium Corporation Inc., Executive Vice President of MCAP Financial, which manages over $20 billion in mortgage investments for Canadian financial institutions and Chair of the Executive Committee of the PLM Group - Canada's fourth largest commercial printer, which was acquired by Transcontinental Printing for 250% of their market value. George retired in 2022 as a director of the Canadian Securities Exchange.
George is currently also a director of Urbana Corporation (TSX) and Radar Capital, a private corporation.
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Mario Chirinos
Mr. Mario Chirinos, a Partner at Dentons' Lima office, has over 16 years of experience in the Peruvian mining sector with a focus on corporate and mining law, mergers and acquisitions, financing, and capital markets. He advises foreign and local companies on various legal aspects, including mining rights, mining royalties, joint ventures, streams, securities listings, bond issuance and general financing of mining projects.
Mario serves as the General Manager of Chakana Copper Corp. since 2019 and as a director of Agroexportadora Virgen del Carmen since November 2023. He also currently serves as a director of EMC Green Group S.A. (a subsidiary of TREK Mining Corp.), which operates the Koricancha processing plant.
Mario holds his Master’s in Corporate Law from Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas. Mr. Chirinos has been recognized in Chambers & Partners, a prestigious organization that ranks lawyers and law firms worldwide, in the Latin America 2025 edition.