Management
Danniel Oosterman, P. Geo: Chief Executive Officer
Based in Toronto, Danniel Oosterman began his career with Falconbridge and Inco (now Vale) and has been in mining and exploration for over 20 years. At Inco he was part of the exploration team that drilled the T-3 underground nickel deposit at Thompson. Mr. Oosterman is a highly experienced field geologist. He has successfully managed multi-million-dollar drilling programs in challenging weather and altitude conditions in northern Canada, the Western Cordillera, and the Bolivian Andes.
Mr. Oosterman holds a B.Sc. (Hons) in geology from Laurentian University and is a member of the Professional Geoscientists of Ontario. He is a Qualified Person as defined in NI 43–101.
Rob Van Drunen: Chief Operating Officer
Robert Van Drunen, who is based in Thompson, Manitoba, has over 30 years of experience in mining with Vale and Inco, progressing through his career with increasing levels of responsibility, including Mine Manager and most recently Senior Project Manager of the Thompson Operation. In the latter role, he led multi-disciplinary teams in all aspects of mining, including operations, maintenance, exploration, procurement, supply chain management, and contract management.
Mr. Van Drunen holds a Masters Certificate in Project Management from York University (Schulich School of Business) and the University of Winnipeg. He specializes in process improvement and cost control, as well as having an award winning track record for zero-harm safety culture. Mr. Van Drunen is also the Chief Operating Officer of Silver Elephant Mining Corp.
Sam Yik, CPA, CA: Chief Financial Officer
Samuel Yik is a Chartered Professional Accountant based in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Mr. Yik has a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of British Columbia, and obtained his CA designation while articling with KPMG.
Mr. Yik spent over 11 years with Methanex Corporation (TSX: MX, Nasdaq: MEOH), the world’s largest producer and supplier of methanol to major international markets in North America, Asia Pacific, Europe and South America, in various financial and commercial roles with increasing responsibilities. In addition, Mr. Yik brings over 10 years of CFO experience with publicly listed resource companies on the TSX and TSXV and hands on management experience in jurisdictions including Asia, Europe, Australasia, Africa, and the Americas.
Ryan Coombes: Chief Legal Officer
Ryan Coombes has over 15 years of experience in the mining industry. He started his legal career at McCarthy Tetrault and subsequently took on roles of increasing responsibility with Kinross Gold, BHP, Ausenco and most recently as Deputy General Counsel for Eldorado Gold.
Mr. Coombes holds a Juris Doctor from the University of Ottawa, as well as a Master of Arts from Carleton University and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Saskatchewan.
Along with a general focus on corporate and commercial law, Mr. Coombes has a keen mining interest and has been involved in all phases of mining development including: exploration, project finance and construction, mine operations and reclamation. Mr. Coombes has worked in multiple jurisdictions, including West Africa, Latin America, Greece, Turkey, Russia, Australia, and North America. Mr. Coombes will be responsible for the overall legal affairs of Flying Nickel.
Doug Ramsey, M.Sc., R.P.Bio: Environmental Manager
Doug Ramsey is a Registered Professional Biologist in British Columbia, with four decades of experience in the areas of environmental assessment, permitting, and indigenous consultations in the mining sector. In Manitoba, Mr. Ramsey led the environmental monitoring and permitting at the Tanco mine for 12 years, and acted as the lead Technical Director for the Sherridon orphaned mine site reclamation project.
Over his career, Mr. Ramsey’s practice has included clients such as Inco, Falconbridge, Kinross, Barrick, Spanish Mountain Gold, Environment Canada, and Fisheries and Oceans Canada, as well as numerous First Nations in Manitoba as well as in Ontario, Quebec, and British Columbia.
Mr. Ramsey is regularly called upon to present scientific information to indigenous stakeholders and has made presentations on environmental and reclamation issues at various mining conferences.
Cindy Waterman, Corporate Secretary
Cindy has an extensive background in corporate governance, public disclosure, ongoing filings with regulators, managing stock option plans and all other matters related to the office of Corporate Secretary. For the past 10 years Cindy was Corporate Secretary for Teranga Gold until its acquisition by Endeavour Mining. Prior to that, she worked at Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP in Toronto.
David Gower, P Geo: Advisor
David Gower has 20 years’ experience in nickel exploration with Falconbridge (now Glencore), most recently as Director of Global Nickel and PGM exploration. While at Falconbridge, he led exploration teams to brownfield discoveries at Raglan, Sudbury, Matagami, Falcondo and greenfield discoveries at Araguaia in Brazil, Kabanga in Tanzania, and Amazonas, Brazil.
Mr. Gower is currently the CEO of Emerita Resources Corp. For the past 10 years he has held executive and director positions with several junior and mid-sized mining companies. Mr. Gower will advise on Minago and regional nickel exploration at Thompson nickel belt.
Peter C. Lightfoot P.Geo, PhD: Advisor
During a 20-year career as a geologist with Inco and Vale Dr. Lightfoot was responsible for nickel exploration at Voisey’s Bay, Sudbury and Carajas. Peter was also involved in project generation, evaluation and technical support in Canada, Greenland, Scandinavia, Finland, China, India, Australia, Brazil, Angola, South Africa and the United States.
Dr. Lightfoot is currently an Adjunct Professor at the University of Western Ontario. In 2016, Peter published the first comprehensive textbook on the Ni-Cu-precious metal ore deposits of the Sudbury Igneous Complex. Peter received his B.A. in Earth Sciences from Oxford in 1980, his M.Sc. degree from the University of Toronto in 1982 and his PhD from the Open University (U.K.) in 1985. He completed post-doctoral studies at the University of Toronto and undertook extensive research on the geology and geochemistry of the Noril’sk ore deposits during his tenure as an Adjunct Professor.
Harald Batista: Advisor
Based in Brazil and California, Harald Batista is the son of the honorable Eliezer Batista (1924–2018), the founder and former president of CVRD (now Vale). With extensive network and fluency in Portuguese, German, English, and Spanish, Mr. Batista will advise on Flying Nickel’s Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) strategy.
Directors
John Lee, CFA: Executive Chairman
Mr. Lee specializes in M&A and has raised over $130 million for junior miners listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange and TSX Venture Exchange since 2009. Mr. Lee led the Minago acquisition by Silver Elephant Mining Corp. in February 2021 and later architected Silver Elephant’s proposed spinout of Flying Nickel to operate Minago. In addition, Mr. Lee led Silver Elephant in acquiring the Pulacayo silver project, Gibellini vanadium project, Ulaan Ovoo coal project in the past 10 years. Mr. Lee graduated from Rice University with bachelor’s degrees in Economics (BA) and in Engineering (BSc).
Mark Scott: Director
Mark Scott has had a distinguished 20-year career with Vale, Inco and Noranda. His past roles include: Vice President & Head of Manitoba Operations, Vale Canada Ltd.; Director Mining & Milling, Vale Manitoba Operations; Manager, Thompson Nickel Refinery; General Manager, Human Resources & Sustainability; President & Board Chair, Mining Association of Manitoba Inc.
Mr. Scott is currently President & CEO of Sassy Resources Corporation. He holds a Bachelor of Arts from Dalhousie University, a Master of Industrial Relations from the University of Toronto, and a Masters Certificate in Project Management from York University (Schulich School of Business) and the University of Winnipeg. He brings to the Minago operation a wealth of experience in mining, processing & exploration, strategic planning, projects, and business & organizational development.
Masa Igata: Director
Mr. Igata has more than 25 years’ experience working in Asian financial markets and is the founder and CEO of Frontier Securities in Mongolia. Previously, he was Managing Director at Nikko Citigroup with a leading role in Japanese equity sales and investor relations. Mr. Igata now focuses primarily on advising and investing in resource companies in Asia. Mr. Igata received his Graduate of Law from Kyoto University and is a member of the Securities Analysts Association of Japan.