CALGARY, ALBERTA–(Marketwired – March 1, 2017) – PROSPECTOR RESOURCES CORP. (“Prospector” or the “Company“) (TSX VENTURE:PRR) announces that it has strengthened its management team with the appointments of Mr. Tim Williams as Executive Vice President – COO, Mr. Jose Luis Martinez as Executive Vice President – Corporate Development & Strategy, Mr. Ian Dreyer as Senior Vice President – Geology and Mr. David D’Onofrio as Chief Financial Officer and Corporate Secretary.
Tim Williams, who will initially be based in Peru, will provide overall leadership in projects, engineering, construction and mining and will also participate in the technical review of all M&A activities. Prior to joining Prospector Resources Corp., Tim was Vice President Operations for Rio Alto Mining Limited from 2010 to 2015. Tim’s responsibilities included overseeing the construction and operation of the La Arena gold mine, and overseeing the construction of the Shahuindo gold mine, both located in Peru. Following the acquisition of Rio Alto Mining Limited by Tahoe Resources Inc. in April 2015, Tim was the Vice President Operations and Country Manager in Peru until August 2016. Prior to his involvement with Rio Alto Mining Limited, Tim managed the El Brocal and the Marcona open pit mining contracts for Stracon – GyM in Peru. Tim has also held senior operating positions in Compania Minera Volcan at their Cerro de Pasco operations also located in Peru. Before arriving in Peru, Tim held mining production roles with Anglo Gold Ashanti at Geita in Tanzania, geotechnical and mine planning roles at WMCs Leintster Nickel Operations and MIM’s McArthur River mine both located in Australia. Tim has also worked in the consulting industry with AMC Mining at their Perth, WA office. Tim holds a Masters Degree in Mining Geomechanics, a Bachelors Degree in Mining and Economic Geology, and a Post Graduate Diploma in Mining, from Curtin University, Western Australian School of Mines. He is a Fellow of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy.
Jose Luis Martinez lives in Toronto, Canada and has extensive Global Banking experience over 23 years in the Canadian financial services sector. Jose Luis is an accomplished Investment Banking professional with extensive Global Banking experience in the Canadian Financial Services sector who is now deploying his capital markets expertise and regional knowledge to make Prospector Resources Corp. a success story. From 2006 to 2016, Jose Luis led business development and relationship management for TD Securities Investment Banking in Latin America, where he had a focus in the Mining sector. Transactions originated included Mergers & Acquisitions Advisory Assignments, Equity Underwriting, and Debt Financing for a wide variety of clients in Canada and Latin America. Prior to this, Jose Luis spent over 12 years covering the Latin American market originating and executing on a wide array of financing transactions for large corporations. He also served as Head of TD Securities’ South America Regional Representative Office in Chile. Jose Luis has strong relationships with executives of large public and private companies, as well as controlling shareholders of leading private conglomerates across Latin America. Jose Luis holds an MBA from University of Toronto in Canada and a Bachelor of Business Administration from Universidad de Lima in Peru.
Ian Dreyer who is based in Lima, Peru has 30 years of geological and mining related experience ranging from open pit and underground mine production, resource definition to grass roots exploration in Australia, Africa, Indonesia and Latin America. His work in Latin America since 2010 has broadly been in a consulting role, working on deposits in Peru, Chile, Mexico, Brazil and Uruguay. Ian has resided in Lima since 2010 and was a key member of the Rio Alto Mining Limited team that developed the La Arena and Shahuindo gold mines located in Peru. Ian has been involved in the optimization of three major gold deposits: The Golden Mile and its transformation into the “Super Pit”, the Mount Charlotte Underground Gold Mine and the Telfer Gold Mine, all located in Australia and brings a mix of technical and operational strengths to the team. Ian holds a BSc in Geology from Curtin University of Western Australia and is a Chartered Professional Geologist (AUSIMM).
David D’Onofrio is currently the CFO of a diversified merchant bank focused on providing early stage capital and advisory services to emerging growth companies globally. Mr. D’Onofrio has over 10 years’ experience working in public accounting in audit and taxation advisory roles, and has acted as CEO, CFO, Director, Audit Committee member and in other financial advisory positions to a number of private and public enterprises. David is a Chartered Professional Accountant, graduate from Schulich School of Business and holds a Masters of Taxation Degree from the University of Waterloo. Prospector thanks Anthony Jackson for his service over the past years and wishes him continued success on his future endeavours.
Alex Black, Prospector Resources Corp. President & CEO stated, “The executive management appointments announced today form the core management team from which our company will grow its future business. The appointments follow on from our stated objective to assemble a highly experienced technical and corporate management team with a solid experience base of developing and building mines and a track record of creating significant shareholder value. We created an enviable business and work culture at Rio Alto Mining Limited that we intend to replicate at Prospector Resources Corp. and have a number of our old management team ready to join our company as we advance our business. We are currently actively reviewing a number of business opportunities that I believe will form a solid base for a new entrant in the precious metals mining space.”
Prospector is also pleased to announce that it has issued, as part of its variable incentive compensation program, an aggregate of 430,000 Restricted Share Units (“RSUs“) and 2,050,000 options to purchase Prospector common shares (“Options”), all pursuant to Prospector’s Share Incentive Plan and Stock Option Plan. Of the 430,000 RSUs and 2,050,000 Options, 430,000 RSUs and 1,550,000 Options are being granted to the directors and officers of Prospector, including the individuals announced in this press release.
The RSUs, which vest 1/3 equally over a three year period, include a time-based and a performance-based component with a multiplier as determined by the Company’s Board of Directors, and entitle the holder to an amount computed by the value of a notional number of Common Shares designated in the award. Each Option entitles the holder to purchase one Prospector common share at a price of $1.02 for a period of five years from the date of grant. The options also vest 1/3 equally over a three year period. The grant of the RSUs and Options are subject to the terms of the Share Incentive Plan and the Stock Option Plan respectively, and final regulatory approval and if applicable, shareholder approval.
About Prospector
The focus of Prospector is to compile an attractive portfolio of precious metals assets that can be developed into mines and to assemble a highly experienced technical and corporate management team with a solid experience base of developing and building mines in South America, Central America and South America. Through its strategy of evaluating and acquiring precious metals projects and through a combination of organic exploration and development and strategic acquisitions, the new management team intends to grow the recapitalized Prospector and create long-term shareholder value through the development of high-margin, strong free-cash-flowing mining operations.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Chief Executive Officer
alexb@rio2mining.com
416.570.3155