Mr. Barnard is an experienced capital markets professional and private investor with over 35 years of experience in the mining and exploration sector. He has raised approximately $500 million in equity financing for resource companies throughout his career.
Mr. Barnard began his career in 1991 with McDermid St. Laurence Securities before joining Canaccord Genuity in 1997. Since 2004, he has focused on private investment, corporate finance, and strategic development within the Canadian resource sector.
Previously, Mr. Barnard served as CEO, President, and Director of Foremost Clean Energy Ltd., where he played a key role in the company’s financing, corporate development, and growth initiatives.
Christina Barnard is the President of Rio Grande Resources and has been instrumental in the company’s formation, including the successful completion of its Plan of Arrangement establishing Rio Grande as a standalone public issuer. Ms. Barnard brings over 20 years of experience working within the public company arena with a strong focus on corporate governance, regulatory compliance, and multi-exchange coordination. She has held different roles at different public issuers including Chief Operating Officer. Career highlights including orchestrating a successful Nasdaq uplisting at a previous company. Her background includes strategic communications, business operations and project management, investor relations, and marketing for both publicly traded issuers and private companies.
Mr. Bouwman has been working with public markets on the NASDAQ and the CSE Exchange since 2022. He obtained his Bachelor of Commerce with a major in Management, Economics, and Finance from the University of Guelph.
With more than 15 years of experience in the public markets, Mr. Brown brings extensive industry knowledge and executive leadership experience. He has held a variety of senior roles, including officer and director positions with companies listed on both the TSX Venture Exchange and the Canadian Securities Exchange. Mr. Brown’s expertise spans corporate governance, corporate secretarial services, corporate finance, and business development, enabling him to provide strategic and customized support to clients across a range of industries. Prior to founding Ardent Corporate Services, Mr. Brown served as President of a highly regarded corporate services firm based in Vancouver. He also held the role of Vice President, Corporate Affairs and Corporate Secretary for a successful TSX Venture-listed gold development company.
Mr. Strafehl is the current President of Redline Minerals. He has over two decades of experience in the finance and resource sectors, backed by a solid academic foundation in business, accounting, and economics. He has been a Director of Tearlach Resources Limited since 2019, serving as President and CEO until 2022, and has also been a Director and audit committee member of Goldex Resources Corp. since 2015 and Nickel One Resources Inc. from 2016 to 2019. His experience includes serving as Director and adviser to the $300 million merger of Valley High Ventures Ltd. and Levon Resources Ltd. in 2011. Earlier in his career, Mr. Strafehl founded VentureBC, assisting over 200 tech-driven startups. He was also a stock exchange trader, investment advisor, and registered commodity trading advisor for 22 years.
With over 20 years of experience in corporate communications and media, Sarah Bartok brings a wealth of knowledge and a passion for effective communication. With a background in public relations, media relations, social media, and event management, Sarah takes a collaborative, people-focused approach to her work. At Rio Grande Resources, she supports the management team through corporate communications, media releases, and website management, helping ensure clear, consistent, and professional communication across the organization.
Gareth Flitton is an experienced geologist with a diverse background in mineral exploration, geological modelling, and mining operations. His experience spans a wide range of commodities and project stages, allowing him to bring both practical knowledge and technical expertise to the projects he supports.
Gareth specializes in geological and resource model evaluations, mine production auditing, mine-to-mill reconciliation, data management, and structural interpretation. His hands-on experience, combined with a strong understanding of geological processes and mining operations, enables him to provide practical solutions to complex technical challenges.
Passionate about maintaining high technical standards, Gareth also takes an active role in mentoring and developing geological teams, emphasizing collaboration, quality assurance, and continuous improvement.
At Dahrouge Geological Consulting, Gareth is dedicated to building strong client relationships through dependable service, technical integrity, and a commitment to delivering quality results at every stage of a project.
Patrick Mullinger is a mineral exploration geologist with hands-on experience across all stages of exploration, from early-stage field programs through drilling operations and geological interpretation. His technical expertise includes 3D geological modelling, core logging, geological mapping and sampling, drill program supervision, and geological data management.
With a strong field-based background, Patrick combines practical exploration experience with technical expertise to support the planning, execution, and advancement of mineral exploration projects. His approach emphasizes operational efficiency, geological understanding, and the delivery of reliable technical data to support informed exploration decisions.
Lindsay is a Vancouver-based geological consultant with over 45 years of experience in international mining exploration and development, most recently focused on epithermal gold and porphyry copper-gold exploration in the American Cordillera and Central Asia. He recently retired from Entree Gold after 10 years as VP Acquisitions/Corporate Development, with major involvement in exploration of the Oyu Tolgoi North and South concessions in Mongolia, leading to discovery of the Hugo North Extension Cu-Au and Heruga Cu-Au-Mo porphyry deposits. He also led the acquisition of the Ann Mason Cu-Mo porphyry deposit in Nevada. He and company founder Keith Anderson conducted the initial site visit to the Winston project and recognized the potential for high grade silver-gold mineralization in the historic mining camp which had been dormant since the early 1980s.
Mr. Silas has been a Director of Guanajuato Silver Company Ltd. since October 2019 and currently holds the roles of Vice President of Corporate Development and Corporate Secretary. Additionally, he serves as a Director and CFO of Northern Lion Gold Corp. Mr. Silas has extensive experience in public companies in Canada, having served as CFO, officer, corporate secretary, or director for several organizations. Notably, he was President of Gold Standard Ventures Corp. from April to August 2009, Corporate Secretary from August 2009 to May 2017, and a director from April 2009 to September 2017. He also served as President of Barksdale Resources Corp. (“Barksdale“) from August 2016 to December 2017, and held various roles at Barksdale, including Director from June 2015 to April 2019 and Corporate Secretary from August 2016 to January 2021. Mr. Silas was Director and President of Lithoquest Diamonds Inc. (formerly Consolidated Westview Corp.) from March 2013 to November 2017. Since December 1995, he has been President of Universal Solutions Inc., a private management company.
Mr. Strafehl is the current President of Redline Minerals. He has over two decades of experience in the finance and resource sectors, backed by a solid academic foundation in business, accounting, and economics. He has been a Director of Tearlach Resources Limited since 2019, serving as President and CEO until 2022, and has also been a Director and audit committee member of Goldex Resources Corp. since 2015 and Nickel One Resources Inc. from 2016 to 2019. His experience includes serving as Director and adviser to the $300 million merger of Valley High Ventures Ltd. and Levon Resources Ltd. in 2011. Earlier in his career, Mr. Strafehl founded VentureBC, assisting over 200 tech-driven startups. He was also a stock exchange trader, investment advisor, and registered commodity trading advisor for 22 years.
Mr. Barnard has been the CEO, President, and Director of Foremost Clean Energy Ltd since 2022. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Carleton University and completed the Canadian Securities Course in 1990. Mr. Barnard began his career as a stockbroker at McDermid St. Laurence Securities in 1991, focusing on mining and exploration companies. He later worked at Canaccord Genuity from 1997 to 2004. Transitioning to venture capital, he has raised nearly $500 million in equity for mining and exploration companies.