J. Kelly Cluer
Director
Mr. Cluer has over 30 years of mineral exploration experience, from grassroots project generation through to discovery, resource delineation and mine development. He has also held numerous high-level management positions throughout his career, leading teams from a wide array of backgrounds and disciplines. Mr. Cluer spent the last decade of his career in senior leadership positions at Kinross Gold Corp., one of the top global gold producers. In his latest role as Senior Director of Geosciences (Global), Mr. Cluer oversaw the exploration strategy for projects around the world, developing innovative campaigns including leading-edge geophysical surveys, talent management and acquisition, and claim-staking large greenfield targets based on new concepts. He was also instrumental in identifying new global regions for investment, through both generative exploration and M&A.
Mr. Cluer also acted as Exploration Director (North America) for Kinross from 2013 to 2019, after being brought on to lead aggressive greenfield and brownfield initiatives, developing and guiding teams throughout Nevada. Major achievements included cementing Kinross as a major player in the Carlin-type gold space, with a robust pipeline of projects from early-stage prospects through to advanced development and production. He also established the Reno, NV office for greenfield exploration and grew it into one of the most active teams in the Western USA. Among several major discoveries to his credit, Mr. Cluer was notably a co-discoverer of the high-grade Ren gold deposit under 800 meters of cover on the Carlin Trend in the 1990s; that deposit is now being mined by Nevada Gold Mines.
Mr. Cluer also found tremendous success in Mongolia, notably as the Founder, Co-Owner and Director of Exploration for Altan Rio Minerals from 2006 to 2013. He was a recipient of the Polar Star Award from the President of Mongolia for his achievements generating long-term investments and national professional development initiatives. He also shared the “Honored Geologist of Mongolia” award with the Gatsuurt deposit discovery team in 2004; in his role as Exploration Manager for Centerra Gold Mongolia, he was responsible for all aspects of exploration, land management, personnel administration, and contract negotiations. He managed final reserve drilling of the Boroo deposit which resulted in additional gold reserves and new discoveries in the district, in addition to exploration and resource drilling at the Gatsuurt deposit leading to a reportable gold resource in excess of 2.0 Moz within a much larger mineralized footprint.
Mr. Cluer is a lifetime member and past President of the Geological Society of Nevada. In addition to his many personal achievements, he has worked tirelessly to establish, train and mentor top-level exploration teams from diverse cultural backgrounds who have gone on to realize great success in their own right. Mr. Cluer is passionate about investing in – and developing – the next generation of explorers and industry leaders.
Mark Monaghan
Chairman & Director
Mr. Monaghan is a capital markets professional with 28 years of experience as an investor, advisor, founder and board member across several industries, serving with notable global investment and merchant banks. Mr. Monaghan is Founder and Managing Partner of Dalvay Capital Corp., a Panama-based investment and advisory platform focused on Latin American growth opportunities. Previously, Mr. Monaghan has served in senior partner and executive roles with British and Canadian investment firms, including as President of a leading Canadian exempt market dealer with a focus on asset-backed lending. Over the course of his career, he has been instrumental in executing over US$2 billion of transactions, including equity, debt and M&A, for growth companies internationally. Mr. Monaghan holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Queen’s University and a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Windsor.
David Kelley
Director
Mr. Kelley brings over 30 years of international mineral exploration experience to the Company, having worked on projects across all stages of development and throughout the Americas, Central Asia and Australasia. He is a Co-Founder of Chakana Copper, an exploration company focused on advancing the Soledad copper-gold-silver Project in Peru, and has served as President, CEO and Director since 2016. Prior to that, Mr. Kelley was responsible for developing the exploration program at the world-class Las Bambas Project for MMG USA Ltd. as the company’s General Manager of Exploration (Americas). Throughout his career Mr. Kelley has worked as a geochemist and geologist for companies including Newmont Mining, Western Mining Corporation, BHP Minerals, Westmont Mining, and Gold Standard. He has been directly involved in several discoveries over the years, including the Zuun Mod copper-moly deposit in Mongolia, the Wayamaga gold deposit is French Guiana, and the High Lake East VHMS deposit in Nunavut, Canada. Mr. Kelley earned his Bachelor of Science in Geology from Colorado State University, and his Master of Science in Geology and Geochemistry from the Colorado School of Mines.
Warren Beil
Director
Mr. Beil is currently the General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of Maverix Metals Inc. a rapidly-growing gold royalty and streaming company. Mr. Beil is a corporate and securities lawyer with a specialized focus on companies operating in the mining and natural resource sectors. In addition to royalty and stream financing, Mr. Beil’s expertise also includes securities law, regulatory and stock exchange compliance, mergers and acquisitions, public offerings, asset purchases, options, joint ventures and stock exchange listings. Mr. Beil is a practicing member of the Law Society of British Columbia and holds a Juris Doctor from the University of Toronto and a Juris Doctor, with Honors, from Bond University in Australia.
Al Fabbro
Director
Mr. Fabbro is a 40-year veteran of the finance and mining industries, and currently serves as President, CEO and Lead Director of Midnight Sun Mining Corp. (TSX-V: MMA). From 1984 to 1990, he led the retail trading department of Yorkton Securities, followed by six years with their Natural Resources Group. Mr. Fabbro subsequently joined Canaccord Capital as an Investment Advisor, a role he held for a decade. More recently, Al was also Co-Founder and Lead Director of Roxgold Inc., which was named the top company on the TSX Venture 50 and raised in excess of $60 million in equity financing during his tenure. Roxgold was acquired by Fortuna Silver Mines in 2021 in a deal valued at ~C$1 billion.
Following his tenure at Canaccord Capital, Mr. Fabbro became President of American Consolidated Minerals Corp. (“ACM”) in 2009. At that time, ACM owned – and was actively exploring – the Toiyabe Gold Project in Lander County, Nevada, now Westward’s flagship property. Under Mr. Fabbro’s leadership, prior to ACM’s acquisition by Starcore International Mines Ltd. in 2014, some of the most significant drilling campaigns were conducted at Toiyabe.