Company - Board and Management

Mariana brings together depth of talent in a small team, encompassing:

  • proven track record of exploration successes;
  • expertise with a wide range of metals and mineral deposit types;
  • work experience with junior, mid size and major mining companies;
  • over 40 years collective experience on the South American continent;
  • familiarity with resource opportunities, development and commissioning processes and issues, operational matters; and
  • commercial, financial and legal expertise required for expediting project development (contract negotiation, funding arrangements, joint venture and partnering agreements, etc).

EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS

John Horsburgh (Age 63) BSc, ARSM, MSc, DIC, FAIMM Chairman

John Horsburgh, a graduate of the Royal School of Mines, is a geologist with more than 30 years experience in exploration, project development and company management. He was a co-founder of Solomon Pacific Resources NL which achieved success with the discovery and development of the Brocks Creek gold mine in the Northern Territory in Australia. As Executive Chairman he was involved in the acquisition, exploration and financing of the project. Prior to this, he was Exploration Manager for SE Australia with Getty Oil Development (minerals division). Before Getty, John gained extensive exploration experience with Billiton and the RTZ Group in Australia, South America and Europe. He is a director and a co-founder of Cullen Resources Ltd.

John Sutcliffe (Age 64) BSc, ARSM, FGS, MIMM, C. Eng, Managing Director

John Sutcliffe graduated from the Royal School of Mines and has 38 years experience in Latin America, Spain and the Middle East. John, a South America specialist, has managed successful exploration for Anglo American, Shell-Billiton, International Minerals Corp, Antofagasta Holdings and Greenwich Resources. He led teams which discovered the Rio Narcea gold belt, now in production, the Rio Blanco bonanza gold-silver deposit in Ecuador, (feasibility stage), the Pallancata bonanza silver-gold deposit in Peru (feasibility study) and the Dos Amigo porphyry copper deposit in Chile (producing mine). He has been involved in significant copper and gold discoveries in the Middle East and Central America. As initiator and manager of the Billiton office in Chile, he was responsible for identifying the potential of the Collahuasi copper district. He is a fluent Spanish speaker and is based in Quito, Ecuador.

NON EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS

Raymond Angus (Age 45) BAppSc, MSEG, Non Executive Director

Mr Angus is a geologist with over 20 years of international experience in the Americas, Africa, Australia and the Middle East. He graduated with a Bachelor of Applied Science - Applied Geology from the Queensland University of Technology in 1987. He worked in mineral exploration and mining in Australia for Cyprus Gold Australia before venturing into overseas postings in Zimbabwe and Saudi Arabia. In 1994 Mr Angus established a foothold in Peru where he is a local resident. He worked in property evaluation and new business opportunities and obtained a senior position with Newcrest Mining (Peru), followed by specific consulting assignments to companies including Queenstake, Goldfields Limited and Billiton.

Mr Angus is the co-founder of Monterrico Metals since its incorporation, then subsequent quotation on AIM in June 2002. He served as Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer, and was responsible for the identification and acquisition of the Rio Blanco copper-molybdenum project in northern Peru. He managed the resource definition drilling programs which ultimately reported 1.26 billion tonnes at a grade of 0.57% Cu + 228 ppm Mo. As a result a Detailed Feasibility Study was commisioned based upon a mining scenario of 25Mtpa for an initial 20 years, resulting in a Captial Expenditure estimate in excess of US$1.4Bn. Simultaneously to the publication of this announcement in February 2007 a corporate takeover proposal materialized and in April 2007 Monterrico was successfully acquired by the Chinese-lead Zijin Consortium, valuing the Company at £98.0 million.

MANAGEMENT

Dr. Gustavo Rodríguez., Ph.D., (Age 37) Country Manager (Argentina)

Gustavo has been working as a geologist for over 12 years in Latin America largely in Argentina and Venezuela. He holds a B.Sc. degree in geology and a Ph.D. in geology from the University of the Córdoba, Argentina. He is member of the Society of Economic Geologists (SEG) the Society for Geology Appliednto Mineral Deposits (SGA) and the Argentinean Geological Society (AGA).

Gustavo has been a Doctoral Fellow of the Argentinean Council for Scientific and Technical Research (CONICET) while studying the timing and nature of gold mineralization in orogenic (turbidite-type) gold deposits of Puna Argentina.

He has held positions at several companies including Sunshine Mining (formerly owner of Pirquitas mine), IAMGOLD Corp., and Crystallex International, most recently as Crystallex’s Chief Geologist, he executed a resource definition drilling program on the Las Cristinas Gold Deposit in Venezuela, measured and indicated resources in the Las Cristinas gold deposit increased by 4.5 million ounces during this definition program.

Gustavo has been instrumental to the acquisition of Mariana extensive land package in Santa Cruz of Southern Argentina using satellite imagery, structural analysis and mineral alteration techniques.

Walter Espinosa (Age 68) MSc Geology, MSc Mineral Exploration, Country Manager (Chile)

Walter Espinosa graduated in Geology at the Universidad de Chile and in Mineral Exploration at the Royal School of Mines, Imperial College, London. He has more than 40 years of experience in mineral exploration in South America, especially in Chile. For many years, he headed up Placer Dome's exploration in Chile and Argentina and had a managerial position in the Barrick Gold Exploration Group. Career highlights include key roles in: the discovery of the Cerro Negro Norte copper orebody in Aconcagua; Placer's acquisition of La Coipa gold-silver deposit; the discovery of the Puren and Volc‡n Copiap— precious metal deposits in the Maricunga; Placer's evaluation and acquisition of the Andacollo porphyry copper deposit; Barrick's final evaluation of the Manantial Espejo silver deposit in Argentina; Barrick's mining concession acquisitions in Argentina to consolidate the Pascua-Lama project; and Barrick's final evaluation of the El Indio Belt.

Walter is a member of the Colegio de Geologos, Sociedad Geologica de Chile, and the Instituto de Ingenieros de Minas de Chile.