Governance

Management

The management team at Starfield Resources consists of experienced individuals with strong geological and financial backgrounds.

André J. Douchane
President & CEO

André Douchane is a seasoned mining executive with nearly 35 years of experience in all aspects of the mining industry, including development, construction, operations and corporate administration. He has acquired experience in both open pit and underground mining through his work at operations in Australia, South America and the United States. Mr. Douchane has held senior positions with several leading precious and base metal producers. He is the current chairman and former President and CEO of North American Palladium Ltd. Previously, Mr. Douchane was President and CEO of Chief Consolidated Mining Co., Vice President Operations of Franco-Nevada Mining Corp. and Battle Mountain Gold, President of Battle Mountain North America and Vice President and General Manager of Round Mountain Gold Company. He holds a bachelor’s degree in mining engineering from the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology and is a graduate of the Executive Business Program at the Kellogg School of Business.

Greg Van Staveren
Chief Financial Officer

Greg Van Staveren has extensive financial and mining industry experience in the private and public sector. He is the President of Strategic Financial Services, a private consulting firm and presently sits on the board of directors of several companies, three of which are mining firms traded on the TSX and TSX Venture Exchange. Previously, Mr. Van Staveren was a partner in the mining group of KPMG and VP Finance and CFO of MartinRea International Inc. Mr. Van Staveren is a Chartered Accountant and a Certified Public Accountant with a Bachelor’s degree in mathematics from the University of Waterloo in Ontario.

Michael G. Moran
Director of Engineering

Michael Moran has more than 25 years of experience in the mining industry, most recently as the Project Director for the EMag “Magnesium Smelter” project located at Skohna Port in Egypt and as Executive Project Director for the Antamina “Zinc-Copper” project located in Northern Peru, which was successfully completed four months ahead of schedule. Prior to the Antamina project, Mr. Moran held the position of Vice President of Engineering Services and Major Projects for the Newmont Mining Corporation located in Denver, Colorado. He played a major role in the successful development of Batu Hijau “Copper and Gold” project located on the Island of Sumbawa, Indonesia, along with several other domestic and international projects in the USA, Indonesia, Peru, and Uzbekistan. Mr. Moran’s mining career began when he joined Utah/BHP Minerals International in 1979 and spent 15 years working on major projects around the world. From 1988 to 1991, he developed the Escondida “Copper” project in Northern Chile, which today rates as the single largest copper producer in the world. Mr. Moran is a graduate civil engineer from Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois, and is a licensed professional engineer in the State of California.

Fred Mason
Vice President of Operations

Fred Mason has over 35 years of experience with senior mining companies. Prior to joining Starfield, he was Construction Manager at New Gold Inc.’s New Afton Copper-Gold project, located near Kamloops, British Columbia. Previously he was Vice President and General Manager at Kinross Gold Corporation’s Refugio project near Copiapo, Chile, and General Manager of the Pascua Lama project for Barrick Gold Corporation, situated on the border of Chile and Argentina. Mr. Mason was also Vice President of Operations and Senior Manager of Mining for Freeport-McMoran Copper & Gold Inc. in Indonesia and General Manager at the Toquepala Area for Southern Peru Copper, now known as Southern Copper Corporation.

Board of Directors

Norman M. Betts (Chairman) (BBA; C.A., 1981; Ph.D., 1992; FCA, 2001)

Norman Betts is an associate professor with the Faculty of Business Administration of the University of New Brunswick. He was elected to the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick in 1999 and served as both Minister of Finance and Minister of Business. Mr. Betts is currently a director of New Brunswick Power Holdings and its subsidiaries, serves on the board of directors of Tembec Inc., and is a director and chairman of Minacs Worldwide Inc., Slam Exploration Ltd., Tan Range Exploration Ltd., Pension Plan for Academic Employees and the Nature Conservancy for the Atlantic region. In addition to teaching, he has held research and administrative positions, including assistant dean of the MBA program and associate dean of the faculty.

H. Stuart Bottomley

H. Stuart Bottomley first worked in finance as a stockbroker in the City of London and became a portfolio manager in 1972. He was with the Target Group of Unit Trusts for 12 years, and served under the ownership of Jacob Rothschild for the following four years. In 1984, he joined Fidelity International in London and worked for the ERISA group, focused on UK and European markets. Since leaving Fidelity, Mr. Bottomley has served as a consultant for numerous private and public companies. He is currently a Non-executive director of Centamin Egypt Plc., African Consolidated Resources Plc., and Verona Pharma Plc.

Henry Giegerich (B.A.Sc., 1952; P.Eng.(Mining), 1959)

Henry Giegerich has acted as a mineral industry consultant to clients throughout the world and has served on a number of boards since 1988. From 1982 to 1987, Mr. Giegerich was President & General Manager of Cominco Alaska Inc. In this position he was responsible for the development of the Red Dog Mine in northwest Alaska, the largest zinc mine in the world. Previously, Mr. Giegerich was Cominco Vice President, Northern Group, and was responsible for operations of the Con Mine, Pine Point Mine and Polaris Mine in Northwest Territories. He was also a project engineer on the Black Angel Mine Project in Greenland, and project manager for the Polaris Mine Project on Little Cornwallis Island, NWT.

Ross Glanville, P.Eng., (B.A.Sc., 1970; P.Eng, 1972; MBA, 1974l CGA, 1980)

Ross Glanville specializes in valuations of public and private mineral exploration properties and producing mines. Mr. Glanville is a member of the Association of Professional Engineers of British Columbia and in 1980 he became a member of the Certified General Accountants of B.C. He has written a number of scholarly articles and given many presentations related to the valuation of exploration and mining companies. Some of his articles have been published by the United Nations, the Society of Mining Engineers and by various Canadian magazines and newspapers.

Robert Maddigan, (B.A.Sc., 1986; P.Eng.(Civil))

Robert Maddigan has had many years of engineering experience in the public and private sectors for numerous building projects in the Canadian and Russian arctic regions.  He is presently the President of Madison Consulting Ltd. and is managing the construction of several projects.  His technical expertise is a welcome addition to the company. 

Shirley Mears (B.Comm. (Hon), Carleton University; Chartered Accountant)

Shirley Mears began her career as Tax Manager, Senior Staff Accountant for Ernst & Young from 1977 to 1983 before joining Mitel Corporation where she was Vice President, Human Resources Canada and Tax from 1983 through 1991 and Vice President and Treasurer from 1992 through 2000. In 2000 she joined Zarlink Semiconductor Inc. where she was responsible for implementing worldwide mergers and acquisitions as Vice President and Treasurer until August, 2003. From October, 2003 until March, 2006, Ms. Mears was the Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Hydro Ottawa Holding Inc. Ms. Mears currently serves on the board of directors of and is the Chair of the Audit Committee of New Brunswick Power Holding Corporation, a provincial Crown corporation (including all of its wholly owned subsidiaries). Ms. Mears is currently the Vice President, Finance of Edgewater Computer Systems, Inc.

Ulrich E. Rath (BSc., Concordia University, MSc. (Geology), University of Alberta)

Board Committees

The Board of Directors has established three committees:

Audit Committee
The audit committee is responsible for oversight of the Company’s financial management and the design and implementation of an effective system of internal financial controls. The committee also reports to the Board on the integrity of the financial statements of the company and its subsidiaries.

Members: Shirley Mears (Chair), Norman Betts, H. Stuart Bottomley, Ross Glanville

Governance, Nominating and Compensation Committe
The governance, nominating and compensation committee is responsible for developing and monitoring the effectiveness of the Company’s system of corporate governance. It establishes procedures for the identification of new board nominees, develops and implements orientation procedures for new directors, assesses the effectiveness of directors, the board and its committees, ensures proper delineation of roles and assists the board in setting objectives for the CEO. It is also responsible for establishing remuneration and benefit plans for directors, executives and employees, reviewing the adequacy and form of compensation of directors and senior management, establishing a plan of succession, undertaking the performance evaluation of the CEO.

Members: Norman Betts (Chair), Henry Giegerich, Shirley Mears

Technical, Environmental, Health and Safety Committee
The technical, environmental, health and safety committee is responsible for fostering a culture of environmental responsibility and an awareness of the importance of health and safety. It monitors compliance with legal requirements and internal targets in respect of environmental, health and safety programs. It ensures that the board is aware of long term technical risks and opportunities, and discusses with management any other technical issues of significant concern. The committee has a charter to review and assist management with the technical and financial issues associated with new projects, acquisitions and dispositions.

Members: Henry Giegerich (Chair), Ross Glanville, Robert Maddigan, Ulrich Rath

Community & Government Relations

Starfield seeks to establish effective lines of communication with local communities and government officials in Nunavut through an ongoing process of consultation.

This process is challenged by the thin population base and widely dispersed communities of the territory. The Ferguson Lake project is located in the Kivalliq Region of Nunavut.  The closest community is Baker Lake, 160 kilometers to the north. This is the only inland Inuit community and has a population of 1,500.  A few residents of Baker Lake (the Ferguson Lake Native Group) originally settled at Ferguson Lake and worked at the Inco exploration camp where the Ferguson Lake camp currently sits.  Approximately 240 kilometers to the east is Rankin Inlet, on the western shore of Hudson Bay. The town, which has 2,300 residents, hosted the Rankin Nickel Mine in the 1950s. Further south on Hudson Bay is Arviat, with a population of 2,000.

Starting in 2006, Denise Lockett, Community and Government Relations Consultant to Starfield Resources, and Bruce Ballantyne, Business Development Consultant, have undertaken a series of meetings with key regulators and government officials in these communities as well as in the Nunavut capital of Iqaluit.  Starfield intends to continue meeting with all interested groups to ensure continued communication and understanding of operations at Ferguson Lake.

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