Asante Team

A resident of Canada, Mr. David Anthony has +40 years’ experience in mine project development and operation. His experience includes mine and process plant design, permitting, construction and operation. He has also worked in Canada, Ecuador, Brazil, Indonesia, Chile and Argentina to design, deliver and operate open pit and underground mine assets with CAPEX from $100 million to $3.6 billion and with total material movement to 65 million tonnes per year.

Mr. Anthony joined Asante as Chief Operating Officer (“COO”) in July 2021 responsible to build and lead the Company operations team to refurbish the Bibiani Mine and to become a significant gold producer. Before joining Asante, he was COO of Cardinal Resources Limited, which developed the 5 million oz (reserve) Namdini gold deposit and project execution plan, prior to its purchase by Shandong Gold for more than US$500 million. Previous positions include working with Barrick in Africa for 10 years where he became COO of African Barrick Gold.

Mr. Anthony holds a B.Sc. Mining Engineering from Queen’s University.

A resident of Canada, Mr. MacQuarrie has 40 years’ mineral exploration experience, including almost 30 years in West Africa. He has been responsible for the discovery, acquisition of gold deposits both in Canada and in Ghana. As the former CEO of PMI Gold Corporation, he oversaw the acquisition of all the PMI mineral titles including Kubi and Obotan (+ 5 million oz. gold deposit) prior to PMI being bought by Galiano Gold(formerly Asanko Gold/Keegan Resources) in 2013 in an all-share deal valued at CAD$183 million; the Galiano-Goldfields 50:50 JV mine is now in production at circa 220,000 oz per year. Mr. MacQuarrie is the founder of Asante Gold Corporation and a member of the Association of Engineers and Geoscientists of British Columbia, and also serves as an Independent Director at IC Capitalight Corp., which owns and operates Capitalight Research – a weekly and monthly subscription-based research company focused on the gold and silver commodity prices.

Mr. Easah was a founding Director of Cardinal Resources Limited where he spearheaded the acquisition of all tenements and played a key role in the discovery and development of the seven million-ounce Namdini Gold Project in Northern Ghana. Cardinal Resources was recently purchased by Shandong Gold Company for ~AUS$600 million. Mr. Easah has over fifteen years of exploration, mining, and project development experience; is a resident of Ghana.

A resident of Obuasi, Ghana, Mr. Ahmed, a Ghanaian National, is a mining engineer with over 30 years of experience in mine operations, planning, production, and management. This wealth of expertise gained him the position as Mine Manager at Obuasi, one of the World’s foremost underground gold mines, producing up to 1.8 million tonnes per year (~4,900 tpd). In this capacity, Mr. Ahmed managed a workforce of over 1000, with an annual budget of US$100 million.

A resident of Canada, Mr. Heath has 15 years of corporate finance, investment banking, and capital markets experience focused on the mining industry. He has worked on several equity offerings, valuations, fairness opinions, and M&A transactions.

Mr. Alothman is a senior professional who currently serves as the CEO of Fujairah Holding where he oversees both UAE and Global operations. He established and now heads an Investment Subsidiary with a portfolio in Private Equity, Venture Capital, Real Estate Development, Corporate Finance, Family Offices, and public companies. Mr. Alothman holds an MBA from Hult International Business School, a Bachelor of Science, from Kings College London, and also the following certifications: CMA, PMP, and CDIF. He has more than 15 years of experience in financial services including the set up of various large industrial joint ventures including a Platinum Recovery Plant and Refinery. Mr. Alothman is resident in the Emirate of Fujairah.

Mr. Smirnov is a resident of Dubai, UAE., and the CEO of Emiral Resources Ltd. which is focused on international natural resources exploration, development, production, trading, and procurement. Mr. Smirnov oversees creating a diversified mining portfolio across geographies including Africa and the Middle East. Emiral, through its production subsidiary, Alliance for Mining, is the largest industrial gold producer in Sudan. Alliance has been commended by the Sudanese Ministry of Energy & Mining for its development of the country’s mining sector and its outstanding results.

A resident of Peru with more than 25 years experience as Founder, CEO, and Board Member. An innovative leader and go-to-guru for project consultations, government issues, and startup initiatives. Carsten is a business coach and active board member in businesses related to intellectual property, retail, investment, mining, and data-driven marketing.

Dr. Roger Norwich is a resident of Great Britain. He has undertaken undergraduate and postgraduate studies in geology at Manchester University, England. As a founding director of Mexican Silver Mines (TSX-V), Dr. Norwich was instrumental in merging with Rio Alto Mining (TSX & NYSE) which grew into a significant gold producer in Peru and was subsequently sold to Tahoe (NYSE) for US$1.12billion.

A resident of Ghana, Mr. Koranteng is a lawyer, corporate and investment banker with over 23 years international working experience. He holds a Master of Laws Degree in International Banking and Finance from the University of Leeds.  As Chief Executive Officer of MIIF, a sovereign minerals wealth fund, he oversees management of Ghana’s equity interest in mining companies and manages all royalties paid to the state from mining activities. Mr. Koranteng has held executive and senior managerial positions covering corporate, oil and gas and mining for Ghana International Bank plc (GHIB), Ecobank Ghana, Access Bank Ghana and Fidelity Bank.

A resident of Canada, Mr. David Anthony has +40 years’ experience in mine project development and operation. His experience includes mine and process plant design, permitting, construction and operation. He has also worked in Canada, Ecuador, Brazil, Indonesia, Chile and Argentina to design, deliver and operate open pit and underground mine assets with CAPEX from $100 million to $3.6 billion and with total material movement to 65 million tonnes per year.

Mr. Anthony joined Asante as Chief Operating Officer (“COO”) in July 2021 responsible to build and lead the Company operations team to refurbish the Bibiani Mine and to become a significant gold producer. Before joining Asante, he was COO of Cardinal Resources Limited, which developed the 5 million oz (reserve) Namdini gold deposit and project execution plan, prior to its purchase by Shandong Gold for more than US$500 million. Previous positions include working with Barrick in Africa for 10 years where he became COO of African Barrick Gold.

Mr. Anthony holds a B.Sc. Mining Engineering from Queen’s University.

Mr. Attakumah has thirty years’ experience in the mining industry spanning project development, operations management, sustainability, and corporate affairs.
Prior to joining Asante, he was the Executive Vice President and Managing Director of Asanko Gold Ghana Limited. He has also held several senior executive roles including Managing Director of AngloGold Ashanti (Ghana) Limited and Vice President of Sustainability for AngloGold Ashanti’s operations in Ghana.
At the industry level, he held the position of First Vice President of the Ghana Chamber of Mines and concurrently served as a member of the Governing Council of the Private Enterprise Federation of Ghana (PEF). He has also served as President of the Canada Ghana Chamber of Commerce which is focused on building bilateral private sector relationships between Ghana and Canada.

Mr. Attakumah holds a B.Sc. (Hons) in Electrical Engineering from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (Ghana) and a Master of Business Administration degree from the Henley Business School (UK).

Mr. Wiens is a resident of Canada, with over 20 years financial management experience delivering results in progressive corporate and investment banking roles in Canada and the UK.  He has spent most of the last ten years in finance, corporate development and investor relations roles with gold and silver producers, including over six years at SSR Mining Inc. during the transformation of the company from a single asset silver producer to a diversified long-life gold company.

Recently he was the Chief Financial Officer of Bunker Hill Mining Corp., where he delivered the project financing of the mine restart, secured new strategic shareholders, uplisted and grew the company alongside a team of ex-Barrick executives.  Previously, he was a mining investment banker at a number of financial institutions, including Deutsche Bank AG in London, UK.  Mr. Wiens holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of British Columbia in Canada, and is a CFA® Charterholder.

Mrs. Manteaw-Kutin brings over 17 years of legal experience in the mining and telecom industries to Asante. Prior to this appointment, Juliet was the Head of Legal, Corporate Affairs and Company Secretary of AngloGold Ashanti (Ghana) Limited where she demonstrated leadership to ensure a high standard of legal practices and governance by AngloGold Ashanti and its subsidiaries in Ghana. Juliet has served as Chairperson of the Legal and Legislative Committee of the Ghana Chamber of Mines. She is respected by her peers and is a sought-after conference speaker regarding mining and corporate governance.

Mr. Chialin is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants Ghana (ICAG) and holds an MBA in Finance from the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Accounting and Psychology from the University of Ghana. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of Chirano Gold Mines Ltd. and serves as the Board Chairman of Chirano Sefwiman Foundation.

Prior to his appointment  Mr. Chialin was Finance Manager of Chirano Gold Mines Ltd. with oversight responsibility for the financial accounting and reporting, planning and analysis, taxation, and supply chain functions.

A resident of Ghana, Mr. Bertram has held the position of Managing Director of Mensin Gold Bibiani Limited for the past two years and has served on the boards of Resolute Mining Limited’s Ghanaian and Ivorian subsidiaries since 2008. A geologist by profession Mr. Bertram has 35 years of mining and exploration experience, including 30 years in West Africa. He is a member of the Australian Institute of Geoscientists.

A resident of South Africa, Mr. Swanepoel has 43 years mining experience in open pit and underground mining. He holds a Masters in Engineering, GDE in Mineral Economics and a 4-year diploma in Mine Survey.

Mr Swanepoel has worked on various mines in Africa of which the latest was Asanko gold mine in Ghana where he held the position of General Manager – Operations for 4 years During this time, the company was voted as the best mining company in Ghana for 2 consecutive years. He has held various positions from General Manager to CEO and Project Director. He was also a Director of Tati Nickel Mining Co Ltd.

A resident of Ghana, Mr. Abbott holds a General MSc. in geology with 50 years of international exploration and mining experience, including 30 years in West Africa, primarily in Ghana. Mr. Abbott is credited with numerous gold discoveries, most recently the 7.0Moz Namdini gold deposit being developed by Cardinal Resources in northern Ghana. He has worked extensively at Kubi and on delineation of the 4.5Moz Obotan deposit for PMI Gold Corporation (now the Galiano Gold – Goldfields Nkran Mine), on Ghana’s Asankrangwa gold belt.

A resident of Ghana, Mr. Agbey holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration (Project Management), from Ghana Institute of Management  Public Administration (GIMPA), and a BSc in Metallurgical Engineering from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology.  Mr. Agbey has 26 years of working experience with mining companies in Ghana. He has worked to develop and commission three gold processing plants, including our Bibiani plant. He is a former Metallurgical-Processing Manager for the Chirano, Nzema, and Asanko-Goldfields Nkran gold mines. He has previously been the Project Manager responsible for several plant upgrades. While working at Asanko, Mr. Agbey led his team to achieve ICMC certification. During this period, Asanko was awarded the Innovation Mine of The Year award for two consecutive years.

A resident of Ghana. Mr. Ackun-Wood holds an MSc in Geological Engineering from the University of Mines and Technology, Tarkwa. Kwamina has 20 years working experience in the exploration and mining industry in Ghana. His expertise in the gold mining industry ranges from brownfield exploration, mining geology to mining operations. He is the former Technical Manager for Exploration and Value Addition at Chirano Gold Mines (a subsidiary of Kinross Gold). He has played a critical role leading to delineation of over 1.2Moz that led to the significant mine life extension of the Chirano mine. He has managed large exploration programs with annual budgets to $12M. Mr. Ackun-Wood is a member of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy

A resident of South Africa, Mr. Sobreira holds a Bachelor of Technology degree in Mining Engineering from the University of Johannesburg and has more than 35 years of experience in underground and open pit mine operations. Adriano has worked as General Manager for Anglo American and Harmony Gold and for Kinross from 2013 where he was Vice President and GM at the Divoinoi, Chirano and Bald Mountain mines.

A resident of Ghana, Mr. Apau holds Master of Philosophy in Geology from the University of Ghana and an MBA in General Management from the University of Cape Coast, Ghana.  Daniel has over 17 years of experience in exploration, resource evaluation and mining in Ghana. Prior to joining Chirano in 2016, he spent 9 years at Golden Star Resources (a mid-tier gold producer) as Chief Geologist.  He was part of the team that discovered the Wassa Underground deposit  (+4Moz Deposit).  Daniel has played a critical role in exploration success at Chirano, including year on year extension of Mine Life.  He is a Member of the Australian Institute of Geoscientist and a Member of the Society of Economic Geologists.