DOUGLAS HURST

The Company announced the appointment of Mr. Douglas Hurst as a director of the Company effective immediately. Mr. Hurst was part of the founding group of Newmarket Gold, which, following discovery of the high-grade Swan Zone at the company’s Fosterville mine, was sold to Kirkland Lake Gold in 2016 for approximately $1 billion. He is a serially successful mining entrepreneur and executive. He founded International Royalty Corporation, which was sold to Royal Gold for approximately $700 million in 2010. Mr. Hurst holds a Bachelor of Science in geology from McMaster University (1986) and has over 30 years of experience in the mining industry as a geologist, consultant, mining analyst, and senior executive. He was a mining analyst with McDermid St. Lawrence, Sprott Securities and a contract analyst to Pacific International Securities and Octagon Capital up until 1995. From 1995 to 2003 Mr. Hurst operated D.S. Hurst Inc. a company offering corporate, evaluation and financing consulting services to the mining industry. He was a founder and executive of International Royalty Corporation from 2003 to 2006, and a director until 2010 when the company was purchased by Royal Gold for approximately $700 million. Mr. Hurst was also part of the founding group of Newmarket Gold, which was sold to Kirkland Lake Gold in 2016 for approximately $1 billion. Mr. Hurst currently serves as the Chairman of Northern Vertex Mining and as a director of both Calibre Mining and Newcore Gold.