Directors
Mark J Morabito B.A., J.D.
Mr. Morabito has more than 20 years of experience in the public markets with expertise in raising capital and corporate development. He is the founder of King & Bay West, a merchant bank and technical services company that specializes in identifying, funding, developing and managing high-potential opportunities.
MoreMark Morabito’s two decades of experience in mining and markets have taught him an important lesson, one that he is eager to share: “It’s not about the risk — it’s about the opportunity.”
Mark has been the founder and principal driving force behind a number of other resource development companies. At Alderon Iron Ore, his skill as a negotiator enabled the company to secure a US $400 million agreement with HBIS Group, at the time China’s largest steel producer entering their first investment transaction outside of China in the company’s history.
In addition, Mark led two mining companies from initial start-up on the TSX Venture Exchange to full NYSE listings. In resource development ventures across the hemisphere, Mark has an exceptional record of panning through the rubble of risk to extract the gold of opportunity.
Mark Morabito is also CEO of King & Bay West, a merchant bank and public company services provider, and leads several other successful public and private companies. With an office that is fully Sarbanes-Oxley compliant, King & Bay West is vertically integrated with in-house technical and corporate finance departments, and is focused on enhancing value to its growing portfolio of noteworthy public and private companies.
Mark began his career as a corporate finance and securities lawyer practicing in Toronto and Vancouver. After eight years of 80-hour weeks, he decided his work ethic could be better put to use on the client side of the table. Mark’s career in business and capital markets spans over 20 years, with a strong focus on junior mining and extensive experience in merchant banking and corporate development. Over the course of his career, Mark has raised over US $1 billion.
Originally from southern Ontario, Mark now calls Vancouver home. He earned a B.A. from Simon Fraser University and completed his J.D. at Western University’s Faculty of Law.
Learn more about Mark Morabito:
https://markmorabito.ca/
https://www.f6s.com/member/markmorabitovancouver
https://www.crunchbase.com/person/mark-morabito
https://www.kingandbay.com/about/mark-morabito/1.html
Ken Engquist, B.Eng.,
Mr. Engquist brings over 30 years of leadership and development experience overseeing the de-risking and advancement of numerous mining projects from early-stage exploration through start-up and operations. He has led operations, technical studies, work programs, permitting, and stakeholder relations as well as participated in the structuring of several financing and M&A deals in the junior mining sector.
Mr. Engquist was most recently the COO of Western Copper and Gold, where he was responsible for development and exploration and lead corporate development, M&A, and due diligence for the Company. Prior to this, he was COO of First Mining Gold where he was responsible for advancing the development of their Springpole Project. Some other recent development projects of his include Nevsun’s Timok Copper Project, South32’s Hermosa Zinc Project, and Tinka Resources’ Ayawilca Zinc Project. He’s also led various other projects within Oxygen Capital’s managed group of companies where he was responsible for advancing a portfolio of assets at various stages of development through the start of production. A large portion of his career was spent in key management roles on large capital projects and operations within Rio Tinto and AngloGold Ashanti. Mr. Engquist serves as a Director and Board Advisor on other public and private organizations. He holds a B.Sc. in Engineering from Michigan Technological University.
Matt Lennox-King
Mr. Lennox-King brings over 25 years of mineral exploration experience to the Company, both as a seasoned geologist and a company executive. He co-founded Contact Gold, a TSX-V listed gold company focused on developing oxide gold resources in Nevada, where he served as President, CEO, and Director from its inception in 2017 until its acquisition by Orla Mining in April 2024.
Prior to founding Contact Gold, Mr. Lennox-King served as President and CEO of Pilot Gold Inc., a TSX listed exploration and development company, active in the Western United States and Turkey. Prior to his role at Pilot Gold, he was a Senior Geologist at predecessor company Fronteer Gold Inc. where he played a key role in identifying high-potential properties and leading multimillion-dollar exploration programs that significantly expanded Fronteer Gold’s deposits.
Mr. Lennox-King brings comprehensive expertise in mineral exploration, finance, corporate governance, mergers and acquisitions, and executive leadership to his role on the Board of Directors. He holds a B.Sc. in Geological Sciences from the University of British Columbia and was honoured as one of Business in Vancouver's Top 40 Under 40 in 2014.
Richard Lock
Mr. Lock has over three decades of experience as a mining engineer who has led the construction and development of several large mining projects around the world. He is the CEO of Oroco Resource Corp, who are developing a large copper-gold project in Mexico. Prior to joining Oroco, he was senior Vice-President of PolyMet Mining Corp. and Project Director for its NorthMet Project in Minnesota. Amongst his prior project experience, Mr. Lock has held executive and project director roles at Arizona Mining Inc.’s Hermosa project, a lead-zinc-silver mine in southern Arizona; Yara International’s Dallol project, a Sulphate of Potash mining project in Ethiopia; Western Potash Corporation’s Milestone project, a potash solution mining project in Canada; and, more significantly, Rio Tinto’s Resolution and Keystone copper projects in Arizona and Utah, respectively.
Mark Lotz, CA
Mark Lotz is a Chartered Professional Accountant practicing publicly through his firm Lotz CPA Inc. With more than 26 years of public practice experience focusing of public company reporting, tax and consulting. Formerly a CEO and CFO in the brokerage industry, he also has senior management experience in the mining, manufacturing, cannabis and digital media sectors. Mark provides strategic tax and business planning and is a sought-after expert for complex contractual issues and financial quantification. He regularly consults with legal firms acting as an expert witness on matters of securities regulation and litigation. Mark’s public company experience is extensive, including: Luff Enterprises (formerly Ascent Industries Corp., Global Crossing Airlines (formerly Canada Jetlines Corp), Candente Copper Corp, Xali Gold, Loop Insights Inc., TrackX Holdings, Gnomestar Craft Inc., Voleo Trading Systems Inc., Gold Basin Resources, and Prophecy Coal.
Leonard Karr
With over four decades of exploration and mining experience spanning five continents, Leonard “L.J.” Karr commenced his career as a Junior Geologist with Derry, Michener and Booth in 1979. Progressing through roles as a miner, mine geologist, Chief Mine Geologist at the London Mine, and Project Geologist at Lihir for Kennecott, Mr. Karr subsequently served as a consultant for various companies, including Placer Dome and Orvana Resources. He has also worked as a project manager/geologist and VP of Exploration for several junior companies in Latin America, China and Africa. While the preponderance of his experience is gold related, Mr. Karr’s extensive portfolio also includes silver, base metal, uranium, and industrial mineral projects and as a geosteering engineer in Texas. His exploration experience covers the spectrum from mine site to regional scale programs.
Mr. Karr has an M.Sc. in Geology from Colorado State University and a B.Sc. in Geological Engineering from Michigan Technological University. He is a Certified Professional Geologist with the American Institute of Professional Geologists and a Qualified Person under NI 43-101. Until last year, he was the President of the Denver Regional Exploration Geologists’ Society.
Brian Shin, CPA
Mr. Shin specializes in providing financial reporting, corporate finance, auditing, corporate strategy, risk management and other accounting and consulting services to both public and private companies in various industries. Mr. Shin holds the professional designation of chartered professional accountant (CPA) in British Columbia. Mr. Shin worked as a consultant, focusing on developing corporate strategy for mid- to large-sized companies, as well as risk management for first-tier financial companies in South Korea. Additionally, he served as an auditor, conducting audits for internationally funded companies in Hong Kong. Currently, Mr. Shin holds the position of CFO for several public and private companies in Canada. Mr. Shin boasts extensive experience spanning approximately 15 years, serving in roles ranging from consultant to auditor, controller, and CFO. His expertise encompasses diverse industries across multiple countries, including Canada, Hong Kong, and South Korea, working with both publicly traded and private corporations.
Jay Sujir, J.D.
Jay Sujir, J.D. is a Partner in Farris, Vaughan, Wills & Murphy LLP. Following more than 20 years with Anfield, Sujir, Kennedy & Durno, he joined Farris’ Securities practice group. Jay has over 30 years’ experience acting for public and private companies. Jay was called to the BC Bar in 1986 after obtaining his LLB from the University of Victoria. He obtained his BA (Economics & Philosophy) in 1981, also from the University of Victoria.