People (June 01, 2006)

Buffalo Gold of Vancouver has named Brian McEwen as president and COO. He is a mining geologist with more than 25 years of exploration and production experience.

Cusac Gold Mines of Vancouver has hired key production personnel for its Table Mountain mine, which recently went into production. Kevin Fitzpatrick is the mine manager and Colin Craft is the mill superintendent.

Jim Popowich is retiring from the top job at Elk Valley Coal Partnershp. Boyd Payne will replace him as president and CEO. Payne was previously vice-president marketing for BHP Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance. He has also held senior positions at Fording Coal, Manalta Coal and Gregg River Resources.

Falconbridge Ltd. of Toronto has appointed Ian Pearce its COO, effective immediately. He joined the company in 2003 as a senior vice-president.

Jim Lincoln has joined the senior management team of Fronteer Development Group as vice-president operations. Lincoln was formerly with Jinshan Gold Mines.

Geologix explorations of Vancouver has elected Dunham Craig to its board and named him president and CEO of the company. He replaces Bruce McLeod, who did not stand for re-election. Also, the company named Sig Weidner as vice-president exploration.

Toronto’s Glencairn Gold has named Peter Tagliamonte its new president and CEO. He replaces Kerry Knoll who becomes chairman of the company. Tagliamonte was an executive of Desert Sun Mining, which was taken over by Yamana Gold. Glencairn has agreed to purchase Yamana’s La Libertad gold mine in Nicaragua and Yamana’s 60% interest in the Cerro Quema gold deposit in Panama.

John Macken has been appointed president and CEO of Singapore-based Ivanhoe Mines; he gives up his duties as COO. Robert Friedland moves from chairman and CEO to executive chairman. Peter Meredith becomes deputy chairman, and his CFO duties will be taken over by Tony Giardini, formerly of Placer Dome.

Kinross Gold of Toronto has named Tim Baker as COO, effective June 15, 2006. Most recently, Baker was executive general manager of Placer Dome Chile.

Toronto-based Midlands Minerals has appointed Marc Boisvert to the position of vice-president exploration and Isaac Adjovu to the job of regional exploration manager. The company’s primary focus is on gold projects in Tanzania and Ghana.

Ernie Marcotte has joined Toronto-based Mustang Minerals as vice-president operations. His primary focus will be on advancing the Maskwa nickel project into production. Recently he has worked for SNC Lavalin as senior metallurgist and as a consultant for Winnipeg Environmental specializing in mining-related projects.

Marek Kreczmer has become CEO of Toronto-based Northwestern Mineral Ventures as well as president. He succeeds Kabir Ahmed, who has stepped into the chairman’s job.

At Toronto’s Nuinsco Resources two top executives have switched roles. Warren Holmes was named chairman and Rene Galipeau moved from that position into the CEO’s job.

Toronto-based Nuinsco Resources has appointed Normand Lecuyer as vice-president Quebec operations. He will play a key role in the company’s expansion into the Chibougamau mining camp under the terms of its recent agreement with Campbell Resources.

The Saskatchewan Research Council has appointed a new vice-president mining and minerals, Paul Labbe. He holds a BSc in engineering management and an MBA, holds a number of patents, and has published several papers on automation and materials handling.

Vancouver’s Teck Cominco has announced the July 1, 2006, retirement of COO Mike Lipkewich. Peter Kukielski will join the company as its executive VP and COO on June 15. He was recently employed by Falconbridge in the same capacity.

Bruce Jago has been named vice-president exploration at Wallbridge Mining of Toronto. He is a University of Toronto graduate with a doctorate in geology, and a former employee of Inco and SGS Lakefield.

Yukon Zinc Corp. of Vancouver has hired Lionel Labelle as manager of procurement and contracts and Ruth Castillo to assist him. Both are ex-Placer Dome employees.