Board of Directors
Anastasios (Tom) Drivas
CEO, Director
Tom Drivas is a business entrepreneur with over 30 years of experience in various industries, including over 20 years in the mineral resource industry and is also currently a Director of Romios Gold Resources Inc., a publicly traded company he founded in 1995.
Frank van de Water B. Com., CPA, CA
CFO, Secretary, Director
Frank van de Water has been involved with international mining, metals and resource companies in North and Latin Americas, Europe and Africa for over 40 years.
Brian Robertson B.Sc., P.Eng., Grad. Dipl. Business Administration
Director
Mr. Robertson is a registered Professional Engineer (Ontario) with over 40 years of experience in the mineral resources industry and has served as an officer and director of a number of exploration and mining companies listed on the TSX and TSX Venture Exchanges. Mr. Robertson has extensive experience in the development and direction of exploration programs, project management, mine permitting, mine construction and development as well as mine operations and the evaluation of corporate acquisitions. He served as president of Victory Nickel Inc., Nuinsco Resources Ltd., and Mexican Gold Mining Corp., and is currently a director of Appia Rare Earths & Uranium Corp., Romios Gold Resources Inc. and Minnova Corp.
Thomas Skimming B.Sc. Geology, P.Geo, P.Eng.
Director
Thomas Skimming has been instrumental in the discovery and development of several mineral deposits including the world-class Teck-Corona gold deposit at (Hemlo) in Canada. He has over 50 years of experience in the mineral resources industry and he has served as an officer and/or director in a number of public exploration and mining companies.
Douglas H. Underhill Ph.D., MBA, CPG
Director
Dr. Underhill is an economic geologist with more than 45 years of international experience in the uranium industry at the commercial level including nearly 10 years with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna. His specialties range from world uranium geology and resource estimation through supply-demand analysis. He has presented on these topics on five continents and has advised governments on uranium developments in the USA, Australia and China. He has also worked in the exploration and evaluation of Rare Earth Element projects for over 10 years.
William Johnstone L.L.B.
Legal Counsel & Director
Bill Johnstone is a partner at Gardiner Roberts LLP, practicing corporate and securities law and is the Practice Leader of the firm’s Securities Law Group. He is also a director and officer of numerous public companies.
Nick Bontis Ph.D., B.A.
Director
Nick Bontis is a tenured professor of strategic management at the DeGroote School of Business, McMaster University. He received both his Bachelor of Arts (Honours Business Administration, 1992) and his Ph.D. (1999) from the Ivey School of Business at The University of Western Ontario. He is also an Executive Board Member and Director at Harvest Portfolios Group.
Dr. John Belhumer PhD.
Senior Advisor
Dr. Belhumeur has served as an advisor and consultant to Appia since March 2021. Dr. Belhumeur has spent over 30 years as a consultant for Aboriginal affairs about project development in the resource industry, coordinating between Aboriginal citizens, resource companies, and various levels of government. Dr. Belhumeur has worked on many projects, from the EIA process through to the construction and operation phases of a mine.
Coming from St. Lazare and Pine Creek, Manitoba, Dr. Belhumeur's Cree /Ojibwa ancestry gives him first-hand knowledge of the Indigenous experience, lending a deeper understanding of issues facing Aboriginal people today, in society and in the workplace. Dr. Belhumeur believes in protecting the environment first and foremost, using Traditional, Ecological Knowledge and sustainable mineral development.
Dr. Belhumeur is the Founder and publisher of The Aboriginal Miner, in partnership with The Prospector Resource Investment News. He is an accomplished publisher, miner, and adviser to First Nations, Industry and Government and is well-known throughout the mining, forestry, and petroleum industries, and in resource development communities.
Dr. Belhumeur was one of the first publishers to endorse mining, hydro, oil & gas, alternative energy, and other resource development projects in Canada, believing that it would bring employment, training, and prosperity to Indigenous communities.
Jack Lifton
Strategic Advisor
Jack Lifton is a consultant, author, and lecturer on the market fundamentals of technology metals. Technology metals is a term that he coined to describe strategic metals whose electronic properties make our technological society possible. These include the rare earths, the platinum group metals, lithium, graphite and most of the rare metals and materials. Jack is the leading rare earths expert in the US and he also advises the US Department of Energy as well as other companies.
Robert (Bob) MacGregor P.Eng.
Advisor
Bob MacGregor has over 30 years of experience as a mining engineer and geological consultant, including 14 years working at Elliot Lake uranium mining camp. He has been involved in uranium leaching facilities, deep mining studies and was also involved in the development of a Yttrium oxide recovery process at Elliot Lake.
Gary Delaney
Advisor
In the spring of 2022, Gary Delaney, Ph. D., P. Geo., retired as Chief Geologist, Saskatchewan Geological Survey (SGS), Ministry of the Energy and Resources, Government of Saskatchewan. The primary role of the SGS is to undertake geoscience research in support of the responsible exploration for and development of Saskatchewan’s mineral and energy resources.
Dr. Delaney has a B.Sc. in geology from Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario; a M.Sc. in geology from Brock University, St. Catharines, Ontario; and a Ph. D. in geology from the University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario. Between 1981 and 1985 Dr. Delaney, worked as a research geologist for Cominco Ltd. at the Sullivan Mine in Kimberley, British Columbia. In 1986, he joined the SGS as a project geologist and undertook geological mapping and mineral deposit studies in the Precambrian Shield of northern Saskatchewan.
In 1998, Dr. Delaney became Director of Northern Geological Survey Branch of the SGS and in 2010, Chief Geologist. During his tenure with the SGS he has guided the delivery of various geoscience projects, that have profiled and informed the responsible exploration for and development of the Saskatchewan’s rich and diverse energy and mineral resources.
As Chief Geologist of the SGS, Dr Delaney represented Saskatchewan on the National Geological Surveys Committee (NGSC) which is composed of the leadership of Geological Survey of Canada and the geological surveys of Canada’s Provinces, and Territories. The key role of the NGSC is the planning and delivery of a pan Canadian geoscience program.
During his time as Chief Geologist, Dr. Delaney, who has fostered a strong relationship with mining and mineral exploration companies active in Saskatchewan, made several trips to Australia, China, Japan and South Korea to profile Saskatchewan’s mineral sector and the investment opportunities it offers.
Alan D. MacEachern B.Sc. Geology
Consulting Geologist
Alan MacEachern is the former chief geologist for Denison Mines Ltd. Elliot Lake, Ontario, and has 39 years of experience with all aspects of Elliot Lake geology.
Watts, Griffis and McOuat (WGM) Limited
Consultants
An independent firm of consulting Professional Geologists and Engineers based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Since 1962, WGM has served the international mining community by completing projects in over 120 countries.