Business Team
CEO
Suzette McFaul
The CEO of Clean Gold Community Solutions is Suzette McFaul with over 25 years’ community experience in 300 communities located in over 18 countries. Suzette has successfully built companies and led passionate, energetic teams that achieve goals and exceed expectations of customers, stakeholders and program participants. Built on relationships and people, she works with communities to engage them in entrepreneurial activities showing a better than 80% sustainability rate even after five years of business. She has lectured at post-secondary institutions, presented at conferences and has authored and co-authorized industry publications.
CFO
Emprise Capital Corp
Founded in 2004, Emprise Capital Corp., Emprise provides accounting and CFO services. Emprise’s management team has significant experience in the areas of corporate finance, business development, securities law, equity and debt finance structuring, capital raising, and corporate governance, enabling it to add true value to its portfolio companies as part of its hands-on approach to all facets of its business.
Legal and structure
Jeff Durno
Mr. Durno has been active in the public markets for the past twenty years, and in addition to a focus on strategic relationships, fund development and due diligence matters, he has overall responsibility for strategic planning and the mapping out of specific restructure processes. In addition to his role with Emprise, Mr. Durno is also a partner in the Securities Group at Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP, a Canadian law firm with offices in Toronto and Vancouver.
As the former Managing Partner of a Vancouver-based boutique law firm, and a director and officer of several technology-based companies, a merchant bank, as well as TSX and TSX-V listed companies, Jeff brings a unique perspective to the business of law. Mr. Durno was called to the Bar of Ontario in 1993 and British Columbia in 1994 and is a member of the Law Society of Upper Canada and a director and officer of a number of Canadian public companies.
Core Technical Team
Technical Leader
Dr. Marcello Veiga
Head technical team is world renown Dr. Marcello Veiga who has worked globally and Ecuador and South American countries. Marcello’s specialty is small scale gold processing with artisanal miners.
Dr. Marcello Veiga has worked for the past thirty-one years, as a metallurgical engineer and environmental geochemist for mining and consulting companies in Brazil, Canada, Ecuador, US, Venezuela, Chile and Peru. As an associate professor of the Norman B. Keevil Institute of Mining Engineering at the University of British Columbia, his research and teaching topics are focused on different topics that lead to improve the image of mining and contribute for sustainable mining communities.
He is an expert and Chief Technical Advisor of the GEF/UNDP/UNIDO Global Mercury Project for UNIDO – United Nations Industrial Development Organization, in Vienna. This includes the implementation of Environmental and Health Assessment of mercury pollution inartisanal gold mining in Asia, Africa and South America.
General Manager
Javier Nava, BSc., MEng.,
Javier is a mining engineer from Venezuela with a Master's degree in Mining sustainability and the environment at the University of British Columbia. Javier has worked in various political and diverse situations both as an engineer and as a community project manager in North and South America.
Javier Nava, has direct field experience in Ecuador. His expertise is in both mining and community with direct leadership experience in many mining communities around the world.
Process Implementation Manager
Adriana Goncalves B.A.Sc MASc.
Ms. Adriana holds an M.A.Sc in Mining Engineering from the University of British Columbia, and a B.A.Sc in Chemical Engineering as well as a Post Graduate Specialization in Industrial Process Engineering. Her master’s research was focused on the evolution and characterization of the artisanal and small-scale gold (ASGM) processing centers in Portovelo-Zaruma, Ecuador and their environmental impacts on local communities.
She has over 15 years of industrial engineering experience in delivering outstanding quality management, process improvement, quality control, mineral processing, hydrometallurgy, pre-feasibility studies, community engagement and team management. Since 2014, Adriana has been involved in multidisciplinary ASGM projects based on responsible mining and in the use of cleaner gold extraction, working as an Associate Researcher at the Norman B. Keevil Institute of Mining Engineering (NBK) at UBC. Adriana is fluent in English, with a working knowledge of Spanish. Portuguese is her native language. She has executed field-based research studies in Brazil, Costa Rica, Colombia, and Ecuador.
A team of 4 UBC researchers with various expertise will provide further expertise on the ground.
Electrical Engineer
This role will be to design, develop, test and supervise electrical equipment including electrical design, quality control, installation and commissioning assistance. Continuous improvement of safety and reliability of power plant machinery will be foremost.
Mechanical Engineer
This position includes a review of equipment and assist in the design of the processing equipment configurations. They will be instrumental in the development of the inventory spare parts needed based on a calculation of a maintenance and technical and operational life time. During construction assist as required with the effort to correctly inspect, calibrate, repair, refurbish install mechanical plant instrumentation and equipment.
General Processing
This role is will include bringing innovative processing techniques to Clean Gold. It includes analyzing production data, investigating the cause of deviations from expected results and taking action to optimize the performance of the plant. This role includes developing and implementing best practices to ensure the quality, safety and efficiency of metallurgical procedures and lab accuracy.
Civil Engineer
This role is to work on tailings dam design involving geotechnical site investigations; ground hazard identification, assessment, and mitigation design; grade, slope, drainage, and design, earth and rock design and mitigation; erosion control measures; geostructures; geohazards work and other civil or geotechnical engineering services. They will monitor installation of all plant instrumentation and equipment to ensure that it is installed as designed and per best industry practices. Participate in water projects related to environment in dams and spillways, dam safety.
Community Development Team
Corporate Relations Director
Brandon Nichols, BSc., MAS.
Brandon Nichols is a project manager, thought-leader, and scientist with 10 years' experience building teams, mentoring and creating multidisciplinary solutions to complex problems. Brandon holds a Bachelor of Science focused on genetics, a Master of Applied Science in Mining Engineering. Brandon co-organized and lead a 12-person research team to Ecuador to conduct a gold mercury and cyanide balance of 66 artisanal and small scale gold processing plants.
Community Relations
Luis Chinchay Rojas
Luis Chinchay Rojas is an environmental engineer with a master's degree in Natural Resources from the Polytechnic University of Catalunya, Spain. He has worked for more than 10 years in projects focussed on clean technology and sustainable development of the Artisanal and Small-scale Mining (ASM) sector in Ecuador. Luis has gained the trust of the mining communities in the country, thanks to his extensive field work and continuous support to implement improved mineral processing techniques in the ASM communities.
Along his career, Luis has been focused on the well-being and development of mining communities in Ecuador. He has worked for different government institutions such as Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Energy and Mines and collaborative projects between Ecuador and Peru (northern region of Peru- Community of San Sebastian) to research and promote new technologies for efficient and cleaner mineral processing methods. Luis has also been involved with multiple universities in Ecuador; teaching about the development of the mining sector in Ecuador is also part of his passion and professional career.
Currently, Luis is working as a consultant for The United Nations Development Program and the Ministry of Environment in Ecuador, developing a Chemical Substances Management Plan.
Luis, was introduced to SEF Canada as team member of INIGEMM, (Instituto Nacional de Investigación Geológico Minero Metalúrgico) National Institute of Mining Metallurgical Geological Research, an Ministry in Ecuador, one of the key stakeholders and funders of SEF Community program. His passion for helping small miners and their surrounds has lead Luis to become part of the Clean Gold Community Solutions team. Luis’s role will be on the ground in Ecuador as the community relations person.
