Who controls British Columbia's critical-mineral ground, and what just changed

Retired ExxonMobil VP of Global Procurement; extensive supply-chain/anti-trafficking board work; Presidential appointee to the US Department of Commerce National Advisory Council on Minority Business Enterprises; member of the International Advisory Committee to UN COP29 (UNFCCC).

Physicist and entrepreneur with US biotech/telecom/venture-capital career; longest-serving Chief Executive of CSIRO (Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation), 2015-2022.

Olympic gold-medalist athlete; President of World Athletics (formerly IAAF); Chairman of London 2012 Olympic Organising Committee; former UK Member of Parliament (elected 1992), served as a Government Whip and then Private Secretary to William Hague (Leader of the Opposition/Conservative Party); appointed to the House of Lords in 2000, resigned 2022.

Corporate advisory/finance and business-education background; served two terms on the Board of the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), Australia's central bank.

35+ years in senior government, UN and multilateral roles: First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance of the Netherlands; Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation; multiple UN Under-Secretary-General postings (Syria, Lebanon, Gaza); Co-Chair, Coalition of Finance Ministers for Climate Action; currently Co-Chair of the UN Foundation board and an Independent Member of the UN Security Council-established Gaza Executive Board.

Infrastructure-investment executive with prior leadership roles at the United Nations, Blackstone Group, Global Water Development Partners, and the International Finance Corporation; currently a Member of the Environmental Steering Committee for NEOM (Saudi Arabia) and of Singapore's International Advisory Panel on Carbon Credits; Commissioner of the Global Commission on the Economics of Water.

Former CFO of WMC Resources Limited (2002-2005); director since 2011; also director of Incitec Pivot Limited and Djerriwarrh Investments Limited.

Former Chairman and CEO of Fluor Corporation (CEO from Feb 2011, Chairman from Feb 2012); former Chairman of the National Association of Manufacturers; boards of ConocoPhillips Company and The Mosaic Company.

Former Executive Chairman (2007-2015) and CEO (2006-2015) of Peabody Energy; former COO of Peabody (2003-2006); prior roles at Rio Tinto and Kennecott.

Former President and COO of Teck Resources (Sept 2022-Oct 2023); prior executive roles at Freeport-McMoRan and Phelps Dodge.

Founding director of the Corporate Responsibility Initiative at Harvard's Kennedy School; nonresident senior fellow at Brookings Institution; co-chair of the World Economic Forum's Global Future Council on Energy Nexus.

Senior Independent Director and Audit Committee Chair of Petrofac Ltd.; former Finance Director of Anglo American plc (from 2005) and BOC Group plc; also serves on the board of Vinci.

36+ years combined military, intelligence and defense-contracting experience, including 26 years in the U.S. Army Military Intelligence Corps; senior roles overseeing intelligence operations, strategic planning and security programs across the U.S., Middle East (Afghanistan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia) and Asia-Pacific; decorations include the Legion of Merit and Bronze Star; post-military work supporting defense contractors and government partners.

40+ years in international mining, project finance and infrastructure; founder/CEO of Nationwide Equipment (est. 1983); appointed 2005 to the U.S. Export-Import Bank's Sub-Saharan Africa Advisory Committee; extensive work with mining operators and governments across Africa, Latin America and Asia.

30+ years advising public/private companies in natural resources; publicly reported to have advised the United Arab Emirates' Al Mualla ruling family; facilitated a reported $70 million business combination involving Anadarko Petroleum; founder of multiple mining/oil-gas/agriculture businesses.

Attorney, political strategist and media commentator (Fox News, CNN, Newsmax); international legal/financial experience with the World Bank Group / IFC; prior experience in the White House Office of Political Affairs; provides guidance to the Board/management on public affairs, government relations, communications and capital-markets visibility.

Former U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security (2025); former Governor of South Dakota (2019-2025); former U.S. House of Representatives member (2011-2019); currently U.S. Special Envoy to the 'Shield of the Americas' initiative.

Associate at Amsterdam & Partners LLP (Washington, DC and London), an international law/advocacy/geopolitics firm; work spans U.S. public-policy disputes, international human-rights matters, anti-corruption investigations and political advocacy, including work for the Republic of Turkey on an international fraud/corruption investigation ('Empire of Deceit'). BA Wilfrid Laurier University; law degree, Bond University.

Senior mining executive: Co-President/EVP-COO of Barrick Gold; interim President/CEO of Trilogy Metals; President/CEO of Arizona Mining; and Managing Director (2011-2014) of Debswana Diamond Company in Botswana.

27-year career in natural-resource industries in Latin America, culminating as SVP Latin America at Methanex Corporation; former Chairman, Canada-Chile Chamber of Commerce; board member of Codelco (Chile's state copper company) until May 2021.

Corporate director; former CFO of Nexen Energy ULC (CFO Feb 2013-Mar 2016, after acting as interim CFO from Jan 2012); also director of Bank of Nova Scotia and TC Energy Corporation.

Securities lawyer; President of McCarthy Law Professional Corp. and of Independent Review Inc.; former Chief Legal Officer/Corporate Secretary, Deutsche Bank Canada & Deutsche Bank Securities (1997-2002); former Chair of the Toronto Port Authority (a federal Crown-agency board) and former member of the Ontario Securities Commission's Small Business Advisory Committee.

Geologist, 35+ years in mining with focus on regulatory/environmental/Indigenous relations; former President & CEO/Director of Northern Freegold Resources; former director, Yukon Energy Corporation (a Yukon territorial Crown corporation); chairs the Advisory Board at Lakehead University's Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Mining & Exploration.

30+ years as a financial executive/board director; former Financial Advisory Partner at Deloitte LLP (founded its Aboriginal Client Services Practice); currently a director of the Chartered Professional Accountants of BC; director of First Nations Bank of Canada governance-linked bodies; founder/chair of the Chief Joe Mathias BC Aboriginal Scholarship Fund.

25+ years as a finance executive. Currently Chair of the Board of Ontario Power Generation Inc. (OPG), Chair of the Audit Committee of General Fusion Group Ltd. (Nasdaq: GFUZ), and a Board Member of the Institute of Corporate Directors. Fellow, Chartered Professional Accountants of Ontario; named to Canada's Top 100 Most Powerful Women (2020).

Professional geologist specializing in grassroots exploration through deposit delineation for precious and base metals. Spent five years managing exploration and mining projects for the BC provincial government as a Regional Geologist in northwestern BC, conducting fieldwork and government publications; originated the 'Kyba Red Line' stratigraphic marker used by explorers in the Stikine Terrane.

Practiced law in Cranbrook, BC (~8 years) before politics. Served 16 years as a British Columbia MLA (2001-2017) representing Kootenay East/East Kootenay. Held multiple BC provincial cabinet positions, including Minister of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources (held that portfolio on three separate occasions), plus other cabinet roles during his tenure. Owner-operator of fly-in fishing/hunting lodges in Manitoba and the NWT. Appointed to Eagle Plains' board June 15, 2017.

30+ years' experience in BC public and private companies. Former Chief Financial Officer of TransLink (Metro Vancouver's regional transportation authority, a public-sector body). Prior senior executive roles at Canfor Corp. and Howe Sound Pulp and Paper Ltd. Concurrently served on the boards of the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority (a federal port authority established under the Canada Marine Act), Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC, a BC provincial Crown corporation), Coast Mountain Bus Company (a TransLink subsidiary), and GreenPower Motor Company. Fellow, Chartered Professional Accountants of BC; Institute of Corporate Directors designation.

Career senior executive in the Canadian federal and provincial public service. CEO of the Canadian Firearms Centre, Dept. of Justice (2000-2001); later Deputy Head of Service Canada and Associate Deputy Minister of Human Resources and Social Development Canada -- i.e. a former Deputy Minister-level federal official. Subsequently President of the Institute on Governance for 10 years, where she established an Indigenous Advisory Circle. Currently a governance advisor to Musqueam First Nation and other BC First Nations under the New Relationship Trust. Appointed NorthWest Copper Board Chair effective April 25, 2024.

LL.B. (Dalhousie), internationally ranked lawyer and mining-governance specialist; former CEO of Privateer Gold Ltd.; former Chair & President (1998-2004) of the Ontario Trillium Foundation, a Government of Ontario Crown charitable-granting agency whose board is filled via provincial public appointment, during which annual granting grew from $12M to $100M; recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal for contribution to Canada.