Silver Elephant’s Flying Nickel Spinout Appoints Management and Directors
Silver Elephant’s Flying Nickel Spinout Appoints Management and
Directors
Vancouver, British Columbia, December 7 , 2021 – Silver Elephant Mining Corp. (“Silver
Elephant” or “the Company”) (TSX:ELEF, OTCQX:SILEF, Frankfurt:1P2N) announces the
following management and director appointments to the Company’s proposed spinout, Flying Nickel
Mining Corp. (“Flying Nickel”). Flying Nickel is well financed having completed its recent $8.6 million
equity offering and has applied with TSX Venture Exchange to list its common shares as soon as
practicably possible.
Dan Oosterman, CEO of Flying Nickel remarks:
“Our experienced exploration, environmental, op erational, and M&A executives will strive to advance
the Minago project and take Flying Nickel to great heights in the Canadian nickel space.”
Management:
Danniel Oosterman, P. Geo: Chief Executive Officer
Based in Toronto, Danniel Oosterman began his career with Falconbridge and Inco (now Vale) and
has been in mining and exploration for over 20 years. At Inco he was part of the exploration team that
drilled the T-3 underground nickel deposit at Thompson. Mr. Oosterman is a highly experienced field
geologist. He has successfully managed multi-million-dollar drilling programs in challenging weather
and altitude conditions in northern Canada, the Western Cordillera, and the Bolivian Andes.
Mr. Oosterman holds a B.Sc. (Hons) in geology from Laurentian University and is a member of the
Professional Geoscientists of Ontario. He is a Qualified Person as defined in NI 43–101.
Rob Van Drunen: Chief Operating Officer
Robert Van Drunen, who is based in Thompson, Manitoba, has over 30 years of experience in mining
with Vale and Inco, progressing through his career with increasing levels of responsibility, including
Mine Manager and most recently Senior Project Manager of the Thompson Operation. In the latter
role, he l ed multi -disciplinary teams in all aspects of mining, including operations, maintenance,
exploration, procurement, supply chain management, and contract management.
Mr. Van Drunen holds a Masters Certificate in Project Management from York University (Sc hulich
School of Business) and the University of Winnipeg. He specializes in process improvement and cost
control, as well as having an award winning track record for zero-harm safety culture. Mr. Van Drunen
is also the Chief Operating Officer of Silver Elephant Mining Corp.
Sam Yik, CPA, CA: Chief Financial Officer
Samuel Yik is a Chartered Professional Accountant based in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Mr. Yik has a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of British Columbia, and obtained his
CA designation while articling with KPMG.
Mr. Yik spent over 11 years with Methanex Corporation (TSX: MX, Nasdaq: MEOH), the world’s
largest producer and supplier of methanol to major international markets in North America, Asia
Pacific, Europe and South America, in various financial and commercial roles with increasing
responsibilities. In addition, Mr. Yik brings over 10 years of CFO experience with publicly listed
resource companies on the TSX and TSXV and hands on management experience in jurisdictions
including Asia, Europe, Australasia, Africa, and the Americas.
Ryan Coombes: Chief Legal Officer
Ryan Coombes has over 15 years of experience in the mining industry. He started his legal career at
McCarthy Tetrault and subsequently took on roles of increasing responsibility with Kinross Gold,
BHP, Ausenco and most recently as Deputy General Counsel for Eldorado Gold.
Mr. Coombes holds a Juris Doctor from the University of Ottawa, as well as a Master of Arts from
Carleton University and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Saskatchewan.
Along with a general focus on corporate and commercial law, Mr. Coombes has a keen mining
interest and has been involved in all phases of mining development including: exploration, project
finance and construction, mine operations and reclamation. Mr. Coombes has worked in multiple
jurisdictions, including West Africa, Latin America, Greece, Turkey, Russia, Australia, and North
America. Mr. Coombes will be responsible for the overall legal affairs of both Flying Nickel and Silver
Elephant.
Doug Ramsey, M.Sc., R.P.Bio: Environmental Manager
Doug Ramsey is a Registered Professional Biologist in British Columbia, w ith four decades of
experience in the areas of environmental assessment, permitting, and indigenous consultations in the
mining sector. In Manitoba, Mr. Ramsey led the environmental monitoring and permitting at the Tanco
mine for 12 years, and acted as the lead Technical Director for the Sherridon orphaned mine site
reclamation project.
Over his career, Mr. Ramsey’s practice has included clients such as Inco, Falconbridge, Kinross,
Barrick, Spanish Mountain Gold, Environment Canada, and Fisheries and Oceans Canada, as well as
numerous First Nations in Manitoba as well as in Ontario, Quebec, and British Columbia.
Mr. Ramsey is regularly called upon to present scientific information to indigenous stakeholders and
has made presentations on environmental and reclamation issues at various mining conferences.
Flora Lo: Corporate Secretary
Ms. Lo is an experienced corporate secretary specializing in corporate governance, regulatory
compliance and legal affairs management for TSX, TSXV and NYSE listed natural resource
companies. Prior to immigrating to Canada, Ms. Lo worked as Government Counsel at the
Department of Justice in Hong Kong, and as a solicitor in the Civil & Commercial Litigation Division at
various local and international law firms. Ms. Lo graduated from the University of London with a
Master of Laws in commercial and corporate law. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Geography
and Economics from the University of Hong Kong.
David Gower, P Geo: Advisor
David Gower has 20 years’ experience in nickel exploration with Falconbridge (now Glencore), most
recently as Director of Global Nickel and PGM exploration. While at Falconbridge, he led exploration
teams to brownfield discoveries at Raglan, Sudbury, Matag ami, Falcondo and greenfield discoveries
at Araguaia in Brazil, Kabanga in Tanzania, and Amazonas, Brazil.
Mr. Gower is currently the CEO of Emerita Resources Corp. For the past 10 years he has held
executive and director positions with several junior and mid -sized mining companies. Mr. Gower will
advise on Minago and regional nickel exploration at Thompson nickel belt.
Peter C. Lightfoot P.Geo, PhD: Advisor
During a 20 -year career as a geologist with Inco and Vale Dr. Lightfoot was responsible for nickel
exploration at Voisey’s Bay, Sudbury and Carajas. Peter was also involved in project generation,
evaluation and technical support in Canada, Greenland, Scandinavia, Finland, China, India, Australia,
Brazil, Angola, South Africa and the United States.
Dr. Lightfoot is currently an Adjunct Professor at the Univ ersity of West ern Ontario. In 2016, Peter
published the first comprehensive textb ook on the Ni -Cu-precious metal ore deposits of the Sudbury
Igneous Complex. Peter received his B.A. in Earth Sciences from Oxford in 1980, his M.Sc. degree
from the Universit y of Toronto in 1982 and his Ph D from the Open University (U.K .) in 1985. He
completed post-doctoral studies at the University of Toronto and undertook extensive research on the
geology and geochemistry of the Noril’sk ore deposits during his tenure as an Adjunct Professor.
Harald Batista: Advisor
Based in Brazil and California, Harald Batista is the son of the honorable Eliezer Batista (1924–2018),
the founder and former president of CVRD (now Vale). With extensive network and fluency in
Portuguese, German, Engli sh, and Spanish, Mr. Batista will advise on Flying Nickel’s Mergers and
Acquisitions (M&A) strategy.
Directors:
John Lee, CFA: Executive Chairman
Mr. Lee specializes in M&A and has raised over $130 million for junior miners listed on the Toronto
Stock Exchange and TSX Venture Exchange since 2009. Mr. Lee led the Minago acquisition by Silver
Elephant Mining Corp. in February 2021 and later architected Silver Elephant’s proposed spinout of
Flying Nickel to operate Minago . In addition, Mr. Lee led Silver Elephant in acquiring the Pulacayo
silver project, Gibellini vanadium project , Ulaan Ovoo coal project in the past 10 years . Mr. Lee
graduated from Rice University with bachelor’s degrees in Economics (BA) and in Engineering (BSc).
Mark Scott: Director
Mark Scott has had a distinguished 20 -year career with Vale, Inco and Noranda. His past roles
include: Vice President & Head of Manitoba Operations, Vale Canada Ltd.; Director Mining & Milling,
Vale Manitoba Operations; Manager, Thompson Nickel Refinery; G eneral Manager, Human
Resources & Sustainability; President & Board Chair, Mining Association of Manitoba Inc.
Mr. Scott is currently President & CEO of Sassy Resources Corporation. He holds a Bachelor of Arts
from Dalhousie University, a Master of Indust rial Relations from the University of Toronto, and a
Masters Certificate in Project Management from York University (Schulich School of Business) and
the University of Winnipeg. He brings to the Minago operation a wealth of experience in mining,
processing & exploration, strategic planning, projects, and business & organizational development.
Masa Igata: Director
Mr. Igata has more than 35 years’ experience in Asian financial markets. Previously until 2004, he
was the Managing Director at Salomon Brother (later renamed as Nikko Citigroup) for more than a
decade. Mr. Igata has extensive network contacts with Japanese commodity trading companies and
advises resource companies on cross-border capital raising. Mr. Igata received his Graduate of Law
from Kyoto University and is a member of the Securities Analysts Association of Japan.
About the Minago Project
The Minago Project is located in the southern part of Manitoba’s Thompson Nickel Belt (“TNB”),
which is the fifth largest sulphide nickel belt in the world based on contained nickel endowment,
containing over 18 nickel deposits and over 5 billion lbs of nickel production si nce 1959. (Naldrett,
A.J., 2004, Magmatic Sulfide Deposits; Geology, Geochemistry and Exploration: Springer -Verlag,
Berlin, 725 p.).
On July 6, 2021, Silver Elephant announced Mineral Resource Estimate for Minago prepared by
Mercator and AGP with an effect ive date of July 2, 2021 that includes a Measured and Indicated
Mineral Resource of 722 million lbs of nickel, and an Inferred Mineral Resource of 319 million lbs of
nickel at an average grade of 0.74% nickel . The Minago Project has received over $40 million in
investment since early 2000.
Manitoba Provincial Highway 6 and a high -voltage (230 kV) transmission line both transect the
Minago project. Minago has been de monstrated to produce a 22.3% nickel concentrate based on
representative feed of 0.54% nickel through extensive metallurgical testing by SGS. Vale currently
produces nickel concentrates in Thompson at the heart of the TNB, 270 km northeast of the Minago
project. Its nickel concentrates are shipped to its Sudbury smelter for processing to refined nickel.
In 2011, the Environmental Act Licen se submitted by Victory nickel for a 10,000 -tonnes-per-day
open-pit operation at Minago was approved by the Manitoba government. Flying nickel will provide an
update on the Environmental Act License in early 2022.
Qualified Persons
The technical contents of this news release have been prepared under the supervision o f Danniel
Oosterman, the CEO for Flying Nickel. Mr. Oosterman is not independent of the Company as this
term is defined under NI 43-101.
About Silver Elephant
Silver Elephant Mining Corp. is a premier silver mining and exploration company with proposed nickel
and vanadium spinouts
.
Further information on Silver Elephant and Flying Nickel can be found at www.silverelef.com and
www.flynickel.com.
SILVER ELEPHANT MINING CORP.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD
John Lee
Executive Chairman
For more information about Silver Elephant, please contact Investor Relations:
+1.604.569.3661 ext. 101
[email protected] www.silverelef.com
Neither the Toronto Stock Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in
the policies of the Toronto Stock Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of
this release.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements contained in this news release, including statements which may contain words
such as “expects”, “anticipates”, “intends”, “plans”, “believes”, “estimates”, or similar expressions, and
statements related to matters which are not historical facts are forward-looking information within the
meaning of applicable securities laws. Such forward-looking statements, which reflect management’s
expectations regarding Company’s future growth, results of operations, performance, and business
prospects and opportunities, are based on certain factors and assumptions and involve known and
unknown risks and uncertainties which may cause the actual results, performance, or achievements
to be materially different from future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by
such forward-looking statements.
These factors should be considered carefully, and readers should not place undue reliance on the
Company’s forward-looking statements. The Company believes that the expectations reflected in the
forward-looking statements contained in this news release and the documents incorporated by
reference herein are reasonable, but no assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to
be correct. In addition, although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could
cause actual actions, events, or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking
statements, there may be other factors that cause actions, events, or results not to be as anticipated,
estimated, or intended. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly release any future
revisions to forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this news
or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as expressly required by law.