Martin Vydra Appointed as President
November 14, 2019 TSX.V – GIGA
Martin Vydra Appointed as President
(Vancouver) - Mark Jarvis, CEO of Giga Metals Corporation (“the “Company”) (TSX.V—GIGA)
announced today that Mr. Martin Vydra, a director of Giga Metals, has been appointed as President
of the Company.
“I am delighted to welcome Martin to the management team of Giga Metals,” said Mr. Jarvis. “His
experience with Sherritt in marketing nickel and cobalt and the relationships he has developed
with end users will prove invaluable to the Company as we advance the Turnagain project, which
has the potential to become a premium supplier of ethically sourced nickel and cobalt to the rapidly
growing battery industry.”
“At Sherritt, I had the good fortune of being exposed to almost every large undeveloped nickel
project in the world,” said Mr. Vydra. “I believe Turnagain is uniquely positioned to become the
premier ethical source of battery materials. We can compete with HPAL projects of a similar
scale, and our project can be built and operated with far less environmental impact. In addition,
research we have been supporting at the University of British Columbia indicates that our silicate
residue has the ability to sequester CO2 in meaningful amounts. While further research is ongoing,
there is a real possibility that Turnagain, once developed, could be a carbon neutral mine. My
ambition is to develop this project while adhering to the highest Environmental, Social and
Governance (“ESG”) standards.”
In addition to this new responsibility, Mr. Vydra will remain in his current position as Head of
Strategy at Conic Metals Corp. (“Conic”), which holds a 2% NSR royalty on the Turnagain
property and is a 7.0% shareholder of the Company.
“Having Martin help to develop the Turnagain project as rapidly as possible is in the best interest
of our shareholders,” said Justin Cochrane, President & CEO of Conic. “His technical expertise
and extensive experience in marketing nickel and cobalt to end users, qualifies him perfectly for
this role.”
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Mr. Vydra is a professional engineer with over 30 years’ experience and is widely recognized as
an expert in nickel and cobalt extraction, processing and refining including the development and
application of hydrometallurgical technologies for the extraction and recovery of valuable metals
such as nickel and cobalt. From 2012 until his retirement in 2018, Mr. Vydra held various senior
executive positions at Sherritt International Corporation, where he had oversight of Sherritt’s base
metals operations in Canada and Cuba, marketing of Sherritt’s commodity nickel and cobalt, and
responsibility for the technologies arm of Sherritt which developed and licensed
hydrometallurgical technologies globally.
“I have been getting feedback from the industry that ethical sourcing of materials is becoming of
paramount importance to the manufacturers of electric vehicles, particularly in North America and
in Europe,” said Mr. Vydra. “This is consumer driven. Buyers of electric vehicles are making an
environmentally responsible choice. They want to drive a car whose materials were ethically
sourced and from environmentally friendly operations . It is consumers that are behind the
movement to high ESG standards.”
“Turnagain is well positioned to satisfy this demand for ethically sourced material,” Mr. Vydra
continued. “We have an opportunity to achieve an ESG compliant carbon neutral mine by adopting
Climate Smart Mining technologi es in all aspects of the planned operations in addition to
maximizing the CO2 sequestration properties of our silicate residue. If w e are going to mine the
nickel and cobalt that power the electric revolution, I feel deeply that we should produce these
materials in an environmentally friendly way.”
Options granted
Pursuant to its Stock Option Plan, approved by the TSX Venture Exchange, the Company will be
granting 400,000 stock options to Mr. Vydra, exercisable at $0.45 per share, expiring November
15, 2024.
Technical information i n this news release has been reviewed and approved by Martin Vydra,
P.Eng., a Qualified Person under NI 43-101.
On behalf of the Board of Directors,
“Mark Jarvis”
MARK JARVIS, CEO
GIGA METALS CORPORATION
Tel: 604 681 2300
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Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in
policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of
this release.
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains forward-looking information which is subject to a variety of risks and
uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ from those
projected in the forward -looking statements. Forward looking st atements in this press release
include the potential use of Climate Smart Mining technologies in future operations, the potential
ability to be able to sequester CO 2 in meaningful amounts , that Turnagain could be a carbon
neutral mine, and that the Turnagain project could deliver large quantities of nickel and cobalt.
These forward-looking statements are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other
factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in the
forward-looking information. Risks that could change or prevent these statements from coming to
fruition include that geological interpretations based on drilling may change with more detailed
information; the availability of labour, equipment, infrastructure and markets for the products
produced; and despite the current expected viability of the project, conditions changing such that
the minerals on our property cannot be economically mined, or that the required permits to build
and operate the envisaged mine cannot be obtained. The forward -looking information contained
herein is given as of the date hereof and the Company assumes no responsibility to update or revise
such information to reflect new events or circumstances, except as required by law.
Suite 203 – 700 West Pender St., Vancouver, BC, Canada V6C 1G8
T: 604-681-2300 E: [email protected] W: www.gigametals.com