Directors and Management
-
Jean-Marc LULIN, PhD, P.Geo.
President and CEO, Director
Jean-Marc Lulin is a senior mining executive and professional geologist with more than 30 years of experience in North America, Africa and Europe. Since June 2003, he has served as President, CEO and Director of Azimut Exploration. Mr. Lulin designed the mineral potential targeting methodology that constitutes the cornerstone of the Company’s activity.
Prior engagements include President and COO for Channel Resources (1996-2001), Vice President West Africa for Channel Resources (1995-1996), Chief Geologist for SOQUEM (1992-1995) and the Vior-Mazarin Group (1986-1992), and Geologist for the BRGM (1981-1984).
Mr. Lulin was a director of the Australian company West African Resources (WAF) from 2014 to 2015, following WAF’s acquisition of Channel Resources for which he was a director from 1996 to 2014.
His field of expertise covers prospective mineral resource analysis, risk analysis and global challenges related to the mining industry. At SOQUEM, Mr. Lulin initiated and led a predictive mineral resource assessment program covering the province of Quebec. He has visited more than 190 mines and advanced mining projects in 16 countries, and was very active in strengthening the initial wave of exploration in Burkina Faso during the 1990s.
Mr. Lulin was instrumental in the discoveries of several important deposits:
- In Quebec: Elmer (gold), Douay (gold) and Lac Knife (flake graphite)
- In Africa: Burkina Faso with Channel Resources – Bombore (gold), Bouroum (gold), Goulagou (gold) and Tanlouka (gold), for a total resource of 2.5 million ounces in 2001 (standing at 10 Moz in 2016); and Mozambique – Meponda (uranium, niobium, tantalum, rare earths).
- He also played a key role in uncovering the Rex Trend (Cu-Au-W) and the Ungava uranium district in Nunavik in Northern Quebec.
Mr. Lulin was also President of the Mineral Exploration Association of Quebec (AEMQ), co-founder of the Burkinabe Mining Association and president of the Technical Commission of the World Bank-MIGA 6thAfrican Mining Symposium. He currently sits on the Mining Committee for the Fédération des Chambres de Commerce du Québec, and on the Geosciences Committee for the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC). Mr. Lulin was also Associate Professor at the Université du Québec à Montréal (1992-1995) and was a consultant for The World Bank.
Mr. Lulin holds a Doctorate in Economic Geology from the Université d’Orléans (1984), and a Diploma of Advanced Studies in Mineral and Energy Resources (1981), a Master’s degree in Applied Geology (1980) and a Licence in Earth Sciences (1979) from the Université de Paris VI, France.
Glenn J. MULLAN, B.Sc. (Geology)
Chair of the Board
Glenn Mullan is a geologist/prospector with over 40 years of experience in the mining industry. He was the Founder and President/CEO of Golden Valley Mines Ltd. (TSXV-GZZ) and Founder/Chair of Abitibi Royalties Inc (TSXV-RZZ). Mr. Mullan assembled, and continues to acquire, most of the precious, base, battery and industrial metals and mineral properties comprising the portfolio now explored by Val-D’Or Mining Corporation (TSXV-VZZ).
Glenn’s experience spans early-stage prospects (Project Generation) through advanced-stage, permitted and developed projects inclusive of PEA’s, BFS, construction authorizations, Impact Benefit Agreements, project team building, etc. His passion is for grassroots prospecting, testing both new and “tried and true” ventures and ideas. His geographic focus has spanned Central and South America, Africa, Australia and North America. The Abitibi Greenstone Belt and Nunavik, Quebec are areas representing the bulk of his corporate activity.
Mr. Mullan held the role of President of the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) from 2017 to 2019. He has been a PDAC member for 45 years, and currently sits on the Executive and Awards Committees, and has previously been a member of the CSR, Corporate Governance and Nominations Committee. He is currently the Immediate Past President of the PDAC. He is a member in good standing of the Ordre des Geologues du Quebec, Geological Association of Canada, Society of Exploration Geophysicists, Canadian Institute of Mines and Metallurgy and continues participation in several local social endeavours.
Glenn holds a B.Sc. degree in geology (Earth Sciences) from Concordia University in Montreal, Quebec.
Christiane BERGEVIN, BCom, ICD.D
Director
Christiane Bergevin has achieved outstanding corporate development success in productive sectors and financial services across Canada and internationally. She notably led a premier infrastructure advisory business, closing over $10B in Energy, Transport, Resources, First Nations and regulated transactions. Christiane benefits from a vast expertise in M&A, capital markets, innovation, ESG and public policy.
As President of Bergevin Capital, Ms. Bergevin provides strategic counselling to major international consulting firms, private equity firms and corporate clients. She serves as Country Head for Astris Finance Canadian operations, a premier financial advisory firm in renewables and infrastructure and is a Senior Advisor with Roland Berger Canada (Energy / Utilities and Sustainability). She was previously a consulting executive with Hydro One (Strategy, Innovation and Corporate Development Group). Previously, she was Executive Vice President Strategic Partnerships and Corporate Development for Desjardins Group where she led over $3Bn in M&A and investments. Prior to that, she was the President of SNC-Lavalin Capital where her team advised on and structured financing for multiple large scale endeavours including in the Mining Sector. She has extensive governance experience and currently serves on the board of IAMGOLD Corporation, the supervisory Board of RATP Dev and the advisory board of AGF Group Inc. Ms Bergevin is a member of McGill’s Principal International Advisory Board and serves on the Board of the Forum of the Americas. Ms. Bergevin is a former Chair and is a Governor of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce.
Ms. Bergevin holds a Bachelor of Commerce, Finance and Entrepreneurship with Distinction from McGill University, and graduated from the Wharton School of Business (Advanced Management Program). She holds the ICD.D designation from the Institute of Corporate Directors.
Michel BRUNET, LL.B.
Director
Michel Brunet is currently Senior Counsel for Dentons Canada LLP where he practices corporate and commercial law. He has advised state-owned, public and private corporations in various sectors, including institutional fund management, energy, manufacturing, commercial, financial services and brokerage. His broad corporate expertise includes regulatory compliance, take-over bids, underwritings, private placements, debt financings, syndications, joint ventures and shareholder agreements.
Mr. Brunet was the CEO of Fraser Milner Casgrain from 2006 to 2010, and Chair of Dentons Canada from 2005 to 2017. Among his many notable accomplishments, he is listed by Acritas as an Acritas Star™ Lawyer (2017, 2018) and received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal.
Vanessa LAPLANTE, ASC-C.Dir.
Director
Vanessa Laplante brings over 32 years of experience in management, finance, and taxation, including 18 years in the mining industry. She is a leader in her specialized field, mining taxation. From 2021 to 2023, she served as the President of the Board of Directors for the Quebec Mining Association, becoming the second woman in the history of QMA to hold this position. During her tenure, she chaired the taxation committee for over 10 years. Mrs. Laplante has developed her expertise within major Canadian gold producers. She held the position of Director of Tax and the Montreal office as well as Treasurer for the Canadian Malartic Partnership, a company formerly owned by Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd and Yamana Gold Inc and operating the Canadian Malartic and Odyssey mines from 2014 to 2023. She has also held similar roles and made significant contributions at Osisko Mining Corporation from 2010 to 2014, Iamgold Corporation, and Cambior Inc from 2006 to 2010. She is an independent director and Chair of the Audit Committee at Critical Elements Lithium Corporation since 2022. She was a member of the advisory committee on the simplification of the mining royalty regime formed by the Quebec Ministry of Natural Resources from 2015 to 2019.
Ms. Laplante holds the ASC, C.Dir. designation - Certified Corporate Director of the University Laval Certification Program in Corporate Governance. She also holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Sherbrooke and is a member of the Ordre des comptables professionnels agréés du Québec (CPA designation).
Jean-Charles POTVIN, B.Sc., MBA.
Director
Jean-Charles Potvin is currently a director of Azimut Exploration and Executive Chairman of Murchison Minerals, a company focused on advancing the exploration and development of the Brabant copper zinc VMS deposit and of the HPM copper nickel project. He is also President of Golden Sun Resources, a company developing the Bellavista gold project in Costa Rica.
Mr. Potvin was President and CEO of Flemish Gold Corp. prior to the amalgamation with Murchison Minerals in June 2014. He is also President of Golden Sun Resources a private company which owns the Bellavista gold mine in Central America. Jean-Charles served as the Chairman of Vaaldiam Mining Inc. from 1992 to 2012 (formerly Tiomin Resources which acquired Vaaldiam under a plan of arrangement and changed its name to that of the latter).
Mr. Potvin was President and CEO of Pangea Goldfields Inc., which had extensive holdings in Tanzania, and Peru until its acquisition in July 2000 by Barrick Gold Corporation for $204 million. Until 1994, he was a Director and Vice-President of Burns Fry (subsequently BMO Nesbitt Burns and currently BMO Capital Markets) and responsible for evaluating world-wide mining investment opportunities as a top-ranked Equity Research Gold Analyst.
Jacques SIMONEAU, PhD, Eng.
Director
Jacques Simoneau is a corporate director and business advisor with more than 30 years of experience on boards of directors of public and private companies and not-for-profit organizations, including Transat A.T., Edilex, Sonaca N.A., Genome Canada, Sustainable Technology Development of Canada (SDTC) and the Conseil des sciences et technologies du Québec. A graduate of McGill-Rotman’s Directors Education Program, he is certified ICD.D by the Institute of Corporate Directors.
A seasoned high executive with expertise in venture capital (VC), private equity investments and technology transfers, Dr. Simoneau led teams managing billion-dollar portfolios at the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) and at Solidarity Fund QFL. He was also CEO and director of Univalor, a technology transfer organization, of Hydro-Québec Capitech, a corporate VC fund specialized in cleantech and energy investments, and of Société Innovatech du sud du Québec, a VC fund financing technology start-ups. Dr. Simoneau started his career as a professor at the Royal Military College of Canada, and then joined Alcan’s research laboratories (now part of Rio Tinto Alcan) as a research scientist and manager.
Dr. Simoneau is a professional engineer with a M.Sc. from Laval University and a Ph.D. from Queen’s University. He is a member Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec (OIQ) and of Professional Engineers Ontario (PEO).
-
Jean-Marc LULIN, PhD, P.Geo.
President and CEO, Director
Jean-Marc Lulin is a senior mining executive and professional geologist with more than 30 years of experience in North America, Africa and Europe. Since June 2003, he has served as President, CEO and Director of Azimut Exploration. Mr. Lulin designed the mineral potential targeting methodology that constitutes the cornerstone of the Company’s activity.
Prior engagements include President and COO for Channel Resources (1996-2001), Vice President West Africa for Channel Resources (1995-1996), Chief Geologist for SOQUEM (1992-1995) and the Vior-Mazarin Group (1986-1992), and Geologist for the BRGM (1981-1984).
Mr. Lulin was a director of the Australian company West African Resources (WAF) from 2014 to 2015, following WAF’s acquisition of Channel Resources for which he was a director from 1996 to 2014.
His field of expertise covers prospective mineral resource analysis, risk analysis and global challenges related to the mining industry. At SOQUEM, Mr. Lulin initiated and led a predictive mineral resource assessment program covering the province of Quebec. He has visited more than 190 mines and advanced mining projects in 16 countries, and was very active in strengthening the initial wave of exploration in Burkina Faso during the 1990s.
Mr. Lulin was instrumental in the discoveries of several important deposits:
- In Quebec: Elmer (gold), Douay (gold) and Lac Knife (flake graphite)
- In Africa: Burkina Faso with Channel Resources – Bombore (gold), Bouroum (gold), Goulagou (gold) and Tanlouka (gold), for a total resource of 2.5 million ounces in 2001 (standing at 10 Moz in 2016); and Mozambique – Meponda (uranium, niobium, tantalum, rare earths).
- He also played a key role in uncovering the Rex Trend (Cu-Au-W) and the Ungava uranium district in Nunavik in Northern Quebec.
Mr. Lulin was also President of the Mineral Exploration Association of Quebec (AEMQ), co-founder of the Burkinabe Mining Association and president of the Technical Commission of the World Bank-MIGA 6thAfrican Mining Symposium. He currently sits on the Mining Committee for the Fédération des Chambres de Commerce du Québec, and on the Geosciences Committee for the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC). Mr. Lulin was also Associate Professor at the Université du Québec à Montréal (1992-1995) and was a consultant for The World Bank.
Mr. Lulin holds a Doctorate in Economic Geology from the Université d’Orléans (1984), and a Diploma of Advanced Studies in Mineral and Energy Resources (1981), a Master’s degree in Applied Geology (1980) and a Licence in Earth Sciences (1979) from the Université de Paris VI, France.
Moniroth LIM, CGA
Chief Financial Officer, Corporate Secretary
Moniroth Lim is a highly experienced financial and auditing professional with more than 20 years of experience. She joined Azimut in April 2006 after working as a supervisor and financial auditor for the accounting and business advisory services of Montreal-based Bratt Fremeth Star from 1986 to 2006. Ms. Lim’s areas of expertise include the preparation of statutory reports for publicly traded mining companies, conventional and flow-through share financing, management of financial audits, and review of internal controls.
Mrs. Lim graduated in Business Administration from the Université du Québec à Montréal (1987) specializing in accounting sciences. She is a member of the Ordre des comptables professionnels agrés du Québec.
Rock LEFRANÇOIS, P.Geo.
VP Exploration
Rock Lefrançois holds 35 years of international experience in the search, evaluation and development of gold and base metal deposits throughout the Americas. During his 15 years of engagement with mid-tier mining companies he was responsible for the implementation of project generative and acquisition programs and the management of exploration and extensive resource and reserve definition drilling programs and collaborated on economic assessments. For the last 20 years, Mr. Lefrançois has been involved in the management and development of publicly traded junior exploration and mine development companies.
In the position of President & COO of NioGold Mining Corp., he was a key contributor to the consolidation of the largest land position in the Malartic Gold Camp in Abitibi, the definition of 2 Moz of gold resources and the negotiation of strategic partnerships with gold producers. NioGold was taken over by the Osisko Group in 2016.
In the position of COO of Columbus Gold Corp. (now Orea Mining Corp.), Mr. Lefrançois was responsible for the management of a joint venture between Columbus and gold producer Nord Gold plc for the completion of the Bankable Feasibility Study and Environmental and Social Impact Study on the Montagne d’Or open pit gold mine project (4.8 Moz resources, 2.8 Moz reserves), located in French Guiana, South America, leading to a mine construction decision by the joint venture and the start of the permitting process. More recently, as President & COO, and subsequently, President & CEO of Columbus, Rock implemented a corporate growth strategy involving the search, evaluation, and acquisition of gold projects in South America with a priority on the Guianas.
Mr. Lefrançois holds a bachelor’s degree, specialization Geology, from Concordia University in Montreal.
Jonathan ROSSET, CFA
VP Corporate Development
Mr. Rosset has a strong corporate development experience in the mining industry with companies operating in Canada and in South America, which is combined with broad financial and capital market knowledge. He was recently working as Vice-President of Corporate Development for Mirasol Resources Ltd. and previously served as Vice-President of Corporate Development for Callinan Royalties Corporation until its acquisition by Altius Minerals Corporation in 2015.
Mr. Rosset holds the Chartered Financial Analyst® designation and graduated from the IÉSEG School of Management in France, with M.Sc degree in Management.