John Thompson

Mr. Thompson's mining career spans 41 years in senior management roles with Utah Development Company, BHP (now BHP Billiton), Newcrest Mining, and QGX, managing and developing mineral projects in Australia, New Zealand, Mongolia and the United States. Mr. Thompson was responsible for the overall development of Newcrest Mining's Cadia Hill mine, in NSW, which included reserve definition, management of engineering teams that designed both the mine and processing plant facilities, the final feasibility study, and the environmental impact statement (EIS) on the project. More recently, as VP Project Development for QGX, Mr. Thompson delivered the Preliminary Assessment Report, Pre-Feasibility Study, and EIS on the Baruun Naran coking/thermal coal project in the South Gobi, Mongolia. He has held numerous other leadership roles in the mining industry, including four Mine/General Manger roles in coking coal, gold, and titanium/iron sands operations and a General Manager position at Newcrest overseeing five operating gold businesses in Australia. Mr. Thompson has a BS degree in Mining and Petroleum Engineering from the University of Queensland, and is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy.