Blue Moon Appoints Christian Kargl-Simard as CEO and Frances Kwong as CFO, as well as Garfield MacVeigh and Christian Aramayo as Advisors to the Board
VANCOUVER, Nov. 01, 2024 - Blue Moon Metals Inc. (the "Company" or "Blue Moon") (TSX-V: MOON, OTCQB: BMOOF) is pleased to announce additional management changes following the annual general meeting on October 17, 2024 announcement (see October 17, 2024 release). Christian Kargl-Simard, who was elected then as an independent director, will replace Patrick McGrath as President and Chief Executive Officer. Frances Kwong, former Vice President Finance, CFO and Corporate Secretary at Adventus Mining Corporation, will replace Varun Prasad as the Company's Chief Financial Officer and Corporate Secretary. Both changes are effective immediately. Additional management appointments are expected in due course as the Blue Moon Project advances through the previously announced preliminary economic assessment (see October 10, 2024 release).
Blue Moon also is adding two non-executive advisors to the Board, Garfield MacVeigh and Christian Aramayo to increase the team's experience.
Christian Kargl-Simard, incoming Chief Executive Officer, stated, "I am very pleased to be starting as President and CEO of Blue Moon, and bringing together some of the team we had at Adventus Mining Corporation, where we advanced a similar type of project from the exploration stage to permitted for construction. With our previously announced board of directors, we are excited to advance the Blue Moon deposit but are also actively looking to add additional copper or BIG zinc projects to augment our already strong base. Frances and I worked through over US$350M in equity and project financings at Adventus. Christian Aramayo worked closely with Dustin Small at Adventus through technical studies. Garfield MacVeigh has spent the most time as a geologist on the Blue Moon Project, going back 35 years, and will be an invaluable addition to the team. We thank Patrick McGrath for his services, and he will remain on the board through our transition."
The respective resumes are as follows:
Christian Kargl-Simard - President, Chief Executive Officer and Director
Mr. Kargl-Simard has over 20 years of experience in the mining industry, having worked both in technical and finance roles. He recently led Adventus Mining Corporation on its acquisition by Silvercorp Metals in a deal worth $235M, after starting with a $2M exploration focused asset base in December 2016. Prior to starting Adventus Mining, he worked for 10 years in investment banking roles at Raymond James Ltd. and Haywood Securities Inc. During his tenure in investment banking, Christian was involved in financings raising more than $7 billion, and he assisted in completing over 35 M&A transactions. Christian also worked for Dynatec up to its sale to Sherritt International Corp. in 2007, both in metallurgical engineering and corporate development roles. Christian holds a B.A.Sc. degree in Metallurgical Engineering from the University of British Columbia. Christian also serves as the non-executive chairman of Surge Copper Corp.
Frances Kwong - Chief Financial Officer and Corporate Secretary
Frances Kwong is a financial professional with over 40 years of international experience from finance and strategy planning to management of financial systems implementation in mining and other industries. She has over 18 years of experience in the global mining sector, ensuring compliance with financial and regulatory requirements and has been involved in numerous financing as well as transactions both at asset and corporate level, serving as Chief Financial Officer of Adventus Mining for 7 years up to its $235M sale to Silvercorp Metals in the summer of 2024, Vaaldiam Mining Inc., and as senior consultant for a major mining-focused equity and royalty fund. Prior to the mining sector, Frances worked in the telecommunications and information technology industries. Frances is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, a CPA, and holds a B. Soc. Sc. (Hons) degree from the University of Hong Kong.
Garfield MacVeigh - Advisor to Board of Directors
Garfield grew up in a mining family in Northern Ontario and graduated from Queen's University at Kingston in 1972 with a B.Sc. (first class Honours) in geology. He has many years of successful exploration and development for base metal and gold deposits in Canada, USA and Central America. Contributed to discovery of the Hoyle Pond Gold Mine in Timmins with TexasGulf, and exploration and discovery of the large HW copper-zinc-gold-silver (VMS) deposit with Westmin Resources on Vancouver island. He spent several years (1983-1987, 1990-91) exploring and drilling the Blue Moon VMS massive sulphide deposits in Mariposa County, California. Most recently, he was a founding member and President and CEO of Constantine Metal Resources from 2006 until his retirement in 2022. He was intimately involved in the large Palmer- RW VMS deposit discoveries (2007) and subsequent AG deposit discovery in Southeast Alaska that continue to be explored/developed in a joint venture with Dowa Metals & Mining Ltd.
Christian Aramayo - Advisor to Board of Directors
Mr. Aramayo has more than 19 years of experience in the mining industry in North and South America, the Caribbean, Europe and Africa. Throughout his career, he has been closely associated with the practices that make for world-class mining operations and projects including challenging operations as Pueblo Viejo, Paracatu, Fruta del Norte and Tasiast. Mr. Aramayo is a Chartered Engineer who holds a Master's Degree in Science from the University of Manchester (UK) in Decision Sciences and a Master's Degree in Metallurgy. He currently is the COO of Kuya Silver. He was also a technical advisor to Adventus Mining's board of directors.
Annual Grant of Equity Incentive Awards & Share-Based Compensation
The Company has awarded a total of 1,775,000 restricted share units and deferred share units to various directors, advisors and consultants of the Company pursuant to the Company's Share Compensation Plan. The restricted share units will vest annually over a three-year period from the award date and the deferred share units awarded to Non-Executive Directors will vest upon their departure from the Company. It has also granted an aggregate of 1,150,000 incentive stock options under the Company's share compensation plan to officers and advisors, with an exercise price of C$0.34 per stock option, exercisable for a period of five years from the date of grant and vesting over three years.
About Blue Moon Metals
Blue Moon Metals is advancing its Blue Moon polymetallic deposit which contains zinc, gold, silver and copper. The property is well located with existing local infrastructure including paved highways three miles from site; a hydroelectric power generation facility a few miles from the site, a three-hour drive to the Oakland port and a four-hour drive to the service centre of Reno. Zinc and copper are currently on the USGS list of metals critical to the US economy and national security. More information is available on the Company's website (www.bluemoonmetals.com).
Cautionary Note - Forward Looking Statements
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
This press release contains certain "forward-looking statements" and certain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities law. Forward-looking statements are frequently characterized by words such as "plan", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. The forward-looking information contained herein is provided for the purpose of assisting readers in understanding management's current expectations and plans relating to the future. Readers are cautioned that such information may not be appropriate for other purposes.
Forward-looking statements relate to future events or future performance and reflect the Company's expectations or beliefs regarding future events. Forward-looking statements in this press release include, but are not limited to, the statements of management regarding the Company's plans to advance the Blue Moon deposit and to add additional copper or BIG zinc projects; the Company's ability to utilize and integrate the new officers' and new advisors' past experiences in pursuit of the Company's current business objectives; the timing of the vesting, exercise, or conversion of the incentive stock options, restricted share units and deferred share units granted, if at all.
Forward-looking statements relate to future events or future performance and reflect Blue Moon's expectations or beliefs regarding future events. Forward-looking information are based on Blue Moon management's reasonable assumptions, estimates, expectations, analyses and opinions, which are based on such management's experience and perception of trends, current conditions and expected developments, and other factors that management believes are relevant and reasonable in the circumstances, but which may prove to be incorrect. By their very nature, forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, many of which are beyond the ability of Blue Moon to control or predict, that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Such factors include, but are not limited to: that the expectations regarding the new officers' and new advisors' future contributions to the Company will not be realized; that the restricted share units and deferred share units will not vest or be settled; that the stock options will not vest or be exercised.
The Company cannot assure that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements. They are made as of the date hereof and are subject to change and the Company assumes no obligation to revise or update them to reflect new circumstances, except as required by law. Prospective investors should not place undue reliance on forward looking statements. These factors include the inherent risks involved in the resource industry.
For more information, please contact:
Christian Kargl-Simard
1-416-230-3440
christian@bluemoonmetals.com