Mr. van Alphen has had a long and successful career building exceptional value for shareholders. Mr. van Alphen has been directly responsible for raising $200 million in the last 10 years and has been closely associated in financing an additional $800 million. Early in his career, Mr. van Alphen founded and operated a number of service-related companies, beginning with a line cutting operation in northern BC and culminating in a drilling company (Hydracore) which was founded in 1985 and is still in operation today. In 1991, Mr. van Alphen founded Pacific Rim and travelled extensively throughout South America, acquiring the Taca Taca, Diablillos, and Aqua Rica projects under his leadership. All of these projects have developed into significant deposits and/or high value M&A transactions. Mr. van Alphen laid the foundations for the organization to become a successful South American based resource company, peaking with a market capitalization of $285 million under Catherine McCleod’s leadership. From 1994 to 1999, Mr. van Alphen served as Vice-President of Corriente Resources Inc., during which time he acquired a number of assets for the company including Taca Taca, which had been relinquished by Pacific Rim. Corriente also acquired Mirador, which ultimately sold to a Chinese group for 680 million.