Patriot Gold Vault is a dynamic exploration and development company with a portfolio of high-quality gold assets in North America, including the flagship Converse project. With 7.6 million ounces of gold (Measured, Indicated, and Inferred), Patriot Gold Vault’s team has a proven track record of unlocking value in underexplored regions.
The corporate team is composed of seasoned professionals with deep expertise in mining, exploration, and resource development. This technical strength is complemented by strong capital markets expertise, having successfully raised significant capital to advance projects from discovery to development. They bring years of experience guiding junior mining companies through the critical stages of exploration and growth, including taking them to market capitalizations exceeding $1 billion.
With a commitment to responsible and sustainable development, the Patriot Gold Vault team is well-positioned to capitalize on their projects and drive shareholder value through strategic project advancement, partnerships, and disciplined growth strategies.
Team
Mario Vetro
Mario Vetro
Mr. Vetro is an experienced investor and financier. He specializes in structuring and raising growth capital for resource companies. He is currently a partner at Vancouver based merchant bank, Commodity Partners, which co- founded TSX listed K92 Mining Inc. resulting in the renowned world class gold discovery and mining operation at Kainantu in Papua New Guinea. Mr. Vetro is a graduate of UBC with a major in Political Science.
Luis Zapata
Luis Zapata
Resources finance executive with 18 years of experience financing Latin American mining projects. CEO of Vista Gold (Peru). Former Head of LatAm Equities at Canaccord Genuity. Former Executive Chair at Silver X Mining. Former Partner & Head of Capital Markets at Peru’s largest independent brokerage firm.
Tyron Breytenbach, P.Geo
Tyron Breytenbach, P.Geo
Mr. Breytenbach is a former equity analyst at Cormark Securities and Stifel Canada where he interacted extensively with the international investment community. Prior to joining Aris Mining in 2022, Mr. Breytenbach was a Managing Director in the investment banking group at Canada’s largest employee-owned dealer – Cormark. Prior to entering capital markets, Mr. Breytenbach spent a decade in the mining industry as a geologist where he specialized in exploration, resource estimation and grade control. Mr. Breytenbach holds a BSc (Honours) Degree from Rand Afrikaans University in South Africa and is a designated P.Geo. He started his career under the Anglo Platinum Scholarship Program and has extensive experience in the Bushveld Intrusive Complex (the largest repository of magmatic ore deposits globally).
Kevin Ma
Kevin Ma
Over 15 years experience in various CFO roles. Former Director of Finance at Alexco and former CFO of First Cobalt.
John Lewins, P.Eng
John Lewins, P.Eng
Mr. Lewins is a Mineral Engineer with over 35 years’ experience in the mining industry. He has previously worked in Africa, Australia, Asia, North America and the former Soviet Union. He is currently the Chief Executive Officer of the Company and served as Chief Operating Officer from May 2016 to August 2017. Mr. Lewins has successfully managed the development of a number of open pit and underground gold, precious and base metal mines from feasibility study through to profitable operations.
Mr. Lewins has operated extensively at the corporate level in various roles from Executive General Manager to Director and Chief Executive Officer with a number of other mining companies, including MIM Holdings, First Dynasty Mines, Platinum Australia and African Thunder Platinum.
Mr. Lewins received his National Diploma for Technicians (Extractive Metallurgy) from Technikon Witwatersrand, South Africa, a Bachelor of Science degree (Honours) in Mineral Engineering from University of Leeds, England and a Graduate Diploma in Management from University of Queensland.
David Medilek, P.Eng
David Medilek, P.Eng
Mr. Medilek is a mining professional with over 17 years of mining capital markets, corporate strategy and technical operating experience. Mr. Medilek joined K92 in 2019, most recently holding the position of President, and prior to that was its Vice President Business Development and Investor Relations. Previously, Mr. Medilek was an equity research analyst covering precious metals companies, with Macquarie Group Limited; a mining investment banker with Cormark Securities Inc.; and a mining engineer with Barrick Gold Corporation in Western Australia. Mr. Medilek holds a Bachelor of Applied Science in Mining Engineering with Distinction from the University of British Columbia, a Professional Engineer designation in the Province of British Columbia, and is a CFA ® charter holder*. (*CFA® and Chartered Financial Analyst® are registered trademarks owned by CFA Institute.)
Rajbir Gill, CFA
Rajbir Gill, CFA
Vice President, Corporate Development at Wesdome. Former equity research at Cormark and business development at Kinross.
Richard Gray, CFA
Richard Gray, CFA
Senior Partner and Equity Analyst and Cormark Securities.
Blake Mclaughlin, P.Geo
Blake Mclaughlin, P.Geo
Blake Mclaughlin is a Chief Geologist - Near Mine Exploration at Argonaut Gold based in Toronto, Ontario. Previously, Blake was a Senior Geologist - Magino Project Leader at Argonaut Gold and also held positions at Red Pine Exploration, MacDonald Mines Exploration, Insight Geophysics.
Luis Zapata
Luis Zapata
Resources finance executive with 18 years of experience financing Latin American mining projects. CEO of Vista Gold (Peru). Former Head of LatAm Equities at Canaccord Genuity. Former Executive Chair at Silver X Mining. Former Partner & Head of Capital Markets at Peru’s largest independent brokerage firm.
Kevin Ma
Kevin Ma
Over 15 years experience in various CFO roles. Former Director of Finance at Alexco and former CFO of First Cobalt.