Board of Directors

Sharon Dowdall, BA, LLB – Chairman of the Board, Director and Chair of Compensation & Governance Committee and Member of the Audit Committee

Ms. Dowdall is currently a director of the Company.  Ms. Dowdall is a graduate of the University of Calgary (B.A. Honours Economics,1974) and Osgoode Hall, York University (LLB, 1977).   During her 20-year tenure with Franco-Nevada, Ms. Dowdall served in various capacities, including Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary and Vice President, Special Projects of Franco-Nevada Corporation.  Prior to joining Franco-Nevada, Ms. Dowdall was a partner at Smith Lyons LLP. Ms. Dowdall has been retired since 2012. During the last five years she has served as a member of the boards of Novagold Resources Inc. and Foran Mining Corporation and she continues to serve on the board of Novagold Resources Inc.  Ms. Dowdall devotes approximately 5% of her time to the business of the Corporation.


Leni Keough, HBSc, P. Geo. – President, Chief Executive Officer and Director

Leni Keough combines a mineral exploration/technical background and international experience with expertise in project and public company management, finance and capital markets, communications and business development.  She began her career in 1983 with Lacana Mining Corporation, working in various technical capacities on Canadian gold and base metal exploration projects.  She continued working with the merged entities of Royex Corporation and, subsequently, Corona Corporation, leading to her involvement in the late 1980s with the earliest stages of the great Canadian diamond exploration boom (1991-1994).  During this time, she was responsible for the planning and implementation of a number of successful diamond programs, including that which led to the first reported identification and drilling of kimberlite in the Prince Albert, Saskatchewan area, where Rio Tinto and Star Diamond today continue exploration and development of the Star Orion diamond deposit.  Subsequently, in the late 1980’s and 1990 she planned and implemented Corona Corporation’s diamond exploration sampling programs in the Northwest Territories (NWT) which led in 1990 to the discovery of key indicator minerals and microdiamonds at Keough’s beach and in the general Lac de Gras region.  These results led to staking and the eventual development of the Diavik Diamond Mine by Aber Resources.

She founded private explorer Adamas Minerals Inc. in 1992 and Olivut Investments Ltd. in 2004.  The latter was taken public in 2007 as Olivut Resources Ltd. on the TSX Venture Exchange under the ticker OLV.  She has been responsible for the exploration programs undertaken by Olivut in Canada, South America and elsewhere.  Under her guidance, Olivut identified a new kimberlite province in the relatively unexplored Deh Cho region of the NWT where to date the Company has achieved 29 kimberlite discoveries and continues to actively explore.

Ms. Keough is a graduate of the University of Western Ontario, BSc. Honors Geology.  She is past director of the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada, where she sat on numerous committees and was involved in the early stages of the successful Mining Matters program, raising the seed financing to support the initiative.  Ms. Keough is a director of the NWT and Nunavut Chamber of Mines and served on the NWT Mining Industry Advisory Board.  She is a member of the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta, and the NWT and Nunavut Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists.


Craig Reith, HBA, CPA, CA – Director and Chair of Audit Committee and Member of Compensation & Governance Committee

Mr. Reith is currently a director of the Company.   Mr. Reith is a graduate of the Ivey Business School, University of Western Ontario, London.  He subsequently received his Chartered Accountant designation while working with KPMG.  Until January 2008 he was Vice President Finance and Treasurer at the Corporate Head Office of Four Seasons Hotels Inc. where he had been employed for over 20 years in various financial capacities. Mr. Reith devotes approximately 5% of his time to the business of the Company.


Kenny Ruptash, HBSc. Director and Member of the Audit and Compensation & Governance Committees

Mr. Ruptash is currently a director of the Company.  He is a graduate of the University of Victoria, Victoria, B.C. (BSc. Honours Double Major Math and Statistics, 2009).  Mr. Ruptash currently serves as President of Nahanni Construction, based in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories (“NWT”).  Over the past 20 years he has played a significant role in northern mine development and reclamation, gaining expertise in the construction and remediation of mine sites.  During this time, he has been involved in the construction of mines in the NWT and Nunavut (“NU”), as well as in the reclamation of major legacy mine sites such as the Lupin, Tundra and Giant Mines. His extensive experience has given him a deeper understanding of northern Canada while providing insight into the challenges and opportunities associated with extremely remote mining operations.

Mr. Ruptash is also currently serving his second term as the President of the NWT/NU Chamber of Mines which advocates for the interests of mining and exploration companies and promotes sustainable practices.  He is a second-term director of the Business Development Investment Corporation, a government lending facility that supports businesses in the NWT.  He is committed to empowering Indigenous communities and creating economic opportunities for Northern entrepreneurs and served as the Chair of the Métis Dene Development Fund.

Mr. Ruptash devotes approximately 5% of his time to the business of the Corporation.