Our Leadership Team
Experienced management team
Eldur Olafsson
Founder & Chief Executive Officer
view profileEldur Olafsson
Founder & Chief Executive Officer
Eldur Ólafsson (1985) founded Amaroq Minerals in 2017, having previously worked for over 7 years on integrated mining projects in Greenland. He has had an extensive career in the geothermal and mining industries, during which he built the largest geothermal district heating company in the world alongside SinopacGroup. Eldur has a successful track record of leading companies from exploration to production, as shown by his time at Orka Energy, where Eldur was responsible for securing the acquisition, and subsequent development, of the Company’s geothermal energy in both China and the Philippines. Prior to this, he worked with Geysir Green Energy, a geothermal investment company, where he led their business development. He later became the Technical Director of energy company Enex, a 100% owned subsidiary of Geysir, where he grew the Company from its inception to a position where it was operating in three Chinese provinces.
Eldur holds a BSc Geology degree from the University of Iceland.
Eldur Ólafsson owns 9,108,918 shares in the Company (directly and indirectly through Vatnar Sarl and Vatnar hf.) and holds 3,050,000 share options under the Company´s Stock Option Plan.
Graham Stewart
Chairman
view profileGraham Stewart
Chairman
Graham has worked in the international oil & gas industry for 30 years. Throughout his career, Graham has created a reputation for generating significant shareholder value for the companies he acts for. Most recently, he founded Faroe Petroleum, which he became the CEO of in 2002 and listed on AIM in 2003. He proceeded to grow Faroe into a highly successful independent full-cycle exploration and production company with portfolios in the UK and Norway. The company was sold in January 2019 for USD 800 million to DNO. Graham has engineering and business degrees from Heriot Watt and Edinburgh University and is currently also chairman of Longboat Energy plc.
Jaco Crouse
Director and CFO
view profileJaco Crouse
Director and CFO
Mr. Crouse is a seasoned mining executive with 20 years’ experience in financial management, mine financial planning, business optimization and strategy development. He occupied the position of CFO of Detour Gold Corp., where he facilitated the successful financial and operational turnaround and sale of the corporation to Kirkland Lake Gold for US$3.7 billion. From August 2021 – July 2023 Mr. Crouse was a founder and Chief Financial Officer of Metals Acquisition Corp – a special purpose acquisition company listed on NYSE that acquired the CSA mine from Glencore for US$1.1 billion. Prior to that, he served as Chief Financial Officer & Vice President-Finance of Triple Flag Mining Finance Ltd., (“Triple Flag”) a Toronto-based metal streaming business. From 2015- 2016 Mr. Crouse was Vice President Business Planning & Optimization at Barrick Gold Corp. where he was instrumental in resetting the cost structure and improving the capital allocation discipline to deliver free cash flow improvements from underperforming assets during a period of low gold prices. Mr. Crouse is a Chartered Professional Accountant (Ontario), a Chartered Accountant (South Africa), and a certified Financial Risk Manager (FRM) with a BComs (Honours) in Accounting Sciences from the University of South Africa.
Sigurbjorn (“Siggi”) Thorkelsson
Non-executive Director
view profileSigurbjorn (“Siggi”) Thorkelsson
Non-executive Director
Siggi has over 25 years’ experience in the banking and securities industry across New York, London, Tokyo, Hong Kong and his native Iceland. Mr. Thorkelsson has previously served as Managing Director at Nomura International (Hong Kong) Limited and as Head of Asia-Pacific Equities before becoming Senior Managing Director of the Nomura Group. In 2010, Mr. Thorkelsson moved to Barclays Capital (Hong Kong) as Managing Director and Head of Asia-Pacific Equities before becoming Managing Director (Head of Equities EMEA) at Barclays Capital in London in 2011. More recently, Mr. Thorkelsson has co-founded investment and securities companies in Iceland and in the UK.
Line Frederiksen
Non-Executive Director
view profileLine Frederiksen
Non-Executive Director
Line Frederiksen has substantial experience in Greenlandic infrastructure and is currently an independent consultant, working with Companies within the CFO services field. Further she is member of the board at Arctic Umiaq Line A/S, the national ferry services in Greenland. Until September 2022 she was CFO at Tusass (formerly Tele Greenland A/S), the leading provider of telecom solutions in Greenland, as well as being responsible for cybersecurity governance. Prior to being promoted to CFO, Ms. Frederiksen was the Head of Finance at Tele Greenland A/S and has previously had roles at Air Greenland. On February 9th, Ms. Frederiksen was appointed as Chair of the Board of Directors of NunaGreen A/S, a government-owned company focused on enhancing hydro power infrastructure in Greenland and promoting green energy initiatives.
David Neuhauser
Non-executive Director
view profileDavid Neuhauser
Non-executive Director
David Neuhauser has extensive capital markets and M&A experience and is the founder and managing director of event-driven hedge fund Livermore Partners in Chicago. He has invested in and advised global public companies for the past 21 years and has a strong track record of enhancing intrinsic value. Mr. Neuhauser currently sits on the board of Shareholders Gold Council, a Canadian corporation promoting best practices in the gold mining industry, AIM-quoted Jadestone Energy Plc, and Kolibri Global Energy Inc.
Liane Kelly
Senior Independent Director
view profileLiane Kelly
Senior Independent Director
Liane Kelly is a CSR professional with extensive experience in environment, social and governance (ESG) oversight. Her expertise focuses on sustainability strategies, social risk management, and methodologies for effective community investment outcomes. Her professional career includes working as an exploration geophysicist in the global mining sector. Liane currently sits on the board of B2Gold Corp., is a member of their HSESS (health, safety, environment, social and security) Committee, and has worked with other boards in areas of governance, board performance and diversity, and employee ownership.
Warwick Morley-Jepson
Non Executive Director
view profileWarwick Morley-Jepson
Non Executive Director
Warwick Morley-Jepson is mining professional with a track record of increasing responsibility over a 39-year career in the hard rock, capital intensive resource industry. Currently is the Chairman of Wesdome Gold Mines (TSX:WDO) and director of Karora Resources (TSX:KRR). Held executive and management positions within deep level and open pit Gold, Platinum and Base Metal mining operations and undertaken several mine development projects at a senior level. Served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Ivanhoe Mines (2019 to 2020) and Kinross Gold Corporation (2014 to 2016), and as Senior Vice President, Operations, and Regional Vice President – Russia, (2009 to 2014). Warwick served as Chief Executive Officer of SUN Gold and Managing Director of Barrick Africa, Barrick Platinum South Africa and three Russian-based companies in the Barrick group. Warwick graduated in the faculty of Mechanical Engineering (HND) at the Technicon Witwatersrand and completed programs at the Graduate School of Business at Cape Town University, Witwatersrand School of Business at the University of the Witwatersrand and Harvard Business School.
Eldur Olafsson
Founder & Chief Executive Officer
view profileEldur Olafsson
Founder & Chief Executive Officer
Eldur Ólafsson (1985) founded Amaroq Minerals in 2017, having previously worked for over 7 years on integrated mining projects in Greenland. He has had an extensive career in the geothermal and mining industries, during which he built the largest geothermal district heating company in the world alongside SinopacGroup. Eldur has a successful track record of leading companies from exploration to production, as shown by his time at Orka Energy, where Eldur was responsible for securing the acquisition, and subsequent development, of the Company’s geothermal energy in both China and the Philippines. Prior to this, he worked with Geysir Green Energy, a geothermal investment company, where he led their business development. He later became the Technical Director of energy company Enex, a 100% owned subsidiary of Geysir, where he grew the Company from its inception to a position where it was operating in three Chinese provinces.
Eldur holds a BSc Geology degree from the University of Iceland.
Eldur Ólafsson owns 9,108,918 shares in the Company (directly and indirectly through Vatnar Sarl and Vatnar hf.) and holds 3,050,000 share options under the Company´s Stock Option Plan.
Jaco Crouse
Director and CFO
view profileJaco Crouse
Director and CFO
Mr. Crouse is a seasoned mining executive with 20 years’ experience in financial management, mine financial planning, business optimization and strategy development. He occupied the position of CFO of Detour Gold Corp., where he facilitated the successful financial and operational turnaround and sale of the corporation to Kirkland Lake Gold for US$3.7 billion. From August 2021 – July 2023 Mr. Crouse was a founder and Chief Financial Officer of Metals Acquisition Corp – a special purpose acquisition company listed on NYSE that acquired the CSA mine from Glencore for US$1.1 billion. Prior to that, he served as Chief Financial Officer & Vice President-Finance of Triple Flag Mining Finance Ltd., (“Triple Flag”) a Toronto-based metal streaming business. From 2015- 2016 Mr. Crouse was Vice President Business Planning & Optimization at Barrick Gold Corp. where he was instrumental in resetting the cost structure and improving the capital allocation discipline to deliver free cash flow improvements from underperforming assets during a period of low gold prices. Mr. Crouse is a Chartered Professional Accountant (Ontario), a Chartered Accountant (South Africa), and a certified Financial Risk Manager (FRM) with a BComs (Honours) in Accounting Sciences from the University of South Africa.
Joan Plant
Executive Vice President
view profileJoan Plant
Executive Vice President
Joan has 13 years of experience operating in Greenland, and has worked on the Nalunaq project since 2010. During this time, she has built a strong relationship with the Government of Greenland whilst successfully applying her in-depth knowledge and expertise covering all aspects of the mining licencing, governance and monitoring processes.
Joan has been a member of the Amaroq team since the Company’s inception in 2017, and has played an integral part in facilitating its growth. As VP ESG and Corporate Secretary she has driven the Company’s Sustainability initiatives in Greenland, and has assumed responsibility for community engagement and local programmes. Joan is a member of the Greenland Business Association Industry Committee for Mineral Exploration and Extraction 2022-2024.
Prior to joining Amaroq, Joan worked for 14 years in various positions at Barclays Bank, including becoming the Change Manager responsible for 13 sites, before moving to a Project Manager role at Barclays’ head office.
Joan is responsible for overseeing strategic initiatives, driving growth and development, and overseeing the group’s Sustainability programmes. She plays a pivotal role in guiding the Company’s vision to create a Greenlandic legacy and ensuring its continued success.
James Gilbertson
VP Exploration
view profileJames Gilbertson
VP Exploration
James Gilbertson, CGeo, MSCM, is a distinguished geologist and renowned authority in the field of mineral exploration and development, boasting an extensive career of over 20 years dedicated to international mineral projects.
Before assuming his current role at Amaroq, James served as a consultant for the company, demonstrating his commitment and expertise during his tenure as Managing Director of SRK Consulting’s exploration division.
Over a 17-year period, James provided invaluable consultancy services and strategic counsel to a diverse range of exploration, development, and mining enterprises worldwide, covering a wide spectrum of commodities during his association with SRK.
His professional focus centres on mineral exploration strategy and optimization, as well as comprehensive design, planning, and management, with a specialized emphasis on gold, porphyry-related, and orthomagmatic deposits. James is also a recognized authority in mineral project valuation and evaluation, earning credentials as a Chartered Geologist and Competent Person (CP) through the Geological Society of London.
Anna Mkrtchyan
VP Finance
view profileAnna Mkrtchyan
VP Finance
Anna has 15 years’ experience in corporate finance, financial planning and strategy development, business transformation and mining innovation and technology implementation. Prior to joining Amaroq she was Commercial Director Innovation Group at Barrick Gold. She has also held progressive managerial roles at Glencore and Xstrata, in addition to CFO roles at technology start-ups.
Anna Solotova
VP Corporate Legal
Corporate Secretary
Anna Solotova
VP Corporate Legal
Corporate Secretary
Anna also holds the role of Corporate Secretary of Amaroq. She is an experienced corporate law and governance professional. Prior to joining Amaroq in 2022 Anna served as Corporate Secretary and head of Corporate governance team for Polyus Group, supporting the company on major stock exchanges. She is an Associate member of the Chartered Governance Institute. Anna holds a law degree from a university in Russia and LL.M. in American Business Law.
Edward Wyvill
Corp. Development
view profileEdward Wyvill
Corp. Development
Edward Wyvill has a background in corporate strategy and business development. He has a wealth of experience in the natural resources sector and has advised multiple private and public companies on their strategic engagement with international markets.
He joined the company in 2019.
Gilles Séguin
Underground Mine Chief Engineer
view profileGilles Séguin
Underground Mine Chief Engineer
Gilles Séguin is the Underground Mine Chief Engineer at Amaroq Minerals at the Nalunaq mine in Greenland with over 35 years’ experience in the mining industry; specifically in mine operations, mine planning and mine optimization. He has specialized in gold and uranium underground mining in multiple countries. Mr. Seguin is skilled at managing and overseeing complex mine projects by successfully increasing reserves, optimizing safe production hours, and lowering production costs. Recently emerging from retirement, he brings a wealth of industry experience, strong work ethic and strategic vision for a collaborative work culture ensuring the success and efficiency of Nalunaq’s mining operations.