Executive Management:
Sidney Himmel, C.A,
President and Chief Executive Officer
Sidney Himmel serves as President, Chief Executive Officer and a Director of the Board. Mr. Himmel holds a Bachelor of Science in chemistry, a Chartered Accountant designation, and spent twenty years in the investments business as an investment banker, institutional salesman and trader, specializing in mining and technology companies. He previously held positions with Merrill Lynch Securities Inc., Toronto and New York, and TD Securities, Toronto. He has participated in billions of dollars worth of financings for mining and other resource companies. He has also practiced as a tax specialist, lectured in finance and accounting, and worked as an institutional research analyst. He has been involved in the mineral development business for 7 years.
Operations Management:
Kevin Strong, B. Comm. (Hons), CIM, CGA
Chief Financial Officer and VP of Administration (USA)
Kevin Strong serves as Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Strong holds a Bachelor of Commerce Degree, as the well as the Certified General Accountant and Canadian Investment Manager designations. From January 2008 to October 2008, he acted as the Chief Financial Officer of Nordic Oil and Gas Ltd., an oil and gas producer. From 2000 to 2007, Mr. Strong served as the Manager of the Winnipeg Office of the TSX Venture Exchange, prior to which he was the Manager of Marketing and Operations at the Winnipeg Stock Exchange. Mr. Strong was a Director of Copper Reef Mining Corp., a publicly-listed resource company, from late 2008 to early 2010, and served as chairman of the audit committee.
Randy Foote, B.Sc. Mining Engineering
Chief Operating Officer, Intercontinental Potash Corp. (USA)
Randy Foote serves as Chief Operating Officer. Mr. Foote holds a Bachelor of Science in mining engineering from the University of Arizona. Mr. Foote has 27 years experience in the potash industry. His previous experience includes work for Mississippi Chemical Corporation, and more recently Intrepid Potash Inc. At Mississippi Chemical Corporation, he served as General Manager and was responsible for all the activities at the Carlsbad potash mining location, including mine production and mineral processing. In 1997, he was promoted to Vice President and General Manager and was responsible for two mines and three surface operations, mining over 5,000,000 tons of ore per year.
Terre Lane
Senior VP Engineering and Project Management
Ms. Lane holds a Bachelor of Science in Mining Engineering from Michigan Technological University. Ms. Lane has over 20 years of experience in mining and mine engineering, with over 28 years of management experience. Ms. Lane served as Principal Mining Engineer for Gustavson Associates, VP Engineering for General Minerals Corporation, President of Kelsey Engineering, Manager of Engineering Services for American Mine Services. Terre has been involved with resource estimation and mine design for several hundred projects, has managed numerous Pre-Feasibility and Feasibility Studies, and has been involved with the construction and start up of several mines. Terre¹s work includes engineering, scheduling, budgeting, cost control, project analysis, permitting, closure and remediation, financial analysis, study management, and independent engineer roles. Representative projects include Lisheen, Henderson, Greens Creek, Stillwater, Haile, Golden Bear, Bismark, Golden Cross, Santa Fe, Relief Canyon, Black Fox, and Collahuasi. Terre is an MMSA Qualified Person.
Patrick Okita, Ph.D Geology
Chief Exploration and Development Officer, Intercontinental Potash Corp. (USA)
Patrick Okita serves as Chief Exploration and Development Officer. Dr. Okita holds a Bachelor of Science in geology and biology from the University of Rochester, a Masters of Science in geology from Louisiana State University, and a Ph.D. in geology from the University of Cincinnati. Dr. Okita is an internationally-renowned geologist and previously held senior technical and management positions with BHP Minerals (now BHP Billiton) and the U.S. Geological Survey. He has also conducted exploration and evaluation work for more than 25 industrial mineral, base metal, and energy commodities in Africa, North and South America, Asia, Australia, and the Middle East. Dr. Okita was a post-doctoral fellow with the National Research Council and has authored numerous journal articles and proprietary reports. His areas of expertise include potash and polyhalite.
Tom Cope
Executive Vice-President, Intercontinental Potash Corp. (USA)
Tom Cope serves as Executive Vice-President. Mr. Cope holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration from the University of Texas A&M, Canyon. He has extensive business experience in Texas and southeast New Mexico and works closely with project stakeholders. This involves developing strong relationships with community members, product and service suppliers, and representatives from the local, state and national government. Mr. Cope has a background in financial planning, transportation and logistics, human resources, project safety, and sales management. He is an active member of the community and various organizations.