Warren Pratt

(BSc Geology, Hull, 1986; PhD Structural Geology, University of Wales, 1990) has a strong background in mineral systems and a decade of British Geological Survey field experience and training. In 1994 he won the President’s Award of the Geological Society of London for detailed thematic mapping. He has extensive world-wide field experience in a great variety of geological terrains. Since 1995 he has worked exclusively in Au, Ag and Cu exploration, including consulting on some World Class mineral deposits. These include Navidad (Argentina), Kupol (Russia), El Soto (Colombia), Rio Blanco (Peru), Caserones (Chile), Taca Taca (Argentina), El Galeno (Peru) etc. He formed Specialised Geological Mapping Ltd in 2002. Warren has a track record of generating Au/Cu targets in under-explored areas, for example, the Cañicapa high sulfidation Au project, discovered during World Bank exploration in Ecuador. He led the team that discovered the Callanquitas Au/Ag epithermal deposit (PPX) in Peru. He is fluent in Spanish. Warren, and his colleagues, run SEG-sponsored courses in porphyry and orogenic gold in alternating years in Portugal and Turkey. Numerous presentations have been made at metals-related international conferences in France, UK, Peru, Canada and Finland. In-house company training in various mineral deposit styles is provided to major companies. Competent Person as defined by Chapter 17 of the UKLA Sourcebook. Fellow of the Society of Economic Geologists.

Luca Smeraglia

Luca Smeraglia (PhD) is a structural geology expert at Specialised Geological Mapping Ltd. He is a graduate of Sapienza University of Rome (BSc Hons Geology 2011, MSc Hons Exploration Geology, 2013, and PHD Structural Geology 2017). After a post-doc at the Université of Besançon, France, he began his career as a structural geology consultant. He is experienced in structural mapping and structural controls on orogenic gold (Mali, DRC, Guinea, Tanzania, Egypt, Namibia, Guyana, Peru, Turkey, South Carolina, Canada), low to high sulfidation epithermal (Turkey, Argentina, Idaho), porphyry (Idaho, Argentina), carbonate replacement (Idaho), and Pb-Zn (Italy) deposits within greenfield exploration and brownfield development, with emphasis on training young geologists onsite. Dr. Smeraglia also has 12 years of experience in field structural geology and mapping in tectonically complex settings in Italy, France, Germany, Spain, Greece, Switzerland, Oman, Nepal, South Korea, and Iceland.

Benjamin Francis-Smith

(MGeol Applied Geology, 1st Class, Leicester, 2015; MRes Structural Geology, Leeds, 2026) is an Associate Consulting Geologist with Specialized Geological Mapping Ltd. He is an exploration geologist with 10 years’ global experience working in a broad range of geological terranes; including the Arabian-Nubian Shield (Ethiopia, Egypt), West African Craton (Mali, Cote D’Ivoire), Tethyan Belt (Armenia, Turkey), Mt Isa Inlier (Australia), Caledonide belt (UK, Norway), Laurentia (Greenland), and the American Cordillera (Arizona, Peru, Bolivia). He specializes in structurally complex precious and base metal mineral systems, including orogenic gold, epithermal-porphyry, VHMS, IOCG, and orthomagmatic deposits, within greenfield exploration and brownfield development settings. His skillset is tailored towards structural mapping, target generation, mineral systems analysis, 3D modelling, and exploration program design, with a track record of supporting new discoveries and enabling resource growth. He is also passionate about training and mentoring geologists to build technical capacity within teams.

Miguel Ponce

Miguel (Universidad Central de Ecuador, 2000; MSc University of Geneva, 2009) worked with SGM Ltd from 2009 to 2016 and rejoined in 2024. He is an exploration Geologist with over 20 years of experience in mineral exploration. He has been exposed to Cu, Au and Ag in a great variety of deposits (porphyry Cu-Au-Mo, HS/LS/IS epithermal and VHMS) across the Americas: Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Argentina and USA. Involved in all stages of the exploration value chain from greenfield to brownfield exploration, resource definition and third-party project assessments/acquisition. Miguel most recently led a high-performance exploration team for First Quantum Minerals in the Northern Andes, where he was responsible for the design, budgeting, implementation and management of multi-million dollar exploration programs. Fellow of the Society of Economic Geologists.

Chris Gordon

(Chris Gordon (Ms, MBA) is an Associate with Specialised Geological Mapping Ltd. He is a graduate of the University of Texas – Austin, USA (BS with honours, 2003), the University of Wisconsin – Madison, USA (Ms, 2006) and the Universidad de Carlos III de Madrid, Spain (MBA with honours, 2017). He won the prestigious graduate research fellowship from the National Science Foundation. His 15 years of industry experience encompass predominantly orogenic, porphyry and epithermal Au as well as iron ore exploration. Along with standard exploration activities, he is well-versed in three-dimensional modelling, database management and resource estimation

Tom Rowe

(BSc Geology, University of Hull; MSc Mining Geology, Camborne School of Mines) is an exploration geologist with experience across the Americas, Africa, and the Nordic region. His work has primarily focused on epithermal and orogenic gold systems, with additional experience in gold-copper porphyry deposits, metallurgical coal and banded iron formations.

He has expertise in surface and underground mapping, as well as core logging, to support the evaluation of both brownfield and greenfield projects. More recently, his responsibilities have centred on project assessment, ranging from desk-based due diligence, to the initiation and management of drilling campaigns and associated sampling programs, all conducted to industry-recognised standards.