Archived events
Critical minerals – Permit to Prosperity
May 22, 2024 @ Vancouver, BC
Presenting sponsors
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Meet the panelists
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As President and CEO of MABC, Michael Goehring brings BC’s mining sector vision, passion and decades of experience providing public affairs and strategic communications counsel to leading natural resource companies in BC and Canada. He joined MABC following a successful career as partner in the Vancouver office of Canada’s largest communications firm, where he built a strong reputation advancing challenging public policy files and delivering successful advocacy and communications campaigns.
Michael is active in the community, having served as vice president of the board of directors of the Vancouver Thunderbirds Minor Hockey Association and president of the board of directors of the Turning Point Recovery Society. He lives in Vancouver with his wife Brenda and twin boys, Christopher and Liam.
A native of British Columbia, he holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from the University of British Columbia and pursued Graduate Studies in International Political Economy at Simon Fraser University.
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Associate Professor John Steen is the EY Distinguished Scholar in Global Mining Futures at the University of British Columbia and Director of the Bradshaw Research Initiative in Minerals and Mining (BRIMM). John leads major international research studies on the subject of innovation and sustainable development in the resources sector. These include transitioning to new digital business models, technology ecosystems, innovation strategy and performance in megacapital ($1billion +) resource projects. He has advised the BC Mining Innovation Roadmap for the Mining Association of British Columbia and the BC Provincial Government. John is also the chair of the mining biotech genomics platform consortium, MMAP.
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Throughout his 48-year career, Ross Beaty has been a leader in the international mining and renewable energy industries, making a significant and lasting impact in BC and around the world. Driven by his passion for people, communities, and nature, he has brought together the worlds of mining and environmentalism to demonstrate that mining and environmental protection are not incompatible.
In 1994, Ross founded Pan American Silver, one of the world’s largest silver mining companies. Between 1994 and 2017 Ross founded 11 other mineral exploration companies and a renewal energy company that has become one of Canada’s largest independent power producers. In 2018, Ross began Equinox Gold, a major gold producer.
After graduating from the University of British Columbia in 1979 in geology and law, Ross began a geological contracting company, Beaty Geological, which he operated from 1980 through 1987. In 1985, Ross established Equinox Resources, a public exploration and gold mining company. In 1994, Ross sold Equinox and founded Pan American Silver. Based in Vancouver, Pan American is now one of the world’s largest silver mining companies with 10 operating mines in the Americas and over 12,000 employees.
Between 1994 and 2017 Ross founded 11 other mineral exploration companies and a renewal energy company that has become one of Canada’s largest independent power producers. In 2018, Ross began Equinox Gold, which now operates eight mines in the Americas.
Beaty is President of Sitka Foundation, one of Canada’s leading environmental foundations and Patron of Beaty Biodiversity Center, University of British Columbia. He is also Director of a number of environmental NGOs, including Panthera, the BC Parks Foundation and the Pacific Salmon Foundation.
Former President, World Silver Institute. Fellow: Geological Association of Canada; Society of Economic Geologists; Canadian Institute of Mining; and Royal Canadian Geographic Society. He has received many awards and honours for business and philanthropic achievements, including the Canadian Mining Hall of Fame (2018), Order of Canada (2017) and Doctor of Laws honoris causa, University of British Columbia (2018).
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Jeff Hanman was appointed Senior Vice President, Sustainability and External Affairs in 2022. His responsibilities include the health and safety portfolio, environment and legacy properties, communities, government and corporate affairs, and Teck’s sustainability and climate change strategies.
Mr. Hanman brings to the role more than 20 years of diverse experience in the private and public sectors. Since joining Teck in 2011, Mr. Hanman has held numerous senior leadership roles, including in corporate affairs, mine operations, environment and sustainability, and Indigenous engagement.
He most recently held the position of Vice President, Sustainable Development, with Teck’s steelmaking coal business unit. He is the past Chair of the Mining Association of British Columbia, an Executive Member of the Business Council of British Columbia, and has completed Harvard Business School’s Advanced Management Program. In 2017, he was named one of Business in Vancouver’s Top 40 Under 40.
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Keerit is the President and CEO of the Association for Mineral Exploration BC (“AME”). He is a lawyer with a decade of experience in the natural resource sector, working with and acting for both mining companies and First Nations. Keerit is passionate about responsible natural resource development and brings with him a depth of knowledge and a unique perspective on the opportunities and challenges facing the entire spectrum of mineral exploration and development.
Prior to joining AME, Keerit spent two years with the BC provincial government at the Environmental Assessment Office and the Ministry of Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation, where he focused on promoting permit efficiency for mineral exploration projects and operationalizing the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act, striving to build permitting certainty to both companies and First Nations.
Keerit has also practiced regulatory and Aboriginal law across a variety of industries, including oil and gas, oil sands, pipelines, LNG and mining. Over his career, he has assisted companies and First Nations to develop impact benefit agreements and negotiate joint venture deals and equity investment for First Nations in the natural resource sector.
Keerit holds a Bachelor of Arts in political science from the University of Western Ontario and a Master of Arts in political science from the University of Windsor. He completed a Master of Business Administration and Juris Doctor at the University of Alberta, with an applied focus on natural resources and Aboriginal law.
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Dr. Heather Exner-Pirot is a Senior Fellow and Director of the Natural Resources, Energy and Environment program at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute and a Special Adviser to the Business Council of Canada. She is a Global Fellow at the Wilson Center in Washington DC, an Advisor to the Indigenous Resource Network, and sits on the Boards of the Saskatchewan Indigenous Economic Development Network and Canadian Rural Revitalization Foundation.