Our team
Brian C Savage
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Brian Savage is an entrepreneurial business executive with a history of identifying, building, growing, and transforming mining and metals businesses throughout the world. With a formal education in mining engineering and mineral economics, he has become a sought-after subject matter expert in every aspect of mining, from grassroots exploration to production, commodity markets, and capital markets.
After beginning his career as a Mining Engineer, Brian transitioned into positions in finance and investment banking. During this period, he was instrumental in growing the global mining and metals businesses for prominent financial institutions that included The Bank of New York, Sharps-Pixley, Bank of Montreal, and Nesbitt Burns Securities (now BMO Capital Markets). Leveraging the capital markets expertise that he honed in these positions and his deep technical knowledge of the mining and metals industry, Brian redirected his career to building and growing businesses in this specialized market as a founder, CEO, board member, advisor, and investor.
Brian has founded and co-founded several businesses focused on developing and advancing mining operations in challenging jurisdictions, including Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Russia, Guinea, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
Currently, Brian is:
- CEO of Electric Metals (USA) Limited, developing the Emily manganese deposit in Minnesota—the highest grade manganese deposit in North America—with a strategy of producing high-value, high-purity manganese chemical and metal products serving the electric vehicle, defense, technology, and industrial sectors while supporting American manufacturing and national security.
- CEO of Kisenge Manganese Corporation, reviving the historic high-grade Kisenge Manganese Operations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
- CEO of Avellana Gold, developing the Beregovo and Muzhievo underground gold, silver, lead, and zinc mine in western Ukraine.
- CEO of Sage Management LLC, a business platform he founded that provides initial capital, financial structuring, and operational expertise to grow businesses involved in the exploration, development, mining, and processing of minerals and metals.
He has also served as a Board Member and Advisor to several mineral and mining exploration and development companies, including two that were listed on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange and one that is listed on the TSX Venture Exchange.
Brian earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Mining Engineering and Master of Science degree in Mineral Economics from the Colorado School of Mines . He also completed Bank of Montreal’s Corporate Credit Training Program and continuing education courses with Nesbitt Burns Securities.
Andrii Smolin
Head of Representative Office in Ukraine
Andrii Smolin was appointed as a Head of Ukrainian representative office in 2017. Mr. Smolin is responsible for governmental relationship and new businesses in Ukraine, as well as implementation of strategy and investment relationship of Avellana Gold Ltd. Mr. Smolin began his career as a consultant for Ukrainian TAS Group being engaged in management consulting and risk management projects. Starting as investment banker in 2005, he worked as a head of Asset management business of ARTA Investment Management. As a co-founder of the Astrum Investment management and in cooperation with Vertex invest group, Investohills capital he got a track record of over USD 400 mio. closed deals, including fundraising, M&A, distressed debt/special situation projects. At the beginning of 2014, on a non-profit basis, he dedicated his efforts to advise Ukrainian State authority on transformation of mining sector regulation and promoting Ukrainian greenfield projects to international investors.
Tony Lund
Head of Mining projects
Mr. Lund has over 30 years of mining experience in managing projects through the full lifecycle from exploration through financing into production. Mr. Lund is a Mining Director at Lazarus Mining. LM’s team has over 55 years of experience between its core members, as part of that experience 20 years has been on the international mining stage working for over 60 clients and on 5 continents and in over 17 countries. As the Mining Partner LM’s will provide technical support and oversite to the restart process and operations. As part of this role will provide guidance and assistance in the implementation of modern international standard mining methodologies and processes. LM’s has a proven track record in this field having worked for many multi-national companies both in new project implementations, mine restarts, existing mine optimizations and turn arounds to become better financial assets.
Ivan Jagersky
Head of Metallurgy projects
Mr. Jagersky has more than forty years of experience with the gravity and flotation treatment of minerals of non-ferrous metals (Pb, Zn, Cu, Sb, Au, Ag) at various plants throughout Slovakia, which belonged to the portfolio of the state-owned company Rudné bane, headquartered in Banská Bystrica. The last twenty years he was engaged in the processing of gold-bearing ores in the private company Slovenská banska in Hodruša-Hámre, where he became a partner and held the position of technical investment manager, where he gained rich experience in the field of implementation of modern flotation technology for the treatment of polymetallic ores containing precious metals. During this period, he was also engaged in several development projects in Namibia and Ecuador.
Vladislav Trashliev
Head of Geology projects
Vladislav has 30 years of experience in geology, mining and economic evaluation living and working in Africa (Vantage Goldfields Ltd, Pan African Mining (Pvt) Ltd, Falcon Gold Zimbabwe Ltd), Australia (GEOVIA- Dassault Systèmes) , Asia and SE Europe (Minex GmbH, Geotechmin OOD), where he has held number of managerial and executive roles. His core expertise is in structural and economic geology, geostatistics, resource development and mine management across different range of commodities; gold, copper, base metals, iron, PMG, vanadium. He has been responsible for planning and managing large resource development projects and evaluation of new business or acquisition opportunities. He has had several major breakthroughs in his career where profitability have tremendously increased following his advice.
Mykola Gozhik
Chief Geologist
Nikolay Gozhik has more than 40 years of experience in the mining industry. Since 1975 he was involved in the geological exploration works in Carpathian region as a Chief geologist. From 2000 Mr. Gozhik held senior executive positions at a number of Ukrainian mining companies, serving as Deputy Director of Zakarpatpolimetaly LLC, Deputy Director and then Director of Saulyak LLC, Director of development at Carpathian Ore Company LLC. He also served as a Chief geologist at JSC Esan and was involved as a consultant by Gold Fields Limited. Mr. Gozhik personally counted reserves and got approval of State Commission on Mineral Resources on them for Muzhievo gold-polymetallic deposit, Tarasov deposit of ilmenite-zircon ore, Saulyak gold deposit and deposits of non-metals (kaolin, marble). Nikolay has earned his Master degree from Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, specialty - geological survey and prospecting of mineral deposits.