Mr. Tagliamonte is a professional mining engineer with over 25 years of progressive managerial experience building and operating mines. He was formerly the CEO and a Director of Sulliden Gold Corp. (acquired by Rio Alto Mining), President and CEO of Central Sun Mining Inc. (acquired by B2Gold) and Chief Operating Officer of Desert Sun Mining Corp. (acquired by Yamana) where he was responsible for the development of the Jacobina Mine in Brazil into a 4,200-tonne-per-day mining operation. In 2005, Mr. Tagliamonte received the Mining Journal's "Mine Manager of the Year" award in recognition for his work in the mining sector. Mr. Tagliamonte obtained his Mining Engineering degree at Laurentian University in Sudbury, Ontario; he also holds an MBA from the Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario.