Board oversight, technical advisors, Canadian controls, and regional field depth.
The team is structured the way frontier programs actually work.
Board-level capital and governance oversight sit above specialist technical review, Canadian data and disclosure controls, and regionally grounded execution teams spanning Hargeisa, Addis Ababa, Mogadishu, Lusaka, and Dubai.
Capital markets, geology, QA/QC, ESG, legal, drilling, and data infrastructure.
Corporate governance anchored to regional execution capability across East Africa and the Gulf.
Independent review, disciplined controls, and execution readiness built into the structure.
Global Executive Leadership
Operating fluidly between the Canadian corporate hub and the African operational vanguard.
Richard T. Caulfield, MBA
Canadian mining-finance heavyweight with more than 30 years of experience structuring, funding, and exiting junior and mid-tier exploration companies, including over $800 million raised for international assets.
Guides capital allocation, M&A strategy, and valuation discipline so Xidar’s milestones remain aligned with institutional expectations.
Dr. William "Bill" Harrison, Ph.D., P.Geo
Exploration executive with a 35-year career that includes serving as VP of Exploration for a tier-one gold producer and contributing directly to multiple multi-million-ounce discoveries in Precambrian terranes.
Chairs technical oversight at the board level, auditing exploration methods, QA/QC frameworks, and independent technical reviews.
Jonathan E. Mercer, CPA, CA
Chartered Professional Accountant with 25 years of experience as CFO to TSX-listed resource companies, specializing in treasury governance, cross-border tax structure, and IFRS compliance.
Protects treasury discipline and transparent reporting across frontier-jurisdiction operations and international corporate structures.
Sarah L. Carmichael, LL.B., ICD.D
Natural resources attorney and Institute of Corporate Directors member with deep experience in African mining law, mineral tenure, joint ventures, and anti-corruption compliance.
Guides sovereign-rights strategy, governance controls, and corporate ESG compliance across complex international operating environments.
Eleanor V. Sterling, P.Eng, MBA
Mining-finance executive with 15 years in private equity and TSX capital markets, focused on ensuring technical work converts into bankable project value.
Structures joint ventures, farm-ins, and strategic partnerships that tie exploration progress to valuation milestones demanded by investors.
Dr. Robert H. Blackwood, Ph.D., P.Geo
Applied geophysicist with over 25 years of experience interpreting airborne magnetic, radiometric, and gravimetric datasets across Precambrian shields worldwide.
Extends surface-led targeting into deep crustal architecture and 3D inversion models for blind intrusive and sulfide targets.
Dr. Sylvia R. Koenig, Ph.D.
Process mineralogist and metallurgical advisor with two decades of experience linking early-stage mineralogy to downstream processing behavior and economic extraction risk.
Brings metallurgical thinking into exploration decisions so clients do not advance technically attractive but commercially refractory targets.
Dr. Evelyn R. Hughes, Ph.D.
Globally recognized ESG specialist who has advised the IFC and World Bank on African mining policy and sustainability frameworks.
Oversees community-impact logic, water stewardship, and Equator Principles alignment for institutionally credible project governance.
Thomas G. Bradford, P.Eng
Professional engineer and former COO of a mid-tier African gold producer, bringing a mine-builder’s perspective to exploration-stage evaluation.
Tests targets against practical mine-development logic including infrastructure, strip ratio, and metallurgical viability.
Gregory M. Sinclair, CFA
Capital-markets strategist and former mining private-equity partner focused on exit planning, treasury resilience, and shareholder value creation.
Advises on IPO timing, spin-out structures, defensive strategy, and long-cycle capital preservation through commodity downturns.
Douglas C. McIntyre, LL.B.
Senior securities-law specialist supporting board process, continuous disclosure, and legal compliance around strategic decisions and public communications.
Ensures board actions, insider-sensitive events, and public communications are executed within Canadian securities-law requirements.
Elite Global Technical Advisors
Fly-In / Fly-Out Western technical authorities providing independent peer review.
Dr. James C. MacAllister, Ph.D., FAusIMM
Globally recognized authority on shear-hosted and orogenic gold systems, serving as a qualified peer-review mechanism under both JORC and NI 43-101 expectations.
Conducts structural audits of block models, trench data, and drill interpretations to strengthen project credibility with major mining counterparties.
Martin J. Fournier, MSc, P.Geo
Independent data auditor with 20 years of experience reviewing geological databases, dispatch registers, insertion rates, and chain-of-custody systems for international mining groups.
Ensures Xidar’s data architecture can withstand aggressive due-diligence and acquisition-stage scrutiny.
Canadian Corporate Headquarters
The governance, data architecture, interpretation, and disclosure-control hub.
Sarah O. Chen, MSc
Computational geologist with 12 years of experience building predictive targeting models for mid-tier miners across Africa and South America.
Turns planetary-scale telemetry into high-probability, structurally controlled target zones using spatial statistics, GIS, and spectral unmixing.
David R. MacIntyre, P.Geo
Professional geoscientist with more than 25 years of international mineral exploration experience and a long record of authoring NI 43-101 technical reports on African assets.
Provides audit-ready review of field methods, QA/QC datasets, and laboratory integrations prior to any public-market disclosure.
Dr. Alistair Vance, Ph.D., P.Geo
Applied geochemist with more than 15 years of experience interpreting multi-element assays through multivariate statistics to isolate subtle pathfinder halos.
Audits ISO 17025 laboratory returns and converts raw assay datasets into exploration-grade geochemical intelligence.
Jean-Paul Tremblay, MSc, P.Geo
Geostatistician and 3D modeller with 12 years of experience using implicit modelling platforms such as Leapfrog Geo to refine structural and lithological targeting.
Builds subsurface wireframes, fault geometries, and precise drill-collar concepts that support higher-confidence drilling decisions.
Dr. Marianne V. Koster, Ph.D.
Structural geologist with 10 years of Precambrian shield field mapping experience and specialist depth in shear zones, breccias, and fault kinematics.
Transitions digital targets into executable field reality by leading reconnaissance and mapping structurally controlled fluid pathways with RTK precision.
Somaliland Operational Headquarters
The execution, logistics, compliance, and field-vanguard core based around Hargeisa.
Nouradin Abdirahman HNour
Strategic architect of Xidar Analytics with more than a decade of experience across institutional development, development economics, policy formulation, and project governance in the Horn of Africa.
Leads regional execution strategy, mineral-rights engagement, stakeholder diplomacy, and the link between international capital and frontier implementation.
Hamse Mohamed Ahmed
Leads frontier logistics, fly-camp deployment, 4x4 fleet execution, supply-chain continuity, and cross-border sample export coordination.
Keeps programs moving through customs, ministry protocols, and secure transport to global ISO-accredited laboratories.
Omar Osman Doualeh
Corporate-development and compliance lead connecting regional execution with the governance demands of Western capital markets and international counterparties.
Leads JV negotiation, corporate risk oversight, and regional compliance framing so operational outputs remain institutionally credible.
Rashid A. Duale, MSc
Earth observation specialist with 8 years of experience processing multispectral and hyperspectral imagery including ASTER, Landsat 9, and Sentinel-2 in arid terrains.
Maps hydrothermal halos, gossan expressions, and structural lineaments before field teams are deployed.
Abdirizak Farah, BSc
Exploration database and sample-dispatch manager with 7 years of East African experience overseeing digital chain-of-custody and QA/QC insertion protocols.
Protects data credibility through tamper-evident systems, logging discipline, and ongoing laboratory performance auditing.
Regional Operational Vanguard
Expanding technical depth and social license to operate across Africa.
Fatima Hassan, MSc
Environmental-management specialist with a decade of experience aligning African natural resource projects with IFC standards, land-access frameworks, and operational safety requirements.
Secures social license, community trust, and ISO 45001-oriented field compliance across regional deployments.
Dr. Samuel O. Ojo, Ph.D.
Regional geophysicist with 20 years of experience across the East African Rift System and Arabian-Nubian Shield, integrating airborne magnetic, radiometric, and gravity datasets.
Provides the subsurface geophysical layer that remote sensing alone cannot capture, especially for blind heat sources and deep architecture.
Kaleb Tadesse, BSc
East African field veteran with 12 years of experience managing trenching, diamond core, and RC drilling programs in line with geological models and budget expectations.
Bridges advanced field geology with contractor control, drill-site execution, and rig-to-truck sample discipline.
Regional Operational Vanguard
The backbone of active drilling, ground execution, and community integration.
Marcus V. Thorne, BSc, P.Geo
Exploration manager with 15 years of boots-on-the-ground experience managing multimillion-dollar field budgets and simultaneous programs across Sub-Saharan Africa.
Connects the Canadian executive team to African field crews through contractor tendering, logistics negotiation, and disciplined burn-rate control.
Tariq A. Hassan, BSc
Project geologist with six years of direct experience logging diamond core and RC chips in shear-hosted gold systems from core shed to sampling dispatch.
Oversees core handling, lithology and structural logging, sampling discipline, and physical chain-of-custody once drilling begins.
Zahra M. Ali, MA
Stakeholder and land-access specialist with a decade of experience negotiating with pastoralist communities, regional elders, and artisanal mining cooperatives.
Protects social license and reduces operational delays by resolving community concerns and surface-rights friction early.
Legal, Environmental, and Heavy Operations
The legal, infrastructure, hydrogeological, drilling, and systems layer behind field continuity.
Ibrahim S. Dualeh, LLM
Natural-resources lawyer with 12 years of experience negotiating licences, farm-ins, concession boundaries, and statutory compliance across ministries and cross-border jurisdictions.
Ensures programs remain legal, tenement obligations are protected, and sovereign risk is managed before it reaches the client.
Dr. Claire H. Bennett, Ph.D., P.Geo
Hydrogeologist with 15 years of arid-region groundwater modelling experience focused on environmental baselines, aquifer definition, and dewatering logic.
Ensures exploration and future development concepts remain hydrologically viable in water-constrained terrains across the Arabian-Nubian Shield.
Thomas "Mac" Macready
Veteran driller with 25 years of experience managing heavy diamond core and RC rigs across Africa and the Middle East on behalf of clients and operators.
Audits contractors, mud systems, safety, and recovery metrics to keep drilling execution technically disciplined and financially efficient.
Yusuf M. Ali, BEng
Engineering-trained remote-logistics specialist with a decade of experience sustaining field crews, diesel supply, fleet maintenance, and medevac readiness in frontier settings.
Ensures geological teams keep moving without operational interruption caused by camp or logistics failure.
Daniel R. Chen, BSc, CISSP
Cybersecurity and remote-systems specialist designing encrypted satellite-linked infrastructure that connects field camps to Canadian cloud environments in near real time.
Protects proprietary geological data and prevents catastrophic loss through rugged remote-network architecture and disciplined cloud backup systems.

