New Trilogy chair, Rick retires from NG

Trilogy Metals Inc. May 23 named Janice Stairs as the new chair of its board of directors.

Stairs, who has been a director of Trilogy Metals since 2011, graduated from Dalhousie Law School and holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Queen's University.

"Janice is well suited to chair the Trilogy board. With her strong legal background, her many years working in the mining sector and the fact that she has been an active director of Trilogy Metals since its inception eight years ago, she knows the history of the company and understands and appreciates the relationships that Trilogy has built in Alaska towards advancing our assets in the Ambler Mining District," said Trilogy Metals President and CEO Rick Van Nieuwenhuyse.

With Stairs moving to chair, James (Jim) Gowans has joined the Trilogy Metals board.

"Jim and I worked together at Placer Dome and he has always had an appreciation for the challenges of developing a mine in Alaska," said Van Nieuwenhuyse. "Jim's previous experience with Cominco Limited, where he oversaw the completion of a feasibility study and the subsequent design and construction of the Red Dog Mine will be valuable to Trilogy Metals as we start the next phase of developing the Arctic mine. Jim also operated the Red Dog Mine for three years following its commissioning. The relationships that he built with the Inupiaq people of Northwestern Alaska will be invaluable as we advance the Ambler Mining District to production."

In addition to his Alaska experience, Gowans is a previous co-president of Barrick Gold Corp. and was president and CEO of Arizona Mining Inc. when Australia-based South32 Ltd. bought the company for around US$1.3 billion.

South32 currently has an option to earn a 50 percent stake in Trilogy Metals' Upper Kobuk Mineral Projects, a large land package in Northwest Alaska that includes Arctic, a copper-zinc-lead-gold-silver mine project; Bornite, a large and advanced staged copper-cobalt exploration project; and several other earlier staged deposits and occurrences across the Ambler Mining District.

"Not only does Jim bring his tremendous insight and experience in Alaska, but he also developed a well-established and respectful working dynamic with our partner, South32 Ltd. while he was president and CEO of Arizona Mining Inc.," said Stairs.

Van Nieuwenhuyse retires

In related news, Van Nieuwenhuyse has retired from the board of Novagold Resources Inc., a gold exploration company he founded in 1997.

"On behalf of the board of directors of Novagold, I would like to express sincere appreciation to Rick for his vision in endowing Novagold with great assets which formed the foundation for value creation for our shareholders," said Novagold Chairman Thomas Kaplan. "Rick was the one who identified Donlin Gold as an exceptional deposit and shepherded its initial advancement into one of the world's largest and highest-grade known open pit gold deposits. Just as importantly, his unwavering commitment toward improvement of living conditions in the remote communities of both Alaska and British Columbia has become an integral part of Novagold's corporate culture. We wish him all the best in both his personal life and professional endeavors."

Ethan Schutt, chief of staff of Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium (ANTHC), joined Novagold's board.

ANTHC provides health services as well as training, health education, disease and injury prevention and rural water and sewer construction for Alaska Native people.

Schutt executes coordination and support activities to ensure proper prioritization and alignment of ANTHC resources.

Prior to joining ANTHC, Schutt served as general counsel, later becoming senior vice president of land and energy development for Cook Inlet Region Inc. (CIRI). In that capacity, he led a team of professionals managing application of CIRI's Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) lands toward exploration for oil and gas, as well as mineral and other natural resource development.

"We are delighted to welcome Ethan to the board," said Kaplan. "His firsthand knowledge and appreciation of issues affecting Alaska and its Native communities is an important part of our day-to-day operations. Novagold is truly fortunate to have Ethan on its team and we are looking forward to his valuable counsel and advice."