Joaquín Merino was appointed Emerita's Chief Executive Officer in April 2026 and has continued to serve as President & Director since 2012. He is a senior professional geologist with over 28 years of experience in the mining industry, specializing in exploration and mining operations. Prior to joining Emerita, he held senior leadership roles including Vice President Exploration at Primero Mining Corp. and Apogee Minerals Ltd. and previously served as Exploration Manager for Placer Dome at the Porgera Mine, and as Mine Geologist at Hecla Mining's La Camorra Mine.
His international experience spans across the Americas, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific regions. Currently based in Spain, he is leading the advancement of the IBW Project, while simultaneously pursuing continued business opportunities, and engaging in effective community relations and constructive stakeholder dialogue.
Mr. Merino is a member of the Association of Professional Geoscientists of Ontario. He holds an MSc from Queen's University and a BSc in Geology from the University of Seville, Spain.
Mr. David Patterson is a mining and capital markets executive with over 30 years of experience advancing and financing publicly listed mineral exploration and development companies across North America. As Chief Executive Officer of Quebec Nickel Corp., he leads strategic direction, capital markets initiatives, and the advancement of critical mineral assets in Québec. He has held senior roles across the junior mining sector, including serving as a founding director of Emerita Resources Corp., where he contributed to key project acquisitions in Spain, and as Executive Chairman of Donner Metals Ltd., where he helped advance the Bracemac–McLeod deposit to production. He is also Co-founder and CEO of Vested Technology Corp., a platform expanding access to early-stage investment opportunities. His career spans the full lifecycle of resource companies, combining disciplined capital formation, corporate development, and project execution expertise.
Marilia Bento has over 25 years of experience in the financial industry and Canadian capital markets. Throughout her career, she has held senior leadership positions in equity capital markets and corporate development, with extensive experience advising public and private companies on strategic growth initiatives, capital raising, and corporate finance. Prior to her corporate development roles, Ms. Bento spent more than 14 years as Managing Director, Senior Partner and Head of Equity Capital Markets at Macquarie Capital Markets Canada Ltd. (formerly Orion Securities Inc.). During her tenure, she was directly involved in raising in excess of $46 billion in equity capital for clients across a broad range of industries.
Ms. Bento also has extensive experience serving on the boards of directors of both publicly listed and privately held companies, providing strategic guidance, governance oversight, and capital markets expertise.
Catherine Stretch is Vice President, Corporate Affairs at Troilus Gold Corp., a TSX listed advanced stage exploration and early-development company focused on the mineral expansion and potential mine re-start of the former gold and copper Troilus mine in Quebec. From 2015 to 2019, Catherine was Chief Commercial Officer of Aguia Resources Limited, an ASX and TSX Venture listed company developing phosphate and copper assets in Brazil. She has 20 years of experience in capital markets with a particular focus on the formation, development and operation of resource companies and was previously a partner and the Chief Operating Officer of a Canadian investment firm which had $1 billion in assets under management. She is currently a Director of TSX Venture listed AnalytixInsight Inc and TSX listed UEX Corporation. Ms. Stretch has a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and History from Western University and a Masters of Business Administration from the Schulich School of Business at York University.
Joseph Belan is Chairman and CEO of merchant bank Karst Capital Partners and brings over 25 years of investment banking and private equity experience globally. Mr. Belan has held senior M&A roles in global financial institutions including Credit Suisse First Boston, Goldman Sachs and UBS as well as Managing Director of Swiss-based Pala Investments, a US$1bn multi-strategy investment firm focused on the metals and mining sector. He also brings senior investment and executive experience in complicated restructurings, buyouts, acquisitions and strategic repositioning in the mining and industrial sectors and previously served as a senior advisor to the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board.
Agne Ahlenius is a senior mining executive with over 35 years of international experience in mine development and operations. Currently CEO & Managing Director of the San Juan Mine Project (tungsten), owned by Eurobattery Minerals AB Sweden, Mr. Ahlenius has held top-level positions in leading Spanish and international mining operations, including roles as Mine Manager at Boliden AB, Operations Manager for MATSA in Spain, and CEO at Lundin Mining for Zinkgruvan Mining AB in Sweden. He holds a Master of Science in Mining Engineering from Luleå University of Technology, Sweden. In addition to his fluency in Spanish, Mr. Ahlenius has a deep understanding of the Spanish regulatory environment and has successfully collaborated with governmental authorities at various levels, skills which the Company's Board believe will contribute to ongoing efforts to successfully advance the IBW Project through major feasibility and regulatory milestones in the coming months.
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Emerita Resources Corp.
36 Lombard Street, Floor 4
Toronto, Ontario, M5C 2X3
Canada
info@emeritaresources.com
