Directors and Executive Team

Nicole Adshead-Bell

Independent Non-Executive Chairman

Dr Nicole Adshead-Bell is a geologist with a deep understanding of the mining industry from over 25 years bridging the gap between the technical, corporate (Executive and Director), institutional investor and investment banking segments of the business – within an ESG framework.  Her career includes CEO of ASX-listed Brazilian gold producer Beadell Resources (prior to its acquisition by Canadian/US listed Great Panther Mining Ltd);  Director of Mining Research at Sun Valley Gold LLC (a SEC registered precious metals focused fund); and Managing Director, Investment Banking, Haywood Securities ( Canadian independent investment dealer.  While at Haywood she was involved in ~20 public transactions including streaming, mergers, acquisitions and divestures and raising ~C$1.8Bn in equity/convertible financings.  More recently she established Cupel Advisory Corp. to focus on investments and advisory services in the mining sector.   Dr Adshead-Bell has over 15 years of cumulative public board experience including exploration, development, operating and royalty companies listed in Canada, USA, Australia and the UK.       

Dr Adshead-Bell has PhD in structural/economic geology from James Cook University where she also completed her geology undergraduate and honours degrees.  She is currently a Non-Executive Director of TSX listed Altius Minerals Corp., a diversified royalty company focused on sustainability related global growth trends including copper, battery metals (lithium, nickel, cobalt), clean iron ore, potash and renewable electricity generation and ASX listed Matador Mining Ltd, a junior exploration/development company focused on advancing its Cape Ray Gold Project in Newfoundland, Canada.

Christian Ervin Easterday

Managing Director & CEO

Mr Easterday is a geologist and mineral economist with over 25 years’ experience in the mineral exploration and mining industry. He holds an Honours Degree in Geology from the University of Western Australia, a Masters degree in Mineral Economics from Curtin University of Technology and a Masters Degree in Business Administration from Curtin’s Graduate School of Business.

Mr Easterday has held several senior positions and exploration management roles with top-tier gold companies including Placer Dome, Hill 50 Gold and Harmony Gold, specialising in structural geology, resource development and mineral economic valuation. Over his career, Mr Easterday has been involved in various aspects of project negotiation negotiations and valuations covering gold, copper, uranium, iron ore, nickel, and tantalum resource projects in Australia and overseas.

Mr Easterday is a founding Director of Hot Chili and has led the Company as Managing Director since its listing on the Australian Securities Exchange in 2010. Mr Easterday is a Member of The Australian Institute of Geoscientists.

Roberto de Andraca Adriasola

Non-Executive Director

Mr de Andraca Adriasola is a business manager with 25 years’ experience in the financial and mining business.  Over the last five years he has been working in the main Iron Ore and Steel Producer in Chile, CAP S A. He also oversaw the construction of the first desalination plant dedicated 100% to producing water for mining companies in the north of Chile.  Mr de Andraca Adriasola has finance experience working at Chase Manhattan Bank, ABN Amro and Citigroup, working both in Chile and in New York and holds an MBA from the Adolfo Ibanez Business School of Chile.  He is a director of Puerto Los Losas, a port in the Atacama Region of Chile. He was elected to the board of directors of CAP S.A. on April 18th 2017, until that date he held the position of VP of Business Development.

Mark Jamieson

Non-Executive Director

Mr Jamieson is currently General Manager Resource Engineering for Glencore’s global copper asset group leading technical support and governance in geology, mine engineering and asset optimisation for development projects, operations and JV’s.

Mark brings 20+ years of technical and project experience in open pit and underground operations, including sub level and block cave mines with Newcrest, MMG and Barrick Gold across Australia, Africa, South East Asia and South America.

Mark holds a bachelor’s degree with honours in Geotechnical Engineering from RMIT University, and a Masters of Engineering Science in Mining Geomechanics from The University of New South Wales.

Mark’s appointment follows Glencore’s investment to acquire a 9.99% shareholding in Hot Chili through the Company’s A$40 million capital raising, as announced to the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) on 6th August.

Stephen Quin

Independent Non-Executive Director

Mr Quin is a graduate of the Royal School of Mines, London, with a BSc (Honours) in Mining Geology, and has 40+ years’ experience in all stages of the mining industry, from exploration to operations and closure.  He most recently spent a decade as President & CEO of Midas Gold Corp, and, prior to that, President of copper miner Capstone Mining Corp. and, prior to the merger with Capstone, was President & CEO of copper developer and operator Sherwood Copper Corp, Executive Vice President of Miramar Mining Corp. and its copper exploration affiliate, Northern Orion Exploration.  He started his career with what became Imperial Metals Corp. where he was a responsible for the advancement of their polymetallic copper-lead-zinc project.

Mr Quin has a combination of technical, governance, and capital markets experience having led more than 30 studies on projects in the copper and gold sectors, ranging from mineral resource estimates and preliminary economic assessments to feasibility studies.  He also has extensive experience with permitting, mine financing, development, operations and closure. From a governance perspective, he has sat on and/or chaired numerous board and board committees, has led governance enhancing efforts at a number of companies and has been an advocate of prioritizing ESG-related initiatives since well before the acronym became popular.  On a capital markets front, Mr Quin has been involved in over C$1 billion in financing and more than C$750 million in M&A for companies where he was CEO or a senior executive, and has extensive contacts on both the sell-side and buy-side of the market.  He currently serves non-executive director of Bravo Mining Corp., Kutcho Copper Corp., West Vault Mining Inc. and non-executive Chair of TDG Gold Corp.

Grant King

Chief Operating Officer

Grant King has 20+ years of experience in the mining industry, including underground contract mining, production roles and consulting for over a decade on mine studies and financial modelling. Grant holds an Honours Degree in Mining Engineering from the University of Queensland, a Master of Science in Mineral Economics from the Curtin University of Technology and a First Class Mine Manager’s Certificate for the State of Western Australia. Prior to joining Hot Chili, Grant was a Principal Mining Engineer at the engineering firm Wood and consulted on projects across the Americas, Europe and Australia. Grant is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy.

José Ignacio Silva

Executive Vice President

Mr Silva gained his law degree at the University of Chile, and studied Masters in International Business Law at the University College London. He has 20 years’ experience in litigation, commercial and mining law and business negotiations and in Tier 1 law firms in Chile. Mr Silva has also completed 2 years’ work experience in London, UK in Financial Fraud at the Serious Fraud Office, where his team successfully prosecuted a high level case of corruption of foreign officials. Mr Silva has been working with Hot Chili since July 2009 and in 2011 became Chief Legal Counsel. He is responsible for mining rights acquisitions, mining consolidation, deal negotiations and business development among other things, working directly with the board of Hot Chili.

Carol Marinkovich

Company Secretary

Carol has over 25 years’ experience in the mining industry. She has extensive experience in Company Secretary and Corporate Governance Practices, both within Australia and Internationally working with companies in the ASX200, ASX300 and for other listed junior explorers.

Carol is currently the Company Secretary for Alvo Minerals and AuMEGA Metals.

Carol is a Member of the Governance Institute of Australia and the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators in London.

Ryan Finkelstein

Chief Financial Officer

Mr Finkelstein is a seasoned Chartered Accountant with over 16 years of experience, including 10 years in audit at a global mid-tier accounting firm. Over the last two years he has provided CFO services to ASX listed entities in the mining sector and has held the position of Chief Financial Officer at ASX/TSX-V listed AuMEGA Metals Ltd (formally Matador Mining Ltd) since April 2023.

Mr Finkelstein possesses significant leadership experience in strategy, compliance, corporate governance, risk management, accounting standards, and regulatory requirements.

Kirsty Sheerin

Resource Development Manager

Kirsty is a Resource Geologist with over 13 years’ experience in the mining industry, including underground gold mining and international consulting in resource geology.

She has worked previously as a Senior Resource Geologist for Northern Star Resources and Principal Geology Consultant for OreTeck Mining Solutions.

Andrea Aravena

Geology Manager – Chile

Ms. Aravena is a geologist from Universidad de Concepción, Chile with over a 13 years’ experience in Chile´s mining and exploration industry. She has also completed further studies in project and operational management in Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. Before joining Hot Chili, she has worked 4 years as a mine/exploration geologist in open pit and underground gold operations for Yamana and Minera Dayton companies.

Ms. Aravena joined Hot Chili in 2011 as a senior geologist and has worked extensively supervising and running Productora, El Fuego and more recently Cortadera exploration drill programs, managing the field team and company contractors, ensuring compliance to the company standard operating procedures. Ms. Aravena was contributory to the completion of Productora Pre-Feasibility study and continues supporting legal and environmental permitting for the current company operations.

Marcelo Hernando

Development Manager – Chile

Marcelo Hernando has 20+ years of experience in the mining, energy, and infrastructure sectors. Marcelo is a Civil Mining Engineer graduated with highest distinction from the University of Santiago, Chile.

Prior to joining Hot Chili, Marcelo held various roles at WOOD, including Operations Manager and Director of Business Development South America, achieving significant contract awards and implementing client account plans, managing operations in Chile, and leading a team of 120 consultants. Marcelo is registered as a Competent Person with the Commission for the Qualification of Competencies in Mineral Resources and Reserves of Chile.

Cristóbal Julia

Environmental Manager – Chile

Cristóbal is a Geographer with more than 15 years of professional experience in managing environmental issues and community early engagement, ranging from mining to utility-scale renewables projects.

He is focused to contribute to the company with the sustainability of the mining project, following the compliance of local and international standards and environmental regulation.
His broad experience in environmental impact assessment and permitting has given him the ability to build long term relationships with neighboring communities and stakeholders, including Indigenous communities.