Executive & Senior Management

Penelope Beattie

Company Secretary & Chief Financial Officer

Ms Beattie is a Chartered Accountant with 20 years experience in corporate and financial services in Africa, Europe and Australia. She joined the Hot Chili team in November 2021.

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.

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

Country Manager & Chief Legal Counsel

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 more than 10 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.

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.