Northisle Announces Board Slate for 2025 AGM

VANCOUVER, British Columbia--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Northisle Copper and Gold Inc. (TSX-V: NCX) (“Northisle” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce the slate of directors for its upcoming 2025 AGM. The Company has continued to add highly capable executives and directors since the announcement of its 2025 PEA.

In particular, the proposed slate includes Jill Donaldson, JD, ICD.D, GCD.D, who brings extensive legal and corporate governance experience, and joins incumbents Dale Corman, Alex Davidson, Keena Hicken-Gaberria, Kevin O’Kane, and Sam Lee. Martino De Ciccio has indicated to the Company that he does not plan to stand for re-election at the upcoming AGM in order to focus on his other commitments. It is anticipated that Ms. Donaldson will take up Mr. De Ciccio’s roles on various Board committees, if elected.

Dale Corman, Chairman stated “We are pleased to add Jill Donaldson to our proposed Board slate for our upcoming AGM. Jill is an experienced corporate lawyer and governance expert and will continue to augment the skill set of our current directors. We would like to thank Martino for his many years of contributions to Northisle and wish him continued success with Montage Gold.”

Director Profiles

Sam Lee, President, CEO and Director
Mr. Lee was appointed to the role of President & CEO of Northisle in October 2020. Prior to that, over 20 years Mr. Lee advised on some of the most prominent M&A, equity and debt transactions in the international and Canadian global mining industry totaling over $100 billion in value. During this period, he has worked in major resource markets including Toronto, Sydney and Vancouver where he led various strategic initiatives for CIBC World Markets. Most recently, he was Managing Director and head of CIBC’s Vancouver Mining Group. Mr. Lee holds a Bachelor of Applied Science, Faculty of Engineering, from the University of Toronto, was a graduate of the Lassonde Mineral Engineering program, is a recipient of the King Charles III Coronation Medal, and is a CFA charterholder.

Dale Corman, Non-Executive Chairman and Director
From 1995 to 2006, Mr. Corman was Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer of Western Silver Corporation which owned the world-class Penasquito project and was sold to Glamis Gold. He has over 50 years’ experience as a senior corporate officer of publicly listed companies in Canada and the United States, as well as extensive expertise in mineral and geothermal exploration and development, property evaluation and acquisition, project financing and corporate management. Mr. Corman received a B.S. in geology from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York, in 1961 and is a member of the Canadian Mining Hall of Fame. From 2006 until June 2021, Mr. Corman acted as Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Western Copper and Gold Corporation.

Keena Hicken-Gaberria, Director
Mrs. Hicken-Gaberria has over 25 years of experience providing accounting and advisory services to clients in Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States, in a variety of industries including mining, construction, infrastructure, energy, forestry, manufacturing and banking. Mrs. Hicken-Gaberria began her professional career in auditing with KPMG in 1998, where she specialized in forensic accounting, risk management, internal controls, and project management. In 2012, she established her own firm, New Leaf Enterprises Inc., where she began working with indigenous organizations and communities. In 2016, she was appointed by an indigenous community equity partner to the Board of Orca Sand & Gravel LP, a concrete aggregate mining company located on the Northern tip of Vancouver Island and has held the position of Chair since 2018. Mrs. Hicken-Gaberria is also the CFO of LFT Group Brands Ltd. She is a Chartered Professional Accountant, CA, and earned a Commerce degree in Entrepreneurial Management from Royal Roads University. She is a designated Project Management Professional and ICD.D.

Kevin O’Kane, Director
Mr. O’Kane is a mining engineer with more than 40 years’ experience in the global mining industry. Mr. O’Kane spent over 35 years with BHP in various roles including leading multibillion-dollar projects from conception, through permitting and into execution and operations, President of Pampa Norte copper operations in Chile, in various major project development, technical and operating roles at the Escondida copper mine in Chile and in various health, safety, environment and community leadership roles including as Vice President Health, Safety, Environment & Community for BHP’s copper business. Most recently, Mr. O’Kane served as the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of SSR Mining Inc. from 2018 to 2020, where he led all aspects of its operations, permitting, and sustainability programs globally while achieving record production at all three of its producing mines. Mr. O’Kane also serves on the Boards of Autlan, Almaden Minerals Ltd., IAMGOLD Corporation and NorthIsle Copper and Gold Inc. Each of the foregoing companies in which Mr. O’Kane presently serves are operating, or mineral exploration and development companies.

Alexander (Alex) Davidson, Director
Mr. Davidson has over 41 years’ experience in designing, implementing and managing gold and base metal exploration and acquisition programmes throughout the world. He was Barrick Gold Corporation’s (“Barrick”) Executive Vice President, Exploration and Corporate Development with responsibility for its international exploration programmes and Barrick’s corporate development activities. Mr. Davidson’s professional career includes leadership and contribution to multiple landmark discoveries such as Lagunas Norte, Pascua-Lama, Pierina, and Veladero along with significant involvement in Barrick’s acquisitions of Lac Minerals, Homestake Mining, and Placer Dome. Mr. Davidson is also director of Capital Ltd. and South Pacific Metals Corp. He has a B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Economic Geology from McGill University. Alex was inducted into the Canadian Mining Hall of Fame in 2023 recognizing his inspiring achievements and visionary leadership in elevating the stature of Canadian mining. He has previously been a director at several major mining companies including Yamana Gold and Pan American Silver.

Jill Donaldson, Director Nominee
As a senior corporate and securities lawyer, Ms. Donaldson now focuses on corporate directorships bringing expertise in governance, capital markets, risk management and compliance, M&A and rights holder and stakeholder engagement. She holds a law degree from the University of British Columbia law school and a commerce degree from the Sauder School of Business at the University of British Columbia, as well as the ICD.D board designation from the Institute of Corporate Directors, and the GCB.D (Global Sustainability and ESG), board designation from Competent Boards. Ms. Donaldson is currently a director of Fireweed Metals Corp and is Chair of its Governance & Compensation Committee and a member of its Sustainability Committee. She served as Lead Director of Bluestone Resources Inc. and as Chair of its Special Committee with respect to its acquisition by Aura Minerals Inc. in January 2025. Ms. Donaldson is a Director, Chair of the Business Transformation Committee, and a member of the People Experience Committee and Governance and Nominations Committee at Prospera Credit Union (“Prospera”). Ms. Donaldson is also a member of Prospera’s special committee and the joint special committee regarding Prospera’s proposed merger with Coast Capital and Sunshine Coast to form Canada’s largest national purpose-driven credit union. She was a Director of Great Bear Royalties Corp. and Chair of its Special Committee with respect to its acquisition by Royal Gold. Ms. Donaldson is also active in the community and is Vice Chair of the Board of Canuck Place Children’s Hospice and is on the Board of Governors of York House School.

About Northisle
Northisle Copper and Gold Inc. is a Vancouver-based company whose mission is to become Canada’s leading sustainable mineral resource company for the future. Northisle, through its 100% owned subsidiary North Island Mining Corp., owns the North Island Project, which is one of the most promising copper and gold porphyry projects in Canada. The North Island Project is located near Port Hardy, British Columbia on a more than 34,000-hectare block of mineral titles 100% owned by Northisle on a belt stretching 50 kilometres northwest from the now closed Island Copper Mine operated by BHP Billiton. Since 2021, the Company has discovered two significant deposits, expanded resources, demonstrated the economic potential of the project, and is now focused on accelerating the advancement of this compelling project while exploring within this highly prospective land package.

For more information on Northisle please visit the Company’s website at www.northisle.ca.

Cautionary Statements regarding Forward-Looking Information

Certain information in this news release constitutes forward-looking statements under applicable securities law. Any statements that are contained in this news release that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are often identified by terms such as “may”, “should”, “anticipate”, “expect”, “intend” and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements in this news release include, but are not limited to: the Company’s plans for advancement of the North Island Project, trading of the company’s securities, election of Directors. Forward-looking statements necessarily involve known and unknown risks, including, without limitation, the Company’s ability to implement its business strategies; risks associated with mineral exploration and production; risks associated with general economic conditions; adverse industry events; stakeholder engagement; marketing and transportation costs; loss of markets; volatility of commodity prices; inability to access sufficient capital from internal and external sources, and/or inability to access sufficient capital on favourable terms; industry and government regulation; changes in legislation, income tax and regulatory matters; competition; currency and interest rate fluctuations; and other risks. Readers are cautioned that the foregoing list is not exhaustive.

Readers are further cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements as there can be no assurance that the plans, intentions, or expectations upon which they are placed will occur. Such information, although considered reasonable by management at the time of preparation, may prove to be incorrect and actual results may differ materially from those anticipated. Forward-looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement.

The forward-looking statements contained in this news release represent the expectations of management of Northisle as of the date of this news release, and, accordingly, are subject to change after such date. Northisle does not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as expressly required by applicable securities law.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.