Mining's Next Elite Teams? Three Young Leaders Weigh In

Learning the business comes first

While each of these executives has taken a different path to becoming industry leaders, they all spend time understanding how mines and projects work before diving into the financing side.

Funk began his career working for large Australian mining companies under geophysicists, geologists and mining engineers. It provided a foundation, and by the time he started learning financing, he already understood mining as a business.

“For me, it was about just getting the opportunity to understand the science of geology, discovery and exploration, and then the business of project review and business development,” he said.

Alkhafaji took a similar path. He was sent to sites to work as general manager or head of supply chains. It was a hands-on education that gave him the fundamentals that is learned through experience.

“The most important thing that [Neumeyer] taught me is you gotta learn the business from the bottom up. Boots on the ground is quite important,” he said.

Bell’s entry into the mining sectorcame withy challenges and setbacks. He was a history graduate who started working with an Australian uranium exploration company. However, after the Fukushima meltdown in March 2011 caused uranium prices to crash, he left Australia to start his own gold company in the UK, which lost 80 percent after the 2014 downturn.

That’s when he started looking at the royalty and streaming model, which offered better cash flow and protection from commodity-market volatility. Although his path hasn’t been straightforward, it’s been

“For me, the satisfaction and motivation is really creating something from nothing, seeing it grow over the years, and that’s a sort of pretty rewarding experience,” he said.

The biggest industry challenge as they see it

All three suggested that one of the biggest challenges is a gap in experience, created by a lack of talent entering the mining sector, and few things in mining are as people-related as a leadership role. So how have they addressed the talent problem?

Alkhafaji suggests retention and investment are key aspects of his strategy. He spoke about investing in scholarships and local communities. He sees these investments as a way to build positive relationships and present the industry in a constructive light, which will, in turn, drive more education and talent into the industry.

“You know there are external rewards, but if you can tap into the intrinsic rewards and really get these guys to believe in passion, believe in what we’re doing, explain mining and despite what you hear online, and despite some of the negative stigma, you need this, and if you’re passionate about that, you’re contributing, people will buy into that, and you’ll buy loyalty that way,” he said.

Funk has taken a different approach. He’s acknowledged a distinct 10-year gap in the industry because things were so tough in the late 90s and early 2000s, which he outlined with an anecdote about Bre-X. “There are people who joke about Bre-X, and there are people who lived through it, and they’re two completely different,” he said.

His answer to the talent gap is to pair seasoned technical people, who know their field well but have little interest in running a company, with younger, ambitious staff who aim to move into management.

“I’ve repeatedly tried to do that, where you’ve got that experienced, weathered hand who can give you enough rope but not enough to hang yourself, with someone who’s prepared to run hard,” Funk said.

Success builds its own rewards

Part of overcoming challenges like finding and retaining talent, raising capital, and setting new deals is reputation. The Beattys, Lassondes and Lundins built a reputation for hard work and success and that proven track record attracts investors, but they didn’t get there overnight.

Funk, Alkhafaji and Bell recognize the role their own success has played in building their track records in the industry, and how it has contributed to improving outcomes for them and their companies.

“We were private for sort of three and a half years before we went public, and part of that was establishing a track record sufficient that when we actually came to market we could look back and say, hey, here are some deals we did. This is what we said at the time, and this is how it was delivered, and that made it an awful lot easier for us when we came to marketing to raise some money,” Bell said.

Elemental's first deal was just under US$2 million, and it had to give half of it away to a partner to close it. Since then, it has syndicated about US$200 million of deals with private equity funds, Franco-Nevada and another royalty company. Bell said the company is now large enough to keep the full economics of its deals, funding them itself or raising the capital if needed.

From Bell’s perspective, the track record they’ve built has allowed the company to grow to a point where they're confident they don’t have to rely on outside partners. Theycompleting its convertible note in 2025, whichdeals ranging from US$10 million to the US$290 million in cash and shares, needed to acquire the Orion assets.

Alkhafaji credited First Majestic's reputation for its ability to complete its convertible note in 2025 that raised US$350 million.

“It comes down to two things: reputation, right? So we’ve been consistent. The market is aware of our performance. We’ve done a convertible in the past, and the other one is that, when it comes to convertibles, investors are looking for liquidity, and First Majestic is one of the most liquid stocks in the space,” he said.

He noted that the company has an investor base of around 85,000 shareholders that trade in the range of US$250 million to US$500 million every day. Alkhafaji says that everyone can raise money, but it is important to keep investors engaged and remind them of the company’s story and vision. Part of the process is being prepared, having the company do its due diligence, and knowing when the window to the market is open.

“People are looking for liquidity, and that helps, you improve your coupon, and the other side improves your premium on the stock,” he said.

For Funk, a demonstrated track record was key to moving beyond the reputation of being an exploration company.

“So we had exploration success and though, geez, I don’t want to do this for another down cycle where no one wants to talk to you. Everything’s tough, and so I had this view that well, let’s build a proper company that in weak times you can deploy capital and you can take advantage of that part of the cycle,” he said.

That meant big goals and looking to the majors and how they built themselves up over a number of decades through the steady acquisition of projects.

“Our goal at the end of the decade is 500,000 ounces, but we’d love to own four or five mines that are tier one gold mines that have a lot of upside potential,” Funk said.

However, his biggest goal was tois key in the mining on for good work. “We all know those companies’ names, and they carry a lot of weight in our industry,” he added.

What should investors watch?

The panel reinforced the idea that leadership knowledge at a mining company is key in the industry.

Investors should look for technical or operational experience beyond capital raises. They should look at how the company handled a downturn and for signs that therience can drive better deals.

Most mining companies aren’t built to last, and while strong commodity prices underpin success today, a downturn can easily spell disaster for a leadership team without the experience to prepare for it.