Marimaca Copper is home to some of the best exploration geologists in the industry who are behind many well-known Chilean and international discoveries. They are part of a wider technical and commercial team, supported by a strong Board and two private equity backers at the vanguard of mining investment.

Hayden Locke

Chief Executive Officer and Director

Mr. Locke joined Marimaca Copper in July 2020 as its President, assuming the role of CEO and joining the Board of Directors in April 2021. Hayden is a highly experienced mining executive, having spent the latter part of his career developing and leading successful LSE and ASX-listed mining companies. Prior to that he worked in investment banking with J.P. Morgan and mining private equity with Barclays Natural Resource Investments. Since early 2018, Mr. Locke has been Chief Executive Officer of AIM-listed Emmerson Plc (“Emmerson”), a Moroccan focused potash development company, where he remains on the board as a Director.

Prior to this, Hayden was Head of Corporate for ASX-listed gold developer Papillon Resources, which was acquired by B2Gold in late 2014 for US$600 million, and Head of Corporate and Technical Services (Geology, Mining and Processing) with ASX-listed potash developer, Highfield Resources.

Nico Cookson
Nico Cookson

President

Mr. Cookson joined Marimaca in September 2021. Mr. Cookson has significant experience in the mining sector across capital markets, principal investment and advisory. Prior to joining Marimaca he worked in mining-focused private equity at Appian Capital Advisory LLP and in the mining investment banking group at RBC Capital Markets.

Sergio Rivera
Sergio Rivera

Vice President of Exploration

Mr. Sergio Rivera joined Marimaca Copper in November 2011 as VP Exploration, the department for which he took full responsibility in June 2018. A respected Chilean geologist, Sergio has over 30 years’ experience and is credited for his involvement in several significant copper discoveries in Chile. Sergio is a member of the Society of Economic Geologist, the Society of Geology Applied to Mineral Deposits, Instituto de Ingenieros de Minas de Chile, Colegio de Geologos de Chile and Sociedad Geologica de Chile. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Geology and a Master’s degree in Economic Geology from the Universidad Católica del Norte. Sergio is Chilean national, resident in Chile and fluent in English.

Jose Antonio Merino
Jose Antonio Merino

Managing Director, Chile and CFO

Mr. Merino is based in Santiago, Chile and brings over 15 years of international and in-country experience to the Marimaca team. Prior to joining Marimaca, Mr. Merino served as Senior Manager of Business Development and M&A at SQM, the Chilean-based major mining and chemicals company and one of the world’s largest Lithium producers. Mr. Merino is a Civil Engineer by training and has served in various senior roles in the natural resource industry across Project Development, M&A, Corporate Finance and Advisory.

Joshua Watson
Joshua Watson

Project Director

Mr. Watson is an experienced mining and projects executive with more than two decades of project leadership, delivering major capital projects for world-class global mining companies across the Americas, Australia, and Asia. He has held senior leadership roles with Teck Resources, Barrick, Vale, and Rio Tinto, with responsibility for multi-billion-dollar capital portfolios spanning studies, execution, sustaining capital, and operational readiness.

Most recently, Mr. Watson served as Vice President Projects, Studies and Sustaining at Teck Resources, where he was accountable for project studies and sustaining capital programs including multiple strategic Joint Venture projects. Previously, he was Head of Technical and Capital Projects for Barrick’s North American operations, overseeing a multi-billion-dollar project portfolio across processing, energy, metallurgy, tailings, and water management. Earlier in his career Mr. Watson spent four years at Oyu Tolgoi with Rio Tinto, where he held progressively more senior roles, ultimately managing key infrastructure projects and the construction of one of the largest underground materials handling systems globally.

Paola Kovacic
Paola Kovacic

Senior Manager Exploration

Paola Kovacic joined Marimaca Copper as an Exploration Project Geologist in December 2017. Paola is a geologist with 20 years of experience in copper exploration projects. Prior to joining Marimaca Copper, Paola served as an exploration geologist in Codelco where she participated in different discoveries. She also participated with the IMG consulting group where she served as an Operations and Technical Manager. Paola is a member of the Chilean College of Geologist in addition to the Society of Economic Geologists (SEG).

She has a Masters in Economic Geology, with a mention in Mining Exploration from the Universidad Católica del Norte in Chile. Paola Kovacic is a Chilean national and resident.

Hayden Locke

Chief Executive Officer and Director

Mr. Locke joined Marimaca Copper in July 2020 as its President, assuming the role of CEO and joining the Board of Directors in April 2021. Hayden is a highly experienced mining executive, having spent the latter part of his career developing and leading successful LSE and ASX-listed mining companies. Prior to that he worked in investment banking with J.P. Morgan and mining private equity with Barclays Natural Resource Investments. Since early 2018, Mr. Locke has been Chief Executive Officer of AIM-listed Emmerson Plc (“Emmerson”), a Moroccan focused potash development company, where he remains on the board as a Director.

Prior to this, Hayden was Head of Corporate for ASX-listed gold developer Papillon Resources, which was acquired by B2Gold in late 2014 for US$600 million, and Head of Corporate and Technical Services (Geology, Mining and Processing) with ASX-listed potash developer, Highfield Resources.

Giancarlo Bruno Lagomarsino
Giancarlo Bruno Lagomarsino

Independent Chair

Mr. Giancarlo Bruno Lagomarsino is a Non-Executive Director of Marimaca Copper. A Chilean national and mechanical engineer by training, Giancarlo is a seasoned mining professional with 35 years of experience in mine maintenance, safety and management. He began his career at the Los Bronces Mine, then owned by Exxon, in 1988 and over the course of the next 20 years he worked across numerous operations and various roles, finishing with Anglo American as Operations VP of its Colluahuasi Mine and, finally, VP of the Anglo Norte business unit, prior to its sale in 2015.

Giancarlo was a member of the consortium that acquired Anglo Norte and became CEO of the entity, Mantos Copper SA, in June 2015. In that role, Giancarlo was a key member of the team that improved and expanded operations at Mantos Blancos, delivered significant exploration success, and financed and commenced construction of the Mantoverde project, which is expected to commission in late 2023. Most recently, Giancarlo was Senior VP of Capstone Copper in charge of its Chilean operations.

Michael Haworth
Michael Haworth

Director

Mr. Michael (Mike) Haworth joined the Board of Directors of Marimaca Copper in February 2016. He was nominated by Marimaca’s largest shareholder, Greenstone Resources, a specialist mining and metals private equity fund which he co-founded. Mike’s considerable market and corporate finance skills provide the Board with valuable financial, corporate and strategic input. Mike previously worked as a Managing Director at JP Morgan in London where he was Head of Mining and Metals Corporate Finance.

Mike is currently a Director of Excelsior Mining, Northern Vertex, Adventus, Ncondezi Energy and an Alternate Director of Metro Mining and Heron Resources. He qualified as a Chartered Accountant and holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Commerce from the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg. He is a British national and UK resident.
Compensation Committee Chairperson

Tim Petterson
Tim Petterson

Independent Director

Mr. Tim Petterson was appointed as an Independent Director of Marimaca Copper in November 2018. Tim is qualified as a mining engineer, which complemented by a career in investment banking, brings a combination of technical and corporate expertise to the Board.

He is also a founder and Executive Chairman of Minera Cobre, a Canadian private copper exploration company active in Colombia. Prior to relocating to Canada, Tim served as Head of Global Mining Research at both HSBC James Capel and ABN AMRO, having led many high-profile public offerings and financings. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering from, and is an Associate of, the Camborne School of Mines.

Kieran Daly
Kieran Daly

Director

Mr. Daly has over 30 years of experience in the mining industry across executive, strategic, corporate development, commercial and operational roles. He joined Assore in 2018 having previously spent over 10 years in natural resources investment banking at UBS, Macquarie and Investec. Prior to that, Mr. Daly spent 15 years at Anglo American plc’s Coal Division (Anglo Coal) in a number of roles culminating in his appointment as Global Head of Strategy prior to his departure in 2007. Mr. Daly currently serves as a non-executive Director of ASX-/AIM-listed Atlantic Lithium Ltd and JSE-/AIM-listed Gemfields Group Limited. Mr. Daly holds a BSc Mining Engineering from Camborne School of Mines, United Kingdom, and an MBA from Wits Business School, South Africa.

Zenon Wozniak
Zenon Wozniak

Independent Director

Mr. Wozniak is an Independent Non-Executive Director of Marimaca Copper. Zenon is a Qualified Engineer with over 40 years of international experience across the natural resources sector. He has spent the majority of his career at First Quantum Minerals Ltd, one of the world’s leading copper producers, where he served as Director, Projects through to 2026. He was responsible for a global development portfolio, which at times exceeded US$10 billion in value across multiple concurrent projects. As Director, Projects, Mr. Wozniak’s experience includes the construction and delivery of the Cobre Panama copper mine in Panama and the Kansanshi Copper mine in Zambia.

His mining experience spans project design, project engineering, construction, commissioning, project management, and operational leadership across copper, nickel, gold and diamonds, with direct exposure across Australia, Latin America, Europe and Africa. Zenon joined the Board in March 2026, and is the chair of the Project Steering & Technical Committee.