Prophecy Appoints Ron Espell as VP, Environmental and Sustainability to Lead Gibellini Vanadium Project’s Permitting
Date: Oct 30, 2018
Prophecy Development Corp. (“Prophecy” or the “Company“) (TSX:PCY, OTCQX:PRPCF,Frankfurt:1P2N) is pleased to announce the appointment of Ron Espell as the Company’s Vice-President, Environmental and Sustainability, effective November 14, 2018, to lead the environmental permitting efforts for the Gibellini vanadium project (“Gibellini“). Mr. Espell will report to Gerald Panneton, the Company’s President and CEO.
Mr. Espell is a highly-regarded specialist in US federal and Nevada state mine permitting, with over 30 years of experience in corporate environmental management, permitting in conformance with applicable regulatory and performance standards, mine waste management, reclamation and closure planning.
Prior to joining Prophecy, Mr. Espell was the Corporate Environmental Director of McEwen Mining Inc. (“McEwen Mining“). Within 18 months from the time he joined McEwen Mining, Mr. Espell led his team to successfully obtain the Gold Bar project’s Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) approval from the Bureau of Land Management (“BLM“) Battle Mountain District office in November 2017. Mr Espell was the chief liaison with federal and Nevada state regulatory agencies for permitting, compliance, and regulatory program development.
Mr. Espell comments: “I am very pleased to join this dynamic Prophecy team to work on the exciting Gibellini vanadium project. I am confident of the project’s merits and Prophecy has already established very good project permit ground work which I will continue on and collaborate closely with federal and state permitting agencies, local communities and all stake holders to make Gibellini the first primary vanadium mine in the US.”
Gerald Panneton, Prophecy’s President and CEO comments: “Ron has demonstrated his ability to deliver EIS in Nevada on time and under budget. He is an outstanding team leader with creative problem solving skills and he pays meticulous attention to detail. His deep knowledge of environmental assessments and permitting, and his well-liked persona makes him a great pleasure to work with. Ron is an excellent addition to our Prophecy team.”
The Gold Bar project is in Eureka County, Nevada, approximately 40 miles northwest from the Company’s Gibellini vanadium project. Both projects are overseen by the BLM Battle Mountain District office and share many similarities in terms of mining and recovery method, capital expenditure and throughput.
Prior to his time with McEwen Mining, Mr. Espell was a Principal Consultant at SRK Consulting and Vice President Environment for Gibellini’s prior operator, where he lead efforts in the preparation of Gibellini’s baseline studies and Plan of Operation.
