Executive Team

Dean Journeaux

Mr. Journeaux became President & CEO of NML on July 1, 2011, and continues as a Director. He most recently was Chief Operating Officer, a post he held since 2008 and he was involved in the company from its inception in 2003. Mr. Journeaux has over four decades of experience in the mining industry. He has held various engineering, operations and management positions with Quebec Cartier Mining Company, and MET-CHEM Canada Inc. At the time, both were US Steel subsidiaries.

Beginning in 1999, as an independent consultant, Mr. Journeaux worked on various international projects in Egypt as Project Director with USS Engineers and Consultants Inc. for a proposed iron ore mine and steel plant and later in India as Project Director for the proposed Utkal Alumina International Limited bauxite mine and alumina refinery.

In 2002, Mr. Journeaux, along with other partners, formed the LabMag Mining Corp., with Mr. Journeaux acting as Director and Study Manager for the appraisal of an iron ore mine, concentrator, pipeline, pellet plant and port in Labrador. In 2003 this project led to the establishment of NML

Mr. Journeaux received a Bachelor of Engineering (Mining) from McGill University of Montreal, Quebec in 1960. He is a Member of the Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec (retired category), a Member of the Association of Iron and Steel Engineers, and a Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum.

Bish Chanda

Mr. Chanda is Senior Vice President of Marketing and Strategy of NML, and has been with the company since its inception in 2004. He has over 40 years' experience, with over 35 years of experience in iron ore. He worked for 25 years with the Iron Ore Company of Canada, where he occupied various technical and senior management positions in engineering and process and quality improvements. In 1997, Mr. Chanda became an independent consultant and was involved internationally in the iron ore development field.

Mr. Chanda's responsibilities include strategic planning and special activities related to investor relations. On the strategic front Mr. Chanda monitors the development of the iron ore market and NML's competitive position in that market. He advises on critical issues and assists in the development of the company's long term strategies. He is also involved in the development of iron ore processes to ensure that product quality would meet market requirements.

Mr. Chanda received his Bachelor of Technology in Civil Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur in 1962. He is a member of both the Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec and Professional Engineers Ontario.

Moulaye Melainine

Senior Vice President of Development since January, 2010, Mr. Melainine has been with NML since November, 2005, as Project Evaluation Manager and Vice President, Development. Mr. Melainine has over 31 years of experience working in the iron ore sector in operations, planning, and management. From 1979 to 1987, he was the Head of the Mining Division and later Corporate Comptroller of Société nationale industrielle et minière (SNIM), the Mauritanian state-owned iron ore producer. Mr. Melainine then worked for ten years on numerous international projects as a staff member of Met-Chem, the Montreal-based steel, iron ore, mining and minerals consulting company. From 2000 to 2005, prior to joining NML, Mr. Melainine served as Regional Vice-President of Tecsult International Inc., an engineering consulting company based in Montreal.
Mr. Melainine received his degree in Mining Engineering in 1977 from Ecole Polytechnique in Montreal and his Masters in Mineral Industry Economics in 1979 from McGill University in Montreal.

Paul Wilkinson

Dr. Wilkinson was the Coordinator of Environmental and Social Affairs for NML between 2005 and the time of his appointment as Vice-President, in 2010. He worked as an environmental consultant in Canada, predominantly in the Schefferville area, and internationally, for over 35 years, before joining NML.
The President of Paul F. Wilkinson & Associates Inc. which specializes in the environmental and social sciences, with particular reference to Aboriginal issues and environmental impact assessment, Dr. Wilkinson has held many directorial positions over the last several decades, including the position of Associate Director (Research) of McGill University's Centre of Northern Studies and Research in the early 1980s.
Dr. Wilkinson's responsibility involves coordinating the collection and analysis of baseline data for the preparation of Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA), conducting the socio-economic impact assessment, liaising with the responsible governments, and overseeing the approval of the EIS. Dr. Wilkinson is also involved in negotiating IBAs with the potentially-affected First Nations and other aspects of NML's public information programme.
Dr. Wilkinson holds a doctorate in Archaeology and Anthropology from Cambridge University.

Mark Freedman

Mr. Mark Freedman, CPA, CA, was appointed Chief Financial Officer of New Millennium Iron Corp. in 2011 and had been acting as Interim Chief Financial Officer of NML since 2008. He was responsible for supervision of NML's financial and accounting department since NML's inception. Since 2001 he is a partner of the Montreal based accounting firm Roll Harris & Associés.
He obtained his graduate diploma in Public Accountancy from McGill University, Montreal in 1993 and has been a member of the Ordre des comptables agréés du Québec since 1994.

Ernest Dempsey

Mr. Dempsey joined the NML team in 2011 as Vice President of Investor Relations and Corporate Affairs, bringing more than 35 years of international experience in all commercial aspects of the iron ore industry.
He most recently served as Vice-President of Sales and Marketing for Mitsubishi Development Pty. Ltd.'s Crosslands Resources Ltd. iron ore joint venture in Perth, Western Australia. He held the same position at Iron Ore Company of Canada (IOC) from 1997 to 2004, and subsequently represented Rio Tinto's iron ore businesses in Europe. Earlier in his career, Mr. Dempsey was with US-based mining companies Cleveland Cliffs Inc. (now Cliffs Natural Resources Inc.) and Pickands Mather & Co., where his roles included commercial responsibilities in Canadian iron ore.
Mr. Dempsey received a Bachelor of Arts in History and French (dual major) from the University of Virginia in 1973 and an MBA degree from John Carroll University, Cleveland, Ohio in 1983.

Cathy Dornan

Cathy Dornan is Vice President, Communications, a position she has held since September, 2011. She is based at the company's office in St. John's, Newfoundland. Ms. Dornan brings more than 20 years of experience in the communications business working primarily in the resource sectors of mining, and oil and gas.

For the past 18 months, Cathy has been the Principal of Cathy Dornan Public Affairs Inc. She has spent 16 years with Bristol Communications Inc. and was Vice President at its St. John's office. She has honed her skills in issues management, strategic communications planning, media relations, crisis communications and emergency response. Working with companies such as Chevron Canada Resources, Cougar Helicopters, Iron Ore Company of Canada, Vale INCO, Newfoundland Transhipment Limited, etc., Cathy has guided her clients towards successful communications solutions to help them reach their business goals. She worked as Director of Communications for the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador from 1996-98.

Ms. Dornan received her Bachelor of Arts in French and Political Science from Memorial University in St. John's and a Bachelor of Public Relations from Mount Saint Vincent University.

Rock Gagnon

Since October 2012, Mr. Gagnon is Vice President, Process and Plant Engineering, with responsibility for maximizing the technical potential for the economic performance of our resources and projects. He brings 19 years of experience in design and operation of mineral processing plant and in process design for ferrous, base and precious metals.

Since 2005, Mr. Gagnon has worked as an independent consultant, assisting New Millennium Iron Corp., Tata Steel Minerals Canada Limited and some engineering firms in different project developments, mainly in iron ore processing, including process improvement reviews for Tata Steel and Kudremukh Iron Ore Company.

Earlier in his career, Mr. Gagnon worked for COREM in Quebec City as a researcher where he mainly focused on improving comminution technologies. Prior to this, he worked for Met-Chem Canada as principal metallurgist and participated in many projects and studies in Canada and worldwide. He spent three years at the Troilus Division, Chibougamau, of Inmet Mining Corporation, during the final phase of construction, startup, debottlenecking, process improvements and plant expansion. His mining experience in cold weather is very important.

Mr. Gagnon holds a BA in mining engineering from the Laval University in Quebec, and is a member of the Quebec Order of Engineers. He will be based at NML’s corporate office in Montréal, Canada.

Stephen Fontanals

Mr. Fontanals joined the NML team as Director of Operations Research in December 2011. He brings over 25 years of financial experience working for Quebec Aboriginal groups and Mining organizations.

Mr. Fontanals worked from 1990 to 1995 as Coordinator of Financial Services for the Cree School Board, and from 1995 to 1998 as Financial Director for the Ouje-Bougoumou Band and Eenou Economic Development Corporation. This experience is important for NML’s relations with the First Nations.

For the past 14 years, he has worked for Wabush Mines, as a member of the senior management team, where he served as Financial Controller for the 6 million tonnes per year iron ore mine, concentrator, pellet plant, transportation, port terminal and shiploading operation. During his tenure at Wabush Mines, Mr. Fontanals represented Wabush as a member of the Board of Directors for the Twin Falls Energy Company near Churchill Falls.

Mr. Fontanals adds recent mine operations experience to NML’s strong iron ore team.
He received his Bachelor of Commerce degree from Concordia University in Montreal.

Thiagarajan Balakrishnan

Mr. Thiagarajan (BK) Balakrishnan is NML's Chief Geologist, a position he has held since joining the team in 2004. He has over 40 years of experience in exploration, development, and mining geology in Canada.
From 1993 to 2004, Mr. Balakrishnan worked as a mining geology consultant for IOCC in Labrador City, Newfoundland and Labrador. From 1973 he worked as a geologist for IOCC in both their operations in Schefferville, Quebec and their operations in Labrador City. He is intimately familiar with geology and mine operations in both areas.
Mr. Balakrishnan graduated with Masters of Science in Geology from the University of Madras, India in 1960.