From gold merchant to African prisoner…. to international keynote speaker!

News provided by

Nov 28, 2017, 11:06 ET

NEW YORK, Nov. 28, 2017 /PRNewswire/ - Patrick Gagnon's life has been nothing if not interesting. The Canada born entrepreneur first cut his teeth in show business in Canada and the US in the early 2000s. By 2010 he was one of the biggest show producers in Canada and was well known as the next big thing.

In 2011, Gagnon was forced to sell his show business assets to cover events large loss and he resolved to find change and proceeded to head to Africa to donate his time to humanitarian help. While there he discovered the world of artisanal and small-scale mining.

A quick learner; Gagnon soon rose from his humble beginnings in the gold business sector in West Africa to become one of the biggest gold exporters in Africa. On his journey, he made important contacts around the world who helped him build a business that resulted in the export of over six tons of gold for a value of more than 250 million dollars US.

Imprisoned by authorities in Burkina Faso for seven months; Gagnon was eventually cleared of smuggling charges. Nicknamed "The Wolf of Africa"; he is now partnered with five world-renowned experts in the African mining sector and is one of the keynote speaker in a seminar series hosted by Africa Gold Insider. The seminars will be proudly hosted in forty-five (45) cities across five (5) continents in 2018.

The conferences are limited to 200 attendees per city and focus on four themes:

Buying and selling artisanal gold to the international market.
Mining Coproduction with artisanal miners.
How to set a small alluvial or hard rock mining operation.
How to comply with AML rules as well as to establish the traceability of your gold production.

Keynote speakers(*) & special guest (#):
*Patrick Gagnon (Canada) - Expert in African gold trading and artisanal coproduction deals.
*Laurent Duplat (Belgium) - Expert of gold traceability and AML compliance.
#Dr.Kader Cisse (Burkina Faso) - Former Minister of Mines for Burkina Faso
#Albert Matthews (South Africa) - Engineer and expert in mining in Africa.
#Jean Mantoro (Burkina Faso) - Former director of mine in Burkina Faso