HDI President & CEO Named Business Person of the Year

VANCOUVER, Nov. 23, 2011 /PRNewswire/ - Hunter Dickinson Inc. (HDI) is proud to announce that Ron Thiessen, President & CEO of HDI, has been named Business Person of the Year by the Canada-Southern Africa Chamber of Business. The award, presented at a gala dinner on November 9, 2011, recognizes an individual resident in Canada who has contributed significantly to business development between Canada and Southern Africa.

Mr. Thiessen has been a leading figure for Canadian mining investment and mine development in South Africa. Through the efforts of Mr. Thiessen and his colleagues at HDI, the new Burnstone gold mine in the Eastern Rand was acquired, financed and brought to production by Great Basin Gold Ltd.; Rockwell Diamonds Inc. was acquired, financed, and re-structured, and the company has recently expanded its diamond production in the Kimberley area; and Anooraq Resources Corporation, recently renamed Atlatsa Resources Corporation, was established as a Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) company and became a producer through the acquisition of the Bokoni platinum deposit from Angloplats.

He was instrumental in bringing Canada-originated business structures to South Africa, which were used in innovative acquisitions of resources in South Africa including gold, platinum group minerals and diamonds. The development and re-development of mines has brought investment, technology, high levels of employment and new sources of revenue to South Africa. Notably, he led the team that devised and innovatively brought Canadian corporate finance to BEE by bringing the first empowerment corporation (Pelawan Investments) to the Canadian and North American public markets, enabling it to finance and acquire 51% ownership (well in excess of the minimum 26% ownership required by law) in platinum projects in the Bushveld. These investments include the Bokoni mine complex as well as the Ga-Phasha and Boikgantsho development projects, through which Anooraq now controls the third largest platinum metals resource in the world.

Mr. Thiessen has been recognized with a number of awards by industry and business for his exceptional contributions to the international and Canadian minerals industry. He was awarded the EA Scholz Award for excellence in mine development from the Association for Mineral Exploration British Columbia in 2008. Other achievements include being presented, alongside fellow members of the HDI team, with the Thayer Lindsley International Award for the Pebble East deposit discovery from the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada in 2007 and the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year® 2004 Pacific award. Mr. Thiessen and the HDI team have completed in excess of 20 project acquisitions, raised over $1.4 billion in equity financings, and built an impressive portfolio of advanced mineral exploration, development and mining projects in locations around the world.

About Hunter Dickinson Inc.

Hunter Dickinson Inc. (HDI) is a diversified, global mining group with more than 25 years of mineral development success. From its head office in Vancouver, Canada, HDI applies its unique strengths and capabilities to acquire, develop, operate and monetize mineral properties that provide consistently superior returns to shareholders.

SOURCE Hunter Dickinson Services Inc.