MINING PEOPLE IN THE NEWS: Alexis Minerals, Lithium One, Pretium, Silver Wheaton and Stellar Pacific

Toronto-based Alexis Minerals Corp. has named Gerald J. Thornton, Jr., to the newly created position of VP Manitoba operations. He was formerly the general manager of operations and development for the Inkai joint venture that belongs to Cameco and the Kazakhstan government.

Paul Matysek is the new CEO of Vancouver-based Lithium One. He is both a geochemist and geologist, and was formerly the CEO of Potash One before it was taken over by K+S Ag.

Pretium Resources of Vancouver, has named industry veteran Ian I. Chang its new VP project development. His project experience includes Vale's Long Harbour refinery, the Meadowbank gold mine the Musselwhite gold mill, the zinc autoclave at Flin Flon, column flotation at Campbell Red Lake and more.

Randy Smallwood has succeeded Peter Barns as CEO of Vancouver's Silver Wheaton. Smallwood is also the company's president and the holder of a geological engineering degree from the University of British Columbia.

Stellar Pacific Ventures of Montreal has named Mackenzie (Mac) Watson to its advisory board. He was the PDAC's Prospector of the Year in 1991 for his participation in the discovery of the Harker Holloway gold mine. Other discoveries he was associated with are the Icon-Sullivan copper mine, the Long Lake zinc mine, the Ellison gold deposit and the Hebecourt copper deposit. Watson was also named the Quebec Prospector of the Year for his participation in the discovery of the Pusticamica and Verneuil gold deposits in Quebec.