Management

Areli Nogueira da Silva Júnior has served as our director since 2019. Mr. da Silva Júnior has been a consultant to us since 2018 and became our Vice-President, Mineral Exploration, in 2021. He is the Founder and was the Chief Technical Officer of MineXplore, a consultancy focused on mineral rights in Brazil. Mr. da Silva Júnior has been a consultant geologist with GeoEspinhaço, a firm that undertakes geological studies in a variety of minerals across Brazil. Mr. da Silva Júnior has also been a college faculty member teaching geology. Previously, he worked at the Brazilian mining department and before that as a geologist at Usiminas Mineração. Mr. da Silva Júnior has a Master of Geology degree from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, and an undergraduate degree in Geological Engineering from the School of Mines of the Federal University of Ouro Preto, a premier and the oldest mining-focused college in Brazil. Mr. da Silva has been officer and consultant to Atlas Lithium and Apollo Resources.

Marc Fogassa is our Founder and has been our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer since July 2016. He has lengthy experience in executive management for mining projects, as well as in venture capital and capital markets, and has served on boards of directors of multiple private companies. Mr. Fogassa double majored at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.I.T.), graduating with two Bachelor of Science degrees in 1990. He later graduated from the Harvard Medical School with a Doctor of Medicine degree in 1995, and also from the Harvard Business School with a Master in Business Administration degree in 1999. Mr. Fogassa was born in Brazil and is fluent in Portuguese and English. Mr. Fogassa is also the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Atlas Lithium Corporation (“Atlas Lithium”), a related party.

Rodrigo Menck was appointed our Chief Financial Officer in September 2024. Mr. Menck is currently a director of Atlas Lithium, a related party. Since September 2023 he has been an advisor to Atlas Lithium covering a range of topics, including operational readiness and interface with institutional investors. Previously, from January 2023 to July 2023, Mr. Menck was the Chief Financial Officer of Sigma Lithium Corp., a Canadian publicly listed company (“Sigma”). Between February 2019 and July 2022, Mr. Menck held the position of Senior Vice President of Finance & Group CFO at Nexa Resources SA, a NYSE and TSX listed company, controlled by the traditional Brazilian group Votorantim. From April 2016 to January 2019, he was the Global Treasurer at Nexa Resources. From January 2011 to March 2016, Mr. Menck was an Investment Director at the Odebrecht group in Brazil. From May 2008 to January 2011 Mr. Menck held positions at Braskem SA, a large Brazilian petrochemical company. From January 1996 to May 2008, Mr. Menck had a 12-year career in several Brazilian and international banks based in Brazil, such as BankBoston, Banco Francês e Brasileiro, WestLB, Citibank and BNP Paribas, holding several different positions such as Trader, Trade Finance Manager, Securitization Officer, Product Manager, DCM & Export Finance Structurer and Relationship Manager, while covering a variety of clients in a diverse range of segments in Brazil. Mr. Menck has a degree in Business Administration, and an MBA in Economics of the Financial Sector, both from the University of São Paulo in Brazil. Mr. Menck is fluent in Portuguese, English and Spanish and is a Certified CFO by the Brazilian Institute of Financial Executives in Brazil.

Brian W. Bernier has been a consultant to us since 2019 and became our Vice-President, Corporate Development and Investor Relations in 2020. Mr. Bernier has worked in the business development and investor relations sector for over three decades and was most recently at a regional investment bank. He graduated with a degree in Management from Boston University. Mr. Bernier has been an officer and consultant to Atlas Lithium and Apollo Resources.

Mário Goulart was appointed General Manager of Administration and Operations at Atlas Critical Minerals in August 2024, where he oversees administrative services, procurement, logistics, contract management, and develops partnerships for the iron ore project. Previously, he served as a Land Management Consultant at Lundin Mining (February 2023-August 2024), leading IFC PS5 compliance and resettlement planning at the Chapada Mine, and as Administrative Manager at Horizonte Minerals, supporting the Araguaia Project implementation and Vermelho Project development. His career includes roles as Supply Chain Director at Vogel Telecom (2020-2021) and thirteen years (2007-2020) in leadership positions at Ferrous Resources (later acquired by Vale), managing shared services, land administration, security operations, and general administration. Earlier, he worked at Samsul Mineração and Construtora Oliveira Barbosa, and holds a Civil Production Engineering degree from CEFET-MG, complemented by executive education in project management, FEL methodology, and contingency planning.