TORONTO, Feb. 25, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- G&W Incorporated (“G&W” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce that it has partnered with Miller Thomson LLP (“Miller Thomson”) to hold its inaugural Rare-Earth Elements and Critical-Materials Supply Chains seminar. The event will be held on Tuesday, March 3, 2020 at 1:00pm at Miller Thomson’s Toronto headquarters, located at 40 King Street West on the 58th floor. There is no cost to attend the event.
Rare-earth elements industry veteran and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Neo Performance Materials Inc. (TSX:NEO), Constantine E. Karayannopoulos, will deliver the keynote address.
Mr. Karayannopoulos started the rare-earths phase of his career in 1994 with Advanced Material Resources ("AMR") in Toronto, rising to become Chief Operating Officer. In 2005, following AMR’s acquisition of Magnequench, he became CEO of the combined company, renamed Neo Material Technologies.
In June 2012, Neo was acquired by Molycorp and Mr. Karayannopoulos joined the Molycorp board as Vice Chairman. He became interim CEO of Molycorp in December 2012 and Chairman in December 2013. While Neo stayed profitable and cash-flow positive, Molycorp filed for bankruptcy protection in 2015. Following Molycorp’s restructuring, Neo emerged under new ownership as Neo Performance Materials and Mr. Karayannopoulos was named Chairman in September 2016. Neo has since returned to being a public company with a listing on the TSX.
Mr. Karayannopoulos is also co-founder and Chairman of Neo Lithium Corp, a company developing a Lithium brine deposit and processing plant in Argentina.
Mr. Karayannopoulos is a Director of the Canada China Business Council, a member of the Advisory Board at the University of Toronto’s Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, and a member of a number of other Advisory Boards. He holds Bachelor and Master of Applied Science degrees in Chemical Engineering from the University of Toronto.
Other confirmed speakers for the event include representatives from:
- Innovation Metals Corp.
- Kingston Process Metallurgy Inc.
- Jack Lifton LLC
- M.Plan International Limited
- Stormcrow Capital Ltd.
- Ucore Rare Metals Inc. (TSXV:UCU)
- Search Minerals Inc. (TSXV:SMY)
- Plato Gold Corp. (TSXV:PGC)
- Imperial Mining Group Ltd. (TSXV:IPG)
- Royal Helium Ltd. (TSXV:RHC)
- G&W Incorporated
G&W’s Founder and Chairman, Ann Pamplin stated, “Most people are totally unaware of how much they depend on the 17 rare earths in their daily lives. Countless high-tech and defense applications rely on these critical rare earths inputs. With the heightened global focus on the critical REE supply chains outside of China, since May of 2019, we felt compelled to broaden the focus of our critical materials seminar series with Miller Thomson to include REEs. Mr. Karayannopoulos is an indisputable thought leader within the REE sector, and we welcome the opportunity to host him as our keynote speaker for this important independent event, to hear his unique perspective. He joins a roster of other highly knowledgeable speakers drawn from various nodes within the REE and critical-materials supply chain.
“The timing for this REE event could not be more relevant,” Ms. Pamplin added. “The lack of US-based downstream REE production capacity presents a serious vulnerability to US national security and the security of its allies, as REEs are critical for defense technologies and economic growth plans. REEs are also vital non-substitutable components of renewable-energy supply chains, critical to meeting the US and Canada’s future economic, energy and environmental goals. Without downstream capacity to process REEs into compounds, metals and alloys, North America is unprepared for potential supply disruptions, price spikes and trade disagreements related to REEs.”
The event will be chaired by G&W’s Managing Director, Ty Dinwoodie, and Miller Thomson Partner and Head of Mining, Geoff Clarke, and will held under the Chatham House Rule. No recording of presenters will be permitted.
For more information or to register, please click here or telephone +1 416-915-3150.
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About G&W Incorporated
G&W is a strategic advisory, marketing and communications firm based in Toronto. With its extensive global network, G&W’s focus is on the critical-materials and technology sectors — with particular expertise in and passion for the global rare-earth elements (REE) and lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery supply chains.
For more information, please visit www.g-w.ca
About Miller Thomson LLP
Established in 1957, Miller Thomson is one of Canada’s leading full-service national law firms, providing a complete range of business law, advocacy, and personal legal services to Canadian and international corporations, entrepreneurs, institutions, governments and not-for-profits.
Miller Thomson has more than 550 lawyers, deeply rooted in communities across Canada, with 12 strategically placed offices in Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Saskatoon, Regina, London, Kitchener-Waterloo, Guelph, Toronto, Vaughan, Markham and Montréal.
For more information, please visit www.millerthomson.com
Media Relations Contact:
Ms. Emma Jackson
G&W
First Canadian Place
100 King Street West
Suite 5700
Toronto, Ontario M5X 1C7
Canada
+1 416 915 3150
info@g-w.ca
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/1f84ae5f-6795-4021-bcdf-c953480db549