Rise Gold Appoints David Watkinson as President and CEO
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Rise Gold has appointed David Watkinson as president and CEO of Rise Gold and its subsidiary, Rise Grass Valley.
David Watkinson brings forty years of professional engineering experience in underground and open pit mine development and has held senior positions with Placer Dome, Kinross Gold, Thyssen Mining Construction of Canada, and Vulcan Materials Company. He was also the president and CEO of Emgold Mining, which controlled Rise’s wholly-owned Idaho-Maryland mine (I-M Mine) for approximately 25 years preceding Rise’s purchase of the property.
“David Watkinson brings decades of technical knowledge about the I-M Mine and has kept an office in Nevada County for approximately 20 years, making him known and respected in the local community. The board of directors is confident that Watkinson’s leadership will help unlock the value of the I-M Mine,” said Dan Oliver, chairman of the board of Rise Gold.
The I-M Mine operated nearly-continuously from 1862 to 1957. From December 1955 through 1957, the mine produced tungsten with financial support from the Department of Defense. In 2024, the company filed a writ of mandamus against Nevada County after county’s supervisors failed to recognize Rise’s constitutionally-protected vested right to operate the I-M Mine. The company expects a verdict on the writ in the first quarter of 2026.
Joe Mullin has resigned from the board of directors and as president and chief executive officer in order to pursue a new opportunity.
“Joe Mullin joined the company at a particularly challenging time, as the county was denying approval of the county’s own 40,000-page environmental impact report that reported only three significant impacts from the I-M Mining project: temporary construction noise, traffic at a single interaction already operating above capacity, and visual changes at the project site. He leaves the company with a full treasury and a legal team committed to resisting the county’s attempts to convert Rise’s property for public use without compensation,” said Oliver.
Rise Gold is an exploration-stage mining company incorporated in Nevada. The company’s principal asset is the historic past-producing Idaho-Maryland Gold Mine located in Nevada County, California.
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