Alaska Energy Metals Appoints Thomas Benson as Independent Director
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Dr. Thomas Benson
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Alaska Energy Metals Corporation (AEMC) has appointed Dr. Thomas Benson as an independent director of the company.
“Dr. Benson has deep technical geological strength and mineral exploration expertise. I welcome the input that he will have as we work together to grow the company,” said Gregory Besicher, president and CEO.
“Exploration in the modern era requires a combination of classic field techniques with fundamental geoscience and machine learning methods, the approach I developed at Thacker Pass and other lithium deposits globally,” said Dr. Thomas Benson.
“I look forward to working with Greg and the team to bring it to Nikolai and overlooked critical mineral belts,” added Dr. Benson.
Dr. Thomas Benson is an internationally recognized lithium exploration leader. As vice president of Global Exploration at Lithium Argentina, and previously in the same role at Lithium Americas, he led exploration and resource development on the Thacker Pass Project (Nevada, USA) — now the largest NI 43-101 compliant lithium resource and reserve in the world — and on the Caucharí-Olaroz and Pozuelos-Pastos Grandes brine systems in Argentina, both of which rank among the largest lithium resources globally and are in production and development, respectively.
Having served as geological advisor to Lithium Africa since 2023 Dr. Benson joined the Lithium Africa board in April 2026, contributing to project identification, acquisition, and exploration strategy across the company’s African portfolio. In June of 2026 Dr. Benson was appointed chief executive officer of Lithium Africa.
Dr. Benson holds a Ph.D. from Stanford University focused on volcanology and lithium systems, and a Bachelor’s degree in geology from Harvard University. He has held research affiliations with MIT, Columbia University, and the Iceland Geological Survey as a Fulbright Scholar, has published in Nature and Science, and in 2025 served as Editor for two special issues of Economic Geology focused on lithium deposits.
Alaska Energy Metals is an Alaska-based corporation with offices in Anchorage and Vancouver working to sustainably deliver the critical materials needed for national security and a bright energy future, while generating superior returns for shareholders. AEMC is focused on delineating and developing the large-scale, bulk tonnage, polymetallic Nikolai Project Eureka deposit containing nickel, copper, cobalt, chromium, iron, platinum, palladium, and gold. Located in interior Alaska near existing transportation and power infrastructure, its flagship project, Nikolai, is well-situated to become a significant domestic source of strategic metals for North America. AEMC also holds a secondary project in western Quebec; the Angliers - Belleterre project. Today, material sourcing demands excellence in environmental performance, technological innovation, carbon mitigation and the responsible management of human and financial capital. AEMC works every day to earn and maintain the respect and confidence of the public and believes that ESG performance is measured by action and led from the top.
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