Managing Director
Appointed: 20 October 2023
Mr Parsons has over 20 years’ experience in the mining industry with a proven track record of mineral discoveries, company growth, international investor relations and creating shareholder wealth.
Mr Parsons is the founding Managing Director of FireFly Metals and was instrumental in the successful acquisition of the Green Bay Copper–Gold Project in Newfoundland, Canada
Mr Parsons previously served as founding Managing Director of ASX200 Bellevue Gold Limited (ASX: BGL) leading the business through discovery, funding, development and construction of the 3 million oz Bellevue gold mine in Western Australia.
Prior to that Mr Parsons was the founding Managing Director of Gryphon Minerals Ltd, which discovered a large multi-million ounce gold project in Burkina Faso, West Africa and grew to be an ASX200 company prior to its takeover by a significant North American gold company.
Mr Parsons has an honours degree in Geology and is a member of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy.
Executive Director
Appointed: 20 October 2023
Mr Naylor has over 25 years’ experience in corporate advisory and public company management since commencing his career and qualifying as a chartered accountant with Ernst & Young. Michael has been involved in the financial management of mineral and resources focused public companies, serving on the board and on the executive management team, focusing on advancing and developing mineral resource assets and business development.
Mr Naylor has worked in Australia and Canada and has extensive experience in financial reporting, capital raisings, debt financings and treasury management of resource companies.
Mr Naylor is the founding Executive Director of FireFly Metals and was instrumental in the successful acquisition of the Green Bay Copper-Gold Project in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Mr Naylor previously served as founding Executive Director of ASX-200 Bellevue Gold Limited (ASX: BGL) leading the business through discovery, funding, development and construction of the 3 million oz Bellevue Gold Mine in Western Australia. Mr Naylor was Non-Executive Director of Bellevue Gold Limited between March 2022 and January 2026.
Mr Naylor holds a Bachelor of Commerce Degree
Chief Executive Officer
BAppSc (Geology) (Hons)
Appointed: 6 June 2022
Mr Cooke is a geologist with 26 years’ experience having previously held senior positions in global majors including Barrick Gold, Newmont and Northern Star Resources.
Mr Cooke has had extensive gold industry experience in Australia and North America spanning regional and near mine exploration, operational geology, long-term planning and corporate development. He has a strong track record of discovery and delivering Resource growth during his time working at world-class deposits such as the Golden Mile Kalgoorlie (KCGM), Callie (Newmont), Kundana, Kanowna Belle (Northern Star / Barrick) and the Pogo deposit in Alaska (Northern Star).
Mr Cooke spent 6 years as part of the Business Development team at Northern Star Resources that completed significant M&A transactions that have seen the company transform from a junior into a global gold company. Mr Cooke joined FireFly in February 2021 as Chief Operating Officer and was appointed Chief Executive Officer on 6 June 2022.
Executive General Manager, People & Culture
Daina has over 20 years of experience in the mining sector within Human Resources. She is a seasoned HR specialist who has supported multiple mining organisations through the full project lifecycle, from development to production.
Daina is dedicated to fostering positive, high-performing work environments and brings strong expertise in strategic workforce management, as well as in building organisational cultures aligned with business objectives.
Chief Corporate Development Officer
Appointed: May 2025
Ms Liu-Ernsting is an accomplished executive and professional engineer with 20 years of experience in the natural resources industry. She was previously Vice President, Investor Relations & Communications of TSX Venture 50™ and OTCQX Best 50 company, G Mining Ventures Corp. (TSX:GMIN), where she was part of the leadership team responsible for a share price increase of 600%, taking the market capitalisation to C$4.7B.
Ms Liu-Ernsting was responsible for establishing and delivering GMIN’s inaugural investor relations program to increase investor awareness and engagement. She was involved in GMIN securing the US$481M Tocantinzinho project construction financing package consisting of gold stream, equity, debt and equipment financing in the tough market environment of 2022, and GMIN’s shareholder approved C$875M merger with Reunion Gold in 2024.
Prior to joining GMIN, Ms Liu-Ernsting led a junior mining company as its inaugural VP of Corporate Development and Investor Relations to achieve 14x share price accretion and raised $33M over that company’s first 12 months, during the COVID-19 crisis. Before that, she guided a public mining company to achieve settlement on a disputed proxy. Previously, as investment manager at Resource Capital Funds, Ms. Liu-Ernsting sourced, evaluated, structured and managed a portfolio of natural resources investments. Ms. LiuErnsting started her career with two of the preeminent Canadian engineering firms conducting backfill, mine, mill and mining innovation capital projects.
Ms Liu-Ernsting first joined FireFly in March 2024 as Non-Executive Director before transitioning to Chief Corporate Development Officer in May 2025.
Chief Financial Officer
BCom CPA
Appointed: 29 April 2024
Ms Sun is a strategic CFO with over 15 years’ experience in stewarding business growth and overseeing accounting, corporate finance and financial management functions in the resources industry. Before joining FireFly Metals, Ms Sun was CFO for the former ASX listed nickel producer Mincor Resources NL, a position she held for 7 years until the company was taken over by Wyloo Consolidated Investments Pty Ltd in 2023.
Ms Sun was an instrumental part of the Mincor leadership team that saw the company’s successful return to the ranks of Australian nickel producers. She was involved in offtake agreement negotiations, feasibility studies, project development, mergers and acquisitions, and capital raisings, and managed the company’s financing activities. Prior to this, Ms Sun held several senior roles at Mincor, where she built the finance function and developed the financial systems and processes, with a focus on control and process improvements.
Ms Sun holds a Bachelor of Commerce from Curtin University and is a member of the CPA Australia and the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
General Counsel & Company Secretary
Appointed: 15 January 2025
Ms Noonan-Crowe is a lawyer with 18 years’ experience in the resources industry. From June 2023 until its merger with Westgold Resources Limited in August 2024, Ms Noonan-Crowe was the General Counsel and Company Secretary, Australia for TSX-listed gold mining company, Karora Resources Inc., which owned producing assets in Western Australia. In this role, Ms NoonanCrowe established the legal function in Australia and managed Environment, Social and Governance reporting and initiatives.
Ms Noonan-Crowe previously held senior legal roles at global gold mining majors, Northern Star Resources Limited, where she also served as Company Secretary to Committees of the Board of Directors, and Gold Fields Limited. Ms Noonan-Crowe commenced her career at Minter Ellison Lawyers.
Ms Noonan-Crowe holds a Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Arts from the University of Western Australia, she has been admitted to the Supreme Court of Western Australia, and holds a current practising certificate issued by the Legal Practice Board of Western Australia. Ms Noonan-Crowe is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and a Fellow of the Governance Institute of Australia.
Group Chief Geologist
BSc Geology (Masters), Geostatistics (PgD)
Appointed: 21 June 2022
Mr Gutierrez is a highly experienced geologist with over 16 years’ experience in a diverse range of mining projects globally. He holds a Bachelor of Science, a Master’s degree in geology in addition to a post graduate qualification in geostatistics.
Previously, Mr. Gutierrez spent more than 6 years with Northern Star Resources where he held the position of Geology Superintendent for the Yandal South operations (Bronzewing and Thunderbox). During his time at Northern Star, he was instrumental in the discovery, definition and mining of numerous orebodies at the Jundee operations, including Ramone.
Vice President – Environment & Community
BSc Environmental Science/Anthropology
Appointed: 4 June 2022
Ms LeBlanc is a highly experienced professional with over 25 years of ESG experience in North America, with a proven track record of achieving social & government approvals for companies including TransCanada & Alliance Pipelines, Marathon PGM Corporation, Sibanye-Stillwater & Generation Mining.
Tabatha oversaw the management & delivery of critical environmental approvals & community agreements including successfully obtaining approval for an Environmental Assessment conducted by a Joint Federal-Provincial Review Panel in Ontario.
Tabatha holds extensive experience in integrating ESG into environmental management systems, community outreach and training programs & other business areas.
Vice President - Metallurgy
B.Eng Chemical Engineering (Honours), MAusIMM
Appointed: 03 March 2025
Mr. Dietrich is a highly experienced metallurgist with over 17 years’ experience in a diverse range of mining projects globally, across various engineering, construction, operational, and technical leadership roles. He holds a Bachelor of Engineering in Chemical Engineering.
Previously, Mr. Dietrich spent almost 15 years with Ausenco Engineering, in their Australian, Canadian and USA offices, across several engineering, study management and commissioning roles, most recently as VP of Technical Services, responsible for copper-gold metallurgical technical governance and innovation across all Process Engineers/Study Managers in North America, as well as NI 43-101 delivery.
Additional, Mr. Dietrich spent almost 2 years in a technical-operational role with Iluka Resources, in Western Australia focused on production and product grade control targets, as well as delivering +50 NPV and safety-improving projects.
Vice President - Operations
BSc (Hons) Mining Engineering, MBA, FAusIMM
Gus has held several leadership & executive roles in Africa including COO and Director of AIM listed Bluerock Diamonds where he was instrumental in the feasibility, development and construction of a 1.0Mtpa diamond mine & processing plant.
Gus holds a wealth of experience across a range of commodities including Gold, Platinum, Copper, Nickle, Zinc and Diamonds from his time in senior Executive roles at companies such as: Aquarius Platinum Mines, Vedanta Zinc International and Zimplats Platinum Mines.
Vice President - Human Resources
Over 20 years’ experience in Business Management and HR from previous positions with Tata Steel Minerals Canada and Grey Rock Mining as well as positions with the Governments of NL and of Nunavut.
Bonnie currently sits on the board of Canadian Manufactures and Exporters (CME) in NL, is the current Chairperson of the NL CME HR Committee, and is also on the board of Women in Resource Development for Newfoundland and Labrador.
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