FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE….Vancouver, British Columbia: Wealth Minerals Ltd. (the “Company” or “Wealth”) – (TSXV: WML; OTC: WMLLF; Frankfurt: EJZ), is pleased to announce the appointment of Marcelo A. Awad as Executive Director of Wealth Chile. Marcelo Awad has had a long and distinguished career in the mining industry, including 18 years with Corporación Nacional del Cobre de Chile (“Codelco”), most recently as Executive Vice President, and 16 years with Antofagasta Minerals S.A. (“Antofagasta”), the Mining Division of Antofagasta Plc) including 8 years as CEO from 2004 to 2012, a period of very significant growth for Antofagasta. In the 2011 Harvard Business Review, Mr. Awad was ranked as the number one CEO in Chile, 18th in Latin America and 87th in the world.
“We are honoured to have Marcelo lead our South American Lithium Acquisitions Team.” stated Henk van Alphen, Wealth’s President and CEO, “Marcelo’s expertise and experience in the mining sector will be invaluable to Wealth as it seeks move forward with acquisitions in the Salar de Maricunga and other prospective salars in Chile.”
Marcelo A. Awad – Career Details
Marcelo A. Awad is a Chilean mining executive with a long and distinguished career in the mining sector. Mr. Awad started his career with Codelco, where he worked for 18 years in both Chile and the UK, most recently as Executive Vice President – Copper Trading & Futures. During this time, Mr. Awad was elected as a Director of the London Metals Exchange (LME) from 1990 to 1993.
Following his career at Codelco, Marcelo then spent 16 years with Antofagasta, initially joining as VP of Sales and Marketing in 1996 and serving most recently as Chief Executive Officer from December 2004 to March 2012, when he oversaw a very significant period of growth for Antofagasta.
In 2012, Mr. Awad was appointed President in Chile of the multinational corporation Millenium Energy Industries, a leading global solar solutions provider, which successfully engineered the world’s largest solar heating system (a 25MW system in Saudi Arabia). Later the same year Mr. Awad was appointed as a Director of the Chilean Copper Commission (Cochilco) and the Deutsche Bank in Chile. More recently, in 2013, Mr. Awad was appointed as the Deputy Director of Barrick-Chile, which manages the Pascua Lama project. Mr. Awad provides advice on regulatory issues and government relations in Chile.
Mr. Awad currently serves on the boards of Finning International Inc., the world’s largest Caterpillar dealer, Echeverría Izquierdo S.A., a Chilean engineering and construction company, and AC Perforaciones S.A., a Chilean drilling services company, and on the Advisory Board for the Americas of the Australian consulting company, Partners in Performance. Mr. Awad is also a senior advisor to both Mitsubishi Corporation Investments Chile and Sierra Gorda SCM (a major mine development in the Antofagasta region and a joint venture between KGHM Polska Miedz S.A. and Sumitomo Corporation).
About Wealth Minerals Ltd.
Wealth is a mineral resource company with interests in Canada, Mexico, Peru and Chile. The Company’s main focus is the acquisition of Lithium projects in South America, including interests in the Maricunga Salar in Chile. The Company also maintains a portfolio of precious and base metal exploration-stage projects.
For further details on the Company readers are referred to the Company’s web site (www.wealthminerals.com) and its Canadian regulatory filings on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.
On Behalf of the Board of Directors of
WEALTH MINERALS LTD.
“Hendrik van Alphen”
Hendrik van Alphen
President & CEO
For further information, please contact:
Henk van Alphen or Marla Ritchie
Phone: 604-331-0096
E-mail: info@wealthminerals.com
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release, which has been prepared by management.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information (collectively, “forward-looking statements”) within the meaning of applicable Canadian and US securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein including, without limitation, statements regarding the anticipated content, commencement, timing and cost of exploration programs; anticipated exploration program results; the discovery and delineation of mineral deposits/resources/reserves; the Company’s expectation that it will be able to enter into agreements to acquire interests in additional mineral projects, particularly lithium projects; and the anticipated business plans and timing of future activities of the Company, are forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes that such statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such as: believe, expect, anticipate, intend, estimate, postulate and similar expressions, or are those, which, by their nature, refer to future events. The Company cautions investors that any forward-looking statements by the Company are not guarantees of future results or performance, and that actual results may differ materially from those in forward looking statements as a result of various factors, including, but not limited to, the state of the financial markets for the Company’s equity securities, the state of the commodity markets generally, variations in the nature, quality and quantity of any mineral deposits that may be located, variations in the market price of any mineral products the Company may produce or plan to produce, the inability of the Company to obtain any necessary permits, consents or authorizations required, including TSXV acceptance, for its planned activities, the inability of the Company to produce minerals from its properties successfully or profitably, to continue its projected growth, to raise the necessary capital or to be fully able to implement its business strategies, and other risks and uncertainties disclosed in the Company’s latest interim Management Discussion and Analysis and filed with certain securities commissions in Canada. All of the Company’s Canadian public disclosure filings may be accessed via www.sedar.com and readers are urged to review these materials, including the technical reports filed with respect to the Company’s mineral properties.