Vista Gold Corp. (NYSE American and TSX: VGZ) (“Vista” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce several key appointments as part of its ongoing program to strengthen the Company’s project development capability and corporate presence in Australia. The following individuals have been appointed and recently commenced employment.
- Jeff Dang – Executive General Manager – Projects and Technical Services
- Sharon Goddard – Executive General Manager – External Relations and Social Performance
- Francis Atta Kuranchie – Approvals Manager
Frederick H. Earnest, President and CEO of Vista, commented, “We are pleased to welcome Jeff Dang, Sharon Goddard and Francis Kuranchie to the Vista team. Their individual experience and talents complement those of our Mt Todd project team as we aggressively seek to position the Mt Todd project for the start of detailed engineering and design in early 2027. These appointments mark the start of the transition of project leadership from the corporate office in Denver, Colorado to Australia. As the project advances, Vista envisions having a small, highly effective executive team in Perth, Western Australia and a larger operational team based in the Northern Territory. Mr. Dang and Ms. Goddard will be based in Perth, and Dr. Kuranchie will be based in Darwin where he can more closely interact with Northern Territory regulatory agencies.”
More comprehensive information about our newest team members and their individual experience follows.
Jeff Dang
Mr. Dang is a mining engineer with more than 18 years of operational, technical, and leadership experience, primarily in gold, spanning underground and large-scale open pit operations in Africa, Western Australia, and South America. His diverse expertise includes mine management and optimization, project and mine development, project evaluation and studies, and corporate development, including strategic planning and mergers and acquisitions.
Prior to joining Vista, Mr. Dang was General Manager, Projects and Technical for Gold Road Resources Limited in Western Australia. He also held senior management positions with Bellevue Gold and Anglogold Ashanti. Mr. Dang is a Qualified Person as defined by Item 1300 of Regulation S-K under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and Canadian National Instrument 43-101 – Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. He holds a Bachelor of Mining Engineering (Honors) from the Western Australian School of Mines in Kalgoorlie and is a member of the Australian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (AusIMM).
Sharon Goddard
Ms. Goddard is an accomplished leader with more than 20 years of experience in the mining sector, specializing in social performance, ESG, organizational growth and transformation, corporate affairs, and stakeholder engagement. She brings a proven track record of developing and executing strategies that secure and maintain social license to operate, strengthen investor and community confidence, and deliver measurable sustainability outcomes. Her experience includes extensive engagement with Indigenous groups, regulators, and industry bodies while supporting corporate growth and strong governance.
Ms. Goddard was most recently General Manager, Social Performance and External Relations for Gold Road Resources Limited. Ms. Goddard has an MBA from Curtin University Western Australia, a Financial Markets Diploma from the Financial Services Institute of Australasia and is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Francis Atta Kuranchie
Dr. Kuranchie is a senior environmental engineer and leader with over 20 years of experience across open pit and underground mining operations, including gold, copper, iron ore, zinc, and coal. He has held senior health, safety and environmental roles across multiple Australian jurisdictions, leading environmental approvals, regulatory compliance, rehabilitation, and stakeholder engagement for both operating sites and projects in development.
Previously, Dr. Kuranchie held environmental managerial positions at the Carosue Dam Operations in Western Australia, the Millennium Coal Mine in Queensland, and the Pajingo Gold Mine in Queensland. Dr. Kuranchie holds a PhD in Environmental Engineering from Edith Cowan University in Perth, Australia; a Master of Science degree in Environmental Engineering from Linköping University in Sweden; and a Bachelor of Science degree in Metallurgical Engineering from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Kumasi, Ghana. He is also a Registered Professional Engineer of Queensland (RPEQ) and also holds a Fellow membership of the Engineers Australia.
