About Us

Mr. Passin is a fund manager at Firebird Management LLC. He joined the firm in 1999. Mr. Passin is the Co-Founder and Manager of Firebird Mongolia Fund, Firebird New Mongolia Fund, Firebird Global Fund, and Firebird Global Fund II and a Principal at FGS Advisors LLC and FG2 Advisors LLC. He is a director of a number of both public and private Mongolian and Canadian companies, including Vanoil Energy Ltd., Sharyn Gol JSC, and BDSec JSC. Mr. Passin is a graduate of St. John’s College, where he majored in Philosophy and Classical Literature. James is a recipient of the Mining Sector 90-Year Anniversary Honorary Medal from the Mongolian government. James was also named “Fund Manager of the Year” at the 2012 Mines and Money Conference in Hong Kong.

Mr. Padgett has extensive experience in all aspects of public company finance and governance. He is a director of a number of international public and private companies. Mr. Padgett previously held executive positions at Canaccord Capital and Burns Fry (BMO Nesbitt Burns).

Ms. Chutter serves as the President and CEO of Global Cobalt Corp, after founding the company in 2007.  Erin has led a multinational and multidisciplinary financial and technical team to develop the Karakul Cobalt Mine Project in Altai, Russia as well as mining projects in Canada and the US.   She carries particular expertise in complex international mining projects requiring creative financing solutions.  Erin was also a founding Director of Niocorp.  Erin is a Director of the MacDonald Laurier Institute, a world-renowned Ottawa-based think tank leading new research on social license and resource extraction, and is the Chair for the Canadian Eurasian Russia Business Association (Vancouver Chapter).  In 2011, she was honoured as a “40 Under 40” by Business in Vancouver.

Mr. Farrell spent from 1977 to 1980 as a principal engineer for the Queensland Government Road Construction Authority with responsibility for a broad range of road and bridge construction projects, including remote environments. He then served as the Senior Construction Engineer for BHP Billiton on their Groote Eylandt Manganese Mine. For the following 15 years Mr. Farrell held various executive management roles in the operating companies of BHP Billiton. He joined PT Bumi Resources in 2002 to oversee the its expansion into Indonesia’s largest diversified mining company, which includes PT KPC – the world’s largest export coal mine. Mr. Farrell remains an Executive Director of Bumi Resources. He is a Member of the Institution of Engineers, Australia; a Member of The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy and a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. Mr. Farrell holds an Honours Degree in Civil Engineering, a degree in Commerce and a post graduate diploma in Company Directorship.

Ms. Siizkhuu is the Chief Legal Officer of NIBank in Ulaanbaatar. She is an expert in Mongolia corporate and securities law. Ms. Siiizhkuu holds a law degree from the Law School of the State University of Mongolia and is a member of the Mongolian Advocates Association.

Mr. Di Paola is a Chartered Professional Accountant, CPA, CA, and member of the Chartered Professional Accountants Ontario and Ordre des CPA du Québec. He is also president and owner of Accounting Made Easy, a consulting firm which specialises in private and public junior exploration companies.Mr. Di Paola began his career as auditor for international accounting firms such as PricewaterhouseCoopers and BDO Canada. Since leaving the public accounting sector his focus has shifted to financial reporting, disclosure controls and corporate governance in the junior mining exploration industry, where Mr. Di Paola is CFO of a number of companies.

Mr. Erdembileg is the CEO of CBM LLC, a Mongolian-registered business consulting, administration and geology service provider and the CEO of Big Mogul Coal & Energy LLC, a producing coal mining company. Erdembileg also served as an officer at the Ministry of Mineral Resources and Energy, a project manager at Energy Resources LLC and an officer at the State Property Committee. He earned a bachelor’s degree from the Economic school of University of Mongolia and a MBA from the Academy of Management.

Mr. Dojgotoviin is an experienced civil engineer who has focused on road construction. He is particularly skilled at operating heavy equipment. Mr. Dorigotov spent five years in the United States as a heavy equipment operator building roads. He holds a degree in Civil Engineering from the Mongolia University of Science and Technology.