Ned Jalil Appointed New CEO of Collective Mining; Omar Ossma Remains As President

Collective Mining Ltd. (NYSE: CNL) (TSX: CNL) has announced the appointment of Ned Jalil as Chief Executive Officer, while clarifying that former CEO Omar Ossma will continue in his role as president, performing the same duties within the day-to-day operations of the company.

Ned Jalil is a seasoned mining executive with over 25 years of global experience across gold, silver, and key battery metals including copper and nickel. Jalil has successfully led projects from exploration through to feasibility, construction and production.

Jalil has held senior executive roles with Kinross Gold and Appian Capital. As Chief Technical Officer at Kinross, Ned was instrumental in advancing key assets, including the Great Bear project, where he delivered a 5-million-ounce initial resource, and Manh Choh, where he led a team that transitioned the asset from study to construction. At Appian, Ned led the construction and operational readiness of the MVV Copper-Gold Project, completing it ahead of schedule and under budget.

Ned holds an MBA from the Kellogg-Schulich Executive MBA Program, along with Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in mining engineering from Queen’s University. He is a licensed Professional Engineer and a qualified person under National Instrument 43-101 and brings a strong foundation of technical and academic excellence to his leadership roles.

“I am thrilled to be joining such a dynamic and growing company where I can lead a team with the goal of advancing the Guayabales project’s Apollo discovery to production. Both the Guayabales and San Antonio projects are fortunately located in areas with excellent infrastructure, with mining-supportive populations and local governments. The potential for growth at the Guayabales project is astounding, and I am excited to be part of one of the best discoveries of the past decade made in Latin America,” said Jalil.

“On behalf of the board of directors and management team, I would like to welcome Ned to the Collective team. Ned is a dynamic individual who thinks outside the box and loves to tackle challenges head-on. The company is now moving at a rapid pace, and Ned’s background and experience are exactly what we need at this juncture to take the Guayabales project to an ultimate production decision,” commented Ari Sussman, Executive Chairman.

Analysis

Adding someone with Jalil’s experience and background indicates that Collective may be ready to move into a new phase at its Caldas mining site. As a native Colombian and lawyer, Omar Ossma has done an excellent job navigating the complex regulatory environment in Colombia and establishing relationships with the local community.

Bringing Jalil in signals that the company is ready to move from the exploratory state into the construction of infrastructure and building out a proper mine. This duo working together is an optimistic omen for Collective’s success.

New Collective Mining CEO Ned Jalil Photo credit: Collective Mining Ltd.