Great Basin Gold Ltd. (fka GBGLF)

[goldenpolarbear]

"Mr. Ronald Thiessen has been a leading figure for Canadian mining investment and mine development in South Africa. Through the efforts of Mr. Thiessen and his colleagues at HDI, the new Burnstone gold mine in the Eastern Rand was acquired, financed and brought to production by Great Basin Gold Ltd.; Rockwell Diamonds Inc. was acquired, financed, and restructured, and the company has recently expanded its diamond production in the Kimberley area; and Anooraq Resources Corporation, recently renamed Atlatsa Resources Corporation, was established as a Black Economic Empowerment (BEE)company and became a producer through the acquisition of the Bokoni platinum deposit from Angloplats.

He was instrumental in bringing Canada-originated business structures to South Africa, which were used in innovative acquisitions of resources in South Africa including gold, platinum group minerals and diamonds. The development and redevelopment of mines has brought investment, technology, high levels of employment and new sources of revenue to South Africa. Notably, he led the team that devised and innovatively brought Canadian corporate finance to BEE be bringing the first empowerment corporation (Pelawan Investments) to the Canadian and North American public markets,enabling it to finance and acquire 51% ownership (well in excess of the minimum 26% ownership required by law) in platinum projects in the Bushveld. These investments include the Bokoni mine complex as well as the Ga-Phasha and Boikgantsho development projects, through which Anooraq now controls the third largest platinum metals resource in the
world.

Mr. Thiessen has been recognized with a number of awards by industry and business for his exceptional contributions to the international and Canadian minerals industry. He was awarded the EA Scholz Award for excellence in ..."

http://www.hdimining.com/s/HDINewsReleases.asp?ReportID=492446&_Title=HDI-President-CEO-Named-Business-Person-of-the-Year

Well let's hope Ron Thiessen pulls off a miracle with the Burnstone Gold mine and he properly orchestrates this final transaction? Obviously, he has been working on this deal for years or at least since GBG began to go into deep financial stress.