I don't have time to fully research this again, but I did do some DD on Dr. Johnston when he came on board. It's not surprising to me that they're going after gold, as it seems to be what the companies he worked for in the past did.
From the PR announcing him joining the company:
"Dr. Johnston is also engaged in ongoing research on the genesis of Carlin-type deposits and their relationships to porphyry and polymetallic deposits, and has published an exploration model used successfully to discover the Helen Zone at the McCoy-Cove property in Nevada."
As best as I can tell, this work was done when he was with Victoria Gold. That property was subsequently sold for +$50M (it's a public company, look into it).
Again, I've been told the guy is a genius and thinks outside the box. I'm comfortable with possibility that he may have found something in the area. I remember a couple months ago when they said he was "in the field." Perhaps this is where he was.
As far as Jimmy's experience goes, it is difficult to find any verifiable information on him as he spent most of the last 20 years in Hong Kong. But, from conversations with him, he has told me that he has "been around the block many times" and that he has done this before. I personally trust him because he has been pretty straight forward and honest with me on issues that he can speak about, good or bad.
