Stephen N. S. Keith

Founded in 2002, Thomas Weisel Partners Canada, Inc., formerly Westwind Partners, Inc., is an institutional investment bank, investment advisor and broker/dealer headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. The firm is a subsidiary of Thomas Weisel Partners Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: TWPG), a San Francisco-based investment banking firm. Their ultimate parent is Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE: SF). Thomas Weisel Partners Canada specializes in the growth sectors of the economy with a particular focus on the consumer, energy, healthcare, Internet, media, telecommunications, metals/mining and technology sectors. They provide equity research on US, Canadian and UK-listed companies, equity trading capabilities and advice to corporations on M&A, financing and restructuring transactions. Thomas Weisel Partners Canada is a member of the CIPF/FCPE and the IIROC.

Rio Verde Minerals Development Corp. focuses on the acquisition, exploration and development of fertilizer projects in Brazil. It holds one potash project and a portfolio of phosphate projects in Brazil. The company was founded on April 8, 2005 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.

Vertichem is an innovative green-tech company and one of the world’s leading practitioners of green chemistry. It produces environmentally friendly chemicals that are sold to the industrial, commercial, food, consumer goods and pharmaceutical markets, helping them to green their products and achieve new sustainability goals for their business. The company creates green chemicals and ingredients from biomass: vanillin, acetovanillone and vanillic acids. With ample access to raw, green materials from cellulosic ethanol plants, the pulp & paper mills and biomass processors globally, Vertichem is converting a low-cost waste stream into a valuable natural product that can act as a substitute for oil-based chemicals. Companies can use Vertichem products to reduce the volume of petrochemicals widely-used in flavors and fragrances industries and the pharmaceutical.

Knight Piesold Consulting provides engineering consulting services. The private company is based in Eros, Namibia.

4B Mining Participações Ltda. The company is located in Brazil and has subsidiaries in Brazil. engages in the acquisition, exploration, and development of high-quality iron ore and manganese projects. The CEO of the Brazilian company is Stephen N. S. Keith.