Our Team
GoldCoast Resource Corp. is led by a team of accomplished gold industry professionals
with a deep understanding of Ghana's rich gold legacy and under-explored potential.
Sir Sam Jonah, Chairman
Sir Sam Jonah is a distinguished Ghanaian business executive, entrepreneur, and philanthropist with a storied career in the mining and corporate sectors. Renowned as a pioneer in Africa’s mining industry, Sir Sam was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Ashanti Goldfields Company Limited in 1986 and oversaw its growth from a one mine operation into a multinational. In 1996, Ashanti Goldfields became the first operating African company to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Sir Sam became Executive President of AngloGold Ashanti Ltd., in May 2004, following Ashanti's merger with AngloGold Limited (forming the second largest gold producer in the world). He has been decorated with many awards and honours. In 1994, the Camborne School of Mines and the University of Exeter (UK) jointly awarded him an Honorary Doctor of Science degree. In 2003, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain conferred on him an Honorary Knighthood as Knight Commander of the Civil Division of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (KBE), in recognition of his achievements as an African businessman, a leading business Executive from the Commonwealth, and an international public figure.
Sir Sam is the Chancellor of the University of Cape Coast Ghana, a former Member of the Board of Ashesi University in Ghana, a Visiting Professor of Business at the University of Witwatersrand Business School of Johannesburg and a member of its Governing Council, as well as Trustee of the Nelson Mandela Legacy Trust (UK). He was a Founding Member of The United Nations Secretary General’s Global Compact Advisory Council, a member of The African Regional Advisory Board of the London Business School, a member of the Governing Body of the School of Oriental and African Studies and served as a Trustee of the Camborne School of Mines. He was a member of the Advisory Council of the President of the African Development Bank and the International Finance Corporation (IFC).
Tom Griffis, Executive Director
Tom Griffis is the founder of Griffis Capital, a private investment and corporate management firm based in Toronto, Canada and Takoradi, Ghana. Griffis Capital has focused most of its activities on natural resource, technology and healthcare companies requiring early to mid stage financing. The focus of past activities in the resource sector has been in Ghana, Morocco, Argentina, Kazakhstan, USA and Canada while technology and healthcare companies were primarily North American focused. Mr. Griffis has served on the Board of Directors of several private and publicly traded companies in the resource, technology and healthcare sectors. Previously, Tom served as a pilot in the Royal Canadian Air Force. During his 20 years of service, he held several positions of command, including Commander of the RCAF Falcon VIP Flight and The RCAF Snowbirds aerobatic demonstration team. ​​
Michael Nikiforuk, Director & CEO
Michael Nikiforuk has focused the past 20 years of his career on African gold projects. He was the Founder, President and Director of African Gold Group, Inc., having served the company since inception in 2002, through March, 2017. Under Michael’s leadership African Gold Group assembled a team of technical professionals with decades of African work experience, who assembled a block of contiguous concessions that evolved from exploration and development through to the completion of a definitive feasibility study for a multi-million oz gold project in Mali, West Africa, at which point control of the company was sold to an international merchant bank. During this period, several contiguous blocks of licenses were assembled and explored in Ghana, of which one license, situated in the newly emerging Ahafo district, was sold to Newmont Ghana Gold Ltd. In addition, Michael has had direct work experience in Liberia, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Ethiopia and the DRC, primarlily through the formation of private joint-venture exploration companies with major gold producers. Mr. Nikiforuk’s corporate responsibilities included equity financings, acquisitions & divestments, exploration & development, government relations and corporate social responsibility.
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Dr. R. J. Griffis, Sr. VP., Exploration
Dr. Robert J. Griffis, a 40 year resident of Ghana, is a geologist with extensive experience in gold mining projects from early exploration stages through to production. He is an acknowledged expert of the gold producing districts of West Africa. He was commissioned by The Minerals Commission of Ghana as the senior author of the highly regarded government report: "Gold Deposits of Ghana" (2002); and has undertaken exploration work throughout Ghana, including working closely with Gold Fields of South Africa, over an extended period of time, in their due diligence assessment program on the Prestea and Tarkwa gold operations in Ghana. Gold Fields also engaged him to prepare a summary of the gold potential throughout much of West Africa, which has now become a world-class gold mining region. Dr. Griffis' work has led to the discovery and development of numerous gold mines. Prior to focusing on West Africa, Dr. Griffis worked for over 10 years with the Canadian based, international geological and mining consulting firm Watts, Griffis and McOuat (WGM) with whom he carried out many assignments on a great variety of mineral deposits (precious metals, base metals and industrial minerals) in North America, South America, Africa, Australia and Iran.
Winfield Ding, CPA, CA, MBA - CFO
Winfield is a senior finance executive with over 15 years of finance and operations experience. Mr. Ding has held CFO, board director and audit committee chair positions at several public and privately held companies in the mining and energy sector, as well as education and technology industries Mr. Ding began his career as an Audit Manager with McGovern Hurley Cunningham LLP.
Elia Crespo, VP. & Corp. Sec.
Elia Crespo is a Director and Principal of Griffis Capital. Ms. Crespo brings extensive experience in M&A due diligence and managing the closing of transactions, as well as day to day corporate administrative management. Ms. Crespo has broad experience managing private and public companies, including taking companies to the public markets through IPO or RTO. She has served as a director of several private companies and public companies listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange and the AIM Market of the London Stock Exchange as well as charitable organizations.
Kwame Opoku - Managing Director (Ghana)
Kwame Opoku, a resident of Ghana, was the former Senior Exploration Manager at African Gold Group Inc., and an exploration geologist for Newmont Ghana Gold Ltd. and Cluff Gold Ltd. Kwame posesses a robust exploration background that includes both gold and base metals exploration. Kwame has worked in multiple jurisdictions throughout the African continent, having gained a wealth of experience in directing multi-faceted exploration and development programs, in a variety of unique cultural settings.