OUR TEAM
Strong leadership leads to strong results. Our technical team is committed to providing superior results for our clients, focusing on economic and environmental excellence while continuously seeking out innovative new ways to enhance their projects.
Brent Hilscher, P.Eng.
Brent Hilscher has over 20 years experience in mining and mineral processing. He has commissioned, operated, and supervised mineral processing plants. He has published papers, patented technologies, and been a speaker at over a dozen conferences and universities in Canada and around the world.
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Brent has led design and construction projects for Teck, Goldcorp, New Gold, Barrick, Xstrata, Agnico Eagle, and many others. He won the National CMP Bill Moore Award for technical excellence in 2013, and served as an officer in the Canadian Armed Forces. Because of his technical reputation Brent has been consulted as an advisor for the World Bank, United Nations, Government of Canada, and NASA mining research projects. He has volunteered as an executive for both the CIM and the CMP.
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Damir Cukor, P.Geo.
Damir Cukor has been an active member of the mining industry for over 30 years as a successful explorationist and a QP geologist. As a second-generation mining individual, Damir has worked on advancing projects from grass-roots stages through to realizing material improvements on operating mines. On the Hammond Reef gold project in Ontario for Brett Resources, Damir in his role as Exploration Manager, guided the project through exploration drilling to its maiden resource estimate, and later, as Independent QP, through to expanded M&I resource status for Osisko; the project is now in the Agnico Eagle portfolio. His work also included resource estimates on part of the Kiggavik complex of Uranium deposits in Nunavut for AREVA, brought to the permitting stage. Two other maiden resource estimates were significant - the Polo Resources Nimini Hills gold deposit in Sierra Leone, Africa, subsequently reached permitting process; the currently-operating gold-copper Gedabec Mine in Azerbaijan was treated to its first modern JORC resources estimate.
Damir's broad spectrum encompasses project permitting processes, resource and reserves modelling calculation, and NI 43-101 and JORC reporting.
Andre Villeneuve
Andre is a senior executive with ABH Engineering Inc. with over 40 years experience in the mining industry and has worked as an independent mining and civil consultant since 1989.
He has extensive senior level management and executive experience with project evaluation, due diligence reviews, mineral property valuations, operational audits, development, construction and operation of gold, silver, base metals, coal and iron ore mines in the Americas, Africa, Australasia and Europe.
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Daniel Kim, BASc
Dan is a drafting specialist who possesses superior knowledge of mechanical, electrical, and structural design techniques, and performs technical level work in CAD systems to deliver engineering blueprints to his clients’ needs. Dan has worked with principal researchers in the oil & gas, nuclear energy, and aerospace industries.
After spending time in both the public and private sector, Dan knows what truly drives innovation and new ideas. It's how well you connect with the people you're trying to help and communicate your understanding back to them.He graduated with honours from University of Waterloo with an honours degree in chemical engineering.
Vladimir Dybounov, BEng, EIT
Having graduated from BCIT with a bachelor's degree in mining engineering, Vladimir worked with mining equipment manufacturers prior to joining ABH Engineering. His multidisciplinary background allows him to be flexible in his approach to a wide variety of problems.
As the Environmental Engineering Intern, he currently assists the principal engineers with detailed design work, cost estimates, and academic research.
Amy Zhou, BASc
Prior to joining ABH, Amy worked on-site assisting with mining operations at New Afton and worked as a Metallurgist Technician to analyze and perform leaching and assay at Bureau Veritas. With her Mining and Mineral Processing degree from UBC, she is experienced with optimization, economic modelling, and other design work.
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Amy believes that details are what determine the big picture when working on a project. At ABH, she brings the value of her expertise to the team by working collaboratively on design, optimization, and research projects.
Hussein Kanaan, BASc
Having Graduated with a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from UBC, Hussein has completed multiple ore sorting, optimization, and trade-off studies since joining ABH.
Hussein has great experience in working on metal recovery methods and project economic assessments for NI 43-101 and S-K 1300 technical reports.
Daniel Arroyo, MBA
Daniel graduated with Honours in Geological Engineering from UNAM, one of the most prestigious universities in Latin America and the top-rated in all Spanish-speaking countries. Daniel worked for more than 5 years for Peñoles Mining, developing his skills in multiple deposits, including skarn, veins, porphyries, and VMS.
Daniel’s specialty ore deposits with strong structural deformation. Moreover, he has worked on multiple mining and exploration
projects increasing resources. Currently, he works as a Resource Geologist for the Geology Department.
Keith Salamon, MSc, GIT, LLB
Keith is an Geologist-in-Training at ABH Engineering Inc. Prior to joining ABH, he was involved on the Cariboo Gold project with Barkerville Gold Mines as an Exploration Geologist. During this time, he gained valuable experience using Leapfrog Geo modelling software, core logging of orogenic gold deposits and drill monitoring. He has also been involved in several mining projects including Northern Iron Corp, Pretium Resources Corp., and Kivalliq Energy Corp. He has well rounded experience with a
variety of deposits including orogenic gold, porphyry and vein systems, unconformity uranium and iron ore.
Keith graduated from the University of Victoria in 2012 with a BSc in Earth and Ocean Sciences, and then went on to pursue an MSc degree in high temperature geochemistry at the University of Toronto, which he completed in 2015. Graduate studies were focused on quantifying the solubility of gold and palladium in high temperature hydrothermal fluids associated with porphyry deposits. He then enrolled in law school at the University of Kent in Canterbury, England where he graduated with a Bachelor of Law with Honours. Keith assists the Senior Geologist with research, GIS, deposit modelling and drafting NI 43-101, JORC and
SK-1300 compliant technical reports.
Aaron Creighton, BASc, EIT
Aaron is a highly motivated Mineral Processing Engineer-in-Training with a diverse background in both operational and research environments, bringing a well-rounded skill set to his current role at ABH Engineering. He possesses a strong foundation in mineral processing principles and techniques, coupled with a keen interest in economic analysis and process optimization, which assists in helping produce top caliber technical reports.
Having gained valuable experience in recommissioning an operation, Aaron has proven his ability to thrive in challenging industrial settings. Additionally, his time spent in a metallurgical research lab has honed his scientific expertise, allowing him to contribute to the development of innovative metallurgical processes, refine existing methodologies, and enabling him to provide valuable insights and recommendations based on rigorous scientific analysis.
James Ambrose, BASc, EIT
James graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Mining and Mineral Processing from UBC and has previously worked as a Metallurgical Lab Technician with both Copper Mountain Mine and Sepro Systems prior to joining ABH Engineering.
With his experience and education, James is well versed in ore sorting, optimization, and economic studies. As an EIT at ABH, he assists in research and development, ore sorting analysis, and other design work.
Emmanuel Cibrian, MBA
Emmanuel is a mining and engineering professional with a strong background in the field. Holding a Bachelor's degree in Mining and Metallurgical Engineering from the Autonomous University of Chihuahua, he brings extensive knowledge and practical experience to his work. Complementing his technical expertise, Emmanuel has also completed a Master's degree in Business Administration from University Canada West, providing him with a valuable business perspective.
With a deep understanding of industry complexities and a passion for excellence, Emmanuel offers well-rounded solutions to engineering challenges. His interdisciplinary approach, merging technical expertise with a business-oriented mindset, enables him to bridge the gap between technical requirements and business considerations. Emmanuel's expertise and commitment to delivering optimal results make him a valuable professional in the mining and engineering industry.
