Rick Rule

Founded in 1994 by Rick Rule, Global Resource Investments Ltd. (GRI) is a broker/dealer headquartered in Carlsbad, California. The firm is a full service brokerage firm that focuses on natural resource investments worldwide. They help high net-worth individuals, corporations and institutions to take advantage of global opportunities in the oil and gas, mining, alternative energy, agriculture, forestry, and water industries. GRI provides advisory and transactional services, including equity and debt trading capabilities on most international exchanges. A separate unit of the company raises equity capital for small corporations, primarily in the resource sector. They provide services to clients on both a domestic and international level. The firm also focuses on companies with a market capitalization below $250 million that does not attract research coverage from traditional brokerage firms. GRI employs fundamental analysis in their research efforts along with value-added in vesting, taking into consideration a company's existing net assets (assets less liabilities), along with their future cash flow potential.

Sprott Asset Management LP (Sprott AM) is a Canadian alternative investment management firm headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. The firm was founded by Eric Sprott in 1981 and is a subsidiary of Sprott Asset Management GP, Inc., which is owned by Sprott, Inc. (NYSE, TSX: SII). Sprott AM offers a wide variety of investment solutions to Canadian and international investors.

Sprott US Holdings, Inc. engages in the provision of investment management services. The company is headquartered in Carlsbad, CA.

Sprott Global Resource Investments Ltd. (Sprott Global) is a SEC-registered broker-dealer headquartered in Carlsbad, California. The firm was founded in 1993 and they are a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sprott, Inc. (TSE: SII) in Canada. Sprott Global offers full-service investment brokerage services including both secondary market and, for qualified investors, private placement products for retail and institutional investors. They focus on the natural resources sectors including precious metals, base metals, oil & gas, agriculture, water and alternative energy.

Sprott Resource Corp. is a Canada based investments holding company, which invests and operates through its wholly owned subsidiaries in the natural resource sector. It has investments and operations in oil and gas, agriculture and agricultural nutrients as well as a large position in physical gold bullion. The company operates its business through three segments: Energy, Agriculture and Mining. The Energy segment operates through its energy subsidiaries, which involves in the exploration and production of oil and gas in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Montana. The Agriculture segment holds interest in the One Earth Farms Corp., which farms on privately leased farmland in the Canadian Prairie Provinces. The Mining segment include investments in Corsa, a public company that owns a uranium deposit in southern Virginia, U.S., a public company in the exploration and development stage of developing a mine and processing facility to produce SOP and a public company engaged in the business of acquiring, exploring and developing agricultural nutrient projects. Sprott Resource was founded by Kevin T. Bambrough, Lawrence Allan Dick and Ralph G. Fitch on August 19, 1994 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.

Sprott Asset Management USA, Inc. (SAM USA) is a SEC-registered investment adviser headquartered in Carlsbad, California. The firm was founded by Arthur Richards “Rick” Rule in 2005. They are a subsidiary of Sprott US Holdings, Inc., owned by Sprott, Inc. (TSX: SII) in Canada. SAM USA provides investment advisory services on both a discretionary and non-discretionary basis to individuals and institutions with separately managed accounts and private funds.