Board of Directors
Mr. Almeida is President of Lipari’s subsidiary in Angola Tchitengo Mining. Paulino holds a degree in Mining Engineering and a degree in Business Administration. He has over 35 years of mining industry experience in Angola, where he has held senior positions with both private and public entities. Paulino started his career in 1982 as a mining technician for the National Department of Geology of Angola, and moved to the business sector in 1986 as a production supervisor for a dimensional stone mine. In 1989 he was appointed as the Managing Director of the Technical Cabinet for Mining Development under the Ministry of Industry of Angola where he was responsible for promoting investment in the mining sector. In 1991, he was appointed to the position of Manager of the Planning Department in the Ministry of Geology and Mines, where he remained until 1995 when he assumed the position of General Manager and Managing Director of ENDIAMA, Angola’s state-owned diamond mining company. In 1999, Paulino started his own civil construction company called Almeida & Associados Lda, which he operated until 2005. During this period (2002 to 2004), he also consulted to De Beers in Angola, assisting with their negotiations with Angolan authorities. In 2005, he was appointed to the position of Country Manager of BHP Billiton’s Angolan subsidiary (2005 to 2009) during the time that they discovered the Tchegi kimberlites, which are now part of Lipari’s Tchitengo project. When BHP left Angola in 2009, Mr. Almedia assumed the role of Vice-President of ESCOM, BHP’s joint venture partner in Angola where he remained until 2013. Since August 1, 2024, he has held the position of Chairman of SOMIPA SARL, having previously served as the Executive Director (2013-2024). Mr. Almeida has also taken on Remuneration Committee positions with the Angolan Investment Bank (BAI) (2014 to 2020) and was the Chairman and Non-Executive Director of the Standard Chartered Bank of Angola (2020-2023). Mr. Almeida is fluent in both Portuguese (native) and English.
Mr. Mendes Clara is a seasoned legal and strategic advisor with over 15 years of experience in the natural resources sector, including significant exposure to both mining and oil and gas. He has developed deep expertise in Angola, where he has held a number of senior roles across the energy sector. Mr. Clara currently serves as Head of Strategy & Reporting at ETU Energias, S.A., an Angolan oil and gas company, where he is responsible for corporate strategy, performance oversight, and reporting. Prior to this role, he held progressively senior positions at Angola LNG, including Legal Advisor and Senior Contracts Compliance Specialist, where he advised on large-scale LNG infrastructure projects, commercial contracts, and regulatory compliance.
In addition to his in-country experience in Angola, Mr. Mendes Clara is the Founder and Managing Partner of Clara & Associados – Sociedade de Advogados, a Lisbon-based law firm, and previously practiced law in Portugal with a focus on corporate, commercial, and regulatory matters. His combined legal and operational experience provides strong capabilities in governance, risk management, and cross-border transactions.
Mr. Mendes Clara holds a law degree from the Portuguese Catholic University and has completed several postgraduate programs in commercial, tax, and securities law. He also holds an Executive MBA from AESE Business School (in partnership with IESE Business School) and is currently a PhD candidate in Private Law (Oil & Gas) at NOVA University Lisbon.
Mr. Johnson has over 40 years of mining industry experience with the majority of his experience focused on the development of diamond deposits in Brazil, Central and South Africa and Canada. He was responsible for the acquisition, financing and development of the Braúna diamond mine. Ken has been active in Brazil for 20 years and is one of the leading diamond experts in that country. He was the founding director of Lipari Mineração Ltda. and has been President and Chief Executive Officer of the Brazil-registered company since 2011. He was also Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Vaaldiam Mining Inc. from 2010 to 2012, a TSX-listed company that was formed as a result of a merger between Tiomin Resources Inc. and Vaaldiam Resources Ltd. Prior to that merger, Ken was President and Chief Executive Officer of Vaaldiam Resources Ltd. (1997-2010), a TSX-listed company that he formed in 1997 to develop diamond deposits in central and southern Africa, and in Brazil. He was President and Chief Executive Officer of Caussa Capital Corporation (1999 to 2003) which operated the Barberton Gold Mine in South Africa, and was Executive Vice-President of Asquith Resources Inc. (1986 to 1999) which discovered the Passandro gold deposits in the Central African Republic. During that same period (1986 to 1999), Ken was the Executive Vice-President of United Reef Limited and was responsible for the discovery and development of the Bamingui alluvial diamond deposit in joint venture with the Trans Hex Group of South Africa. Between 1982 and 1986, Ken was a senior project geologist with ACA Howe International Ltd. and a project geologist in the minerals division of AMOCO Canada Petroleum Company Ltd. Ken holds a B.Sc. degree in geology from the University of Windsor, Canada and has completed certification courses in South Africa and Canada related to the valuation of natural diamonds. Mr. Johnson is fluent in English (native) and has an advanced level of fluency in Portuguese
Independent Technical Consultant (QP)
Martin worked in diamond exploration for over 35 years in the De Beers Group and was the Managing Director of De Beers Brazil. After six years in Brazil, he was transferred to De Beers Canada as Exploration Manager and was responsible for the major diamond deposit evaluations of the Victor, Gahcho Kué and Fort A La Corne kimberlites.