VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - Sept. 12, 2013) - Columbus Gold Corporation (News - Market indicators) ("Columbus Gold") is pleased to announce the formation of a French Advisory Board of uniquely qualified individuals to assist with the advancement of its Paul Isnard Gold Project, located in French Guiana, an overseas region and department of France.
The initial three members of the advisory board consist of the celebrated French intellectual and economist Jacques Attali, French constitutional expert and former senior government official Ms. Marie-Hélène Bérard, and the highly regarded French geologist Mr. Michel Jébrak.
Jacques Attali
Dr. Jacques Attali has been designated as one of the three most influential intellectuals in France and one of the 100 most influential worldwide. He's a prolific writer whose works have been translated into more than thirty languages, with over eight million copies sold worldwide.
Dr. Attali is an Honorary Member of the French Council of State. He was a Special Adviser to Francois Mitterrand the President of the Republic of France from 1981 to 1991, and he was the founder and the first President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) from 1991 to 1993.
In 2010, stemming from an unprecedented economic and financial crisis, the French President and Prime Minister asked Dr. Attali to head a three year commission to evaluate current economic policies and propose transformative initiatives aimed at restoring public finances and spurring economic growth and employment, with a view to preserving the French social model.
Dr. Attali is an advocate and supporter of many social causes, including the founding of Action Contre la Faim (Action Against Famine) and of an international initiative against the disastrous floods in Bangladesh. He has advised the Secretary General of the United Nations on the risks of nuclear proliferation and he's the originator of the higher education reform initiative known as LMD, to standardize all European degrees. He's the acting President of PlaNet Finance, an international non-profit organization assisting microfinance institutions in some 80 countries.
Dr. Attali has a doctorate in Economics and is a graduate of the Ecole Polytechnique (first in the class of 1963), the Ecole des Mines, the Institut d'Etudes Politiques and the Ecole Nationale de l'Administration. He has received honorary doctorates from several foreign universities and is a member of the Universal Academy of Cultures. On April 2011, he was honored with the Corporate Citizenship award from the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.
Marie-Hélène Bérard
Ms. Marie-Hélène Bérard has been honored for her contributions to France with the distinction of Commandeur de la Légion d'Honneur (Commander of the Legion of Honor) and Commandeur de l'Ordre National du Mérite (Commander of the Order of National Merit). She is a graduate of the prestigious Ecole Nationale d'Administration and l'Institut d'Etudes Politiques and she holds a Masters Degree in law from the University of Paris. She is an expert on French constitutional law and is the co-author of "Le Dictionnaire de la Constitution" (The Dictionary of the Constitution), an original and in-depth analysis of the current French fifth republic 's constitution, first published in 1974 and often cited as a standard reference work in French law schools.
From 1972 to 1988, Ms. Bérard was posted to the Ministry of Economy and Finance where she served in various increasingly senior capacities. During this period she also acted as an advisor to Simone Veil the Minister of Health and Social Security, as Deputy Advisor to Prime Minister Raymond Barre and as Special Advisor to Prime Minister Jacques Chirac, on matters of civil service, immigration and trade union relations.
In 1988 Ms. Bérard transitioned from government and has since held a number of executive positions in the private sector, including as Deputy Managing Director of Marceau Investments a French investment firm and as a senior member of management of Crédit Commercial de France (now HSBC France).
Ms. Bérard is presently the treasurer of the Chirac Foundation and of the France-Israel Chamber of Commerce. She is Vice President of the Cité Internationale Universitaire de Paris, a Director of the Russian Investment Fund Verno, and a Director of United Cement Group (Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan).
Michel Jébrak
Mr. Michel Jébrak is widely regarded as one of the most highly published geologists in the French speaking world. He has published more than 80 journal papers and numerous books on ore deposits and innovations in the mining industry. He's a French national specialized in the geology of mineral resources with more than 30 years of mining industry experience, including with the national geological surveys of Morocco and of France (BRGM).
Mr. Jébrak has held the post of professor of economic geology at the University of Quebec at Montreal (UQAM) since 1987 and he presently holds the Chair in Mining Entrepreneurship. In 2013 his achievements in mineral exploration were recognized by the University of Lorraine (France) with the prestigious Chercheur d'Excellence Award.
His career has included the positions of Vice-Principal, Research at UQAM and President of the Science and Technology Council of Quebec (Ministry of Economic Development). Mr. Jébrak has worked in the capacity of exploration manager for various Australian, Canadian and French mining companies and he has consulted for mining companies worldwide. He is a global advocate for the mining industry and for the responsible development of mining and innovation policies in Quebec, France and several African countries and he is involved with several research networks in Canada and France.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD,
Robert F. Giustra, Chairman & CEO
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
