Operators who have built and run
the world's largest copper mines.
The Falcon Copper team carries direct operating credits from Freeport-McMoRan, Glencore, Rio Tinto, Barrick Gold, and Phelps Dodge — with hands-on experience at Tenke Fungurume, Mutanda Mining, and the Cortez District.
Senior Leadership
Travis Naugle founded Falcon Copper Corporation and serves as Executive Chairman and Director.
He brings extensive domestic and international experience developing large-scale resource projects. A trusted operating partner with the majors in pursuit of big copper, he has executed significant agreements with industry leaders across the Western United States, Alaska, and internationally.
B.S. Mining Engineering, MBA. Licensed Professional Engineer.
Ryan Moss serves as President & CFO of Falcon Copper Corporation.
He is a former Chief Financial Officer of Lucid Energy Group, a former Partner at Perella Weinberg Partners, and a former Managing Director at Morgan Stanley. His career spans capital markets, natural-resources finance, and corporate leadership across energy and infrastructure sectors.
BBA Finance, University of Texas at Austin; MBA, Columbia Business School.
Eric Best serves as Executive Vice President of Falcon Copper Works, the Arizona smelter project.
He is a former President of Freeport Africa, where he oversaw Tenke Fungurume — one of the world's largest and highest-grade copper operations. He is also a former Chief Executive Officer of Nevada Copper, and former Head of Global Copper Production at Glencore.
His career spans mine construction, commissioning, and large-scale copper operations across Africa and the Americas.
Mike Ciricillo serves as Executive Vice President of Falcon Copper Works.
He is a former Process Plant Manager at Freeport's Tenke Fungurume operation, former Chief Executive Officer of Glencore Mutanda Mining, and former General Manager of the Cortez District at Barrick Gold.
His direct operating credits across three of the world's most productive copper and gold operations represent the operational depth at the core of the smelter project.
Rick Gittleman serves as President of Falcon Copper Works.
He is a former Senior Vice President of Freeport Africa and a member of the senior management team at Tenke Fungurume. He also held senior management roles within the copper group at Glencore.
His legal, commercial, and operational experience in the African Copperbelt gives Falcon International a direct entry point into the world's most productive copper geography.
A.B., J.D.
Rich Leveille serves as Chief Prospector of Falcon Copper Mining.
He is a former Senior Vice President of Exploration at Freeport-McMoRan, one of the world's largest copper producers. His earlier career includes exploration roles at AMAX, Kennecott, Rio Tinto, and Phelps Dodge — spanning decades of copper and critical-minerals discovery across the Americas and beyond.
He has a history of prolific mineral discoveries across multiple commodities and geographies.
B.S. and M.S. in Geology.
Phil Nickerson serves as Vice President of Exploration at Falcon Copper Mining.
He is a former U.S. Exploration Manager at Rio Tinto and a former senior geologist at EMX Royalty Corp, with a career focused on copper and critical-minerals exploration in North America.
M.S. and Ph.D. in Geosciences. Licensed Professional Geologist.
Governance & Oversight
Falcon Copper's board brings together capital markets expertise, national security policy experience, institutional investment management, environmental permitting depth, and resource-company finance.
Founder of Falcon Copper Corporation. Career spanning capital markets, natural-resources finance, and corporate leadership across energy and mining. Fmr. CFO Lucid Energy; Fmr. Partner Perella Weinberg; Fmr. MD Morgan Stanley.
Former Portfolio Manager at Ridge Run Partners and Millennium Management. Partner at Wexford Capital. Board member at Altus Power (NYSE: AMPS) and Orion Energy. Career spanning institutional investment and corporate governance across energy and infrastructure. MBA.
Senior counselor at Palantir Technologies. Former senior advisor at the White House and National Security Council. Former Chief of Staff to U.S. Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN). Career across national security policy, corporate strategy, and government affairs. B.A., J.D.
Current Chief Financial Officer of a private silver and base-metals producer with South American assets. Former CFO of Novo Resources Corp (TSX/ASX: NVO). Career spanning resource-company finance, capital markets, and corporate governance. BCom.