# David M. Cole

> David M. Cole is an economic geologist, co-founder of EMX Royalty and CEO of Elemental Royalty Corporation. After 17 years in technical and management roles at Newmont, he built EMX around a patient proposition: find prospective mineral rights, advance the geological case, sell the project and retain a royalty. The approach grew a C$3.3 million single-asset explorer into a portfolio of more than 250 mineral assets across six continents before EMX merged with Elemental Altus in November 2025.

- **Role:** Chief Executive Officer and Director at Elemental Royalty Corporation
- **Organizations:** Elemental Royalty Corporation, EMX Royalty Corporation, Newmont Mining Corporation, Standard Uranium Corp., Energy Metals Corporation, IG Copper LLC
- **Education:** Geology degree, Fort Lewis College, M.S. in Geology, Colorado State University
- **Known for:** Built EMX from a single-asset explorer with a C$3.3 million market capitalization into a royalty company with more than 250 mineral assets across six continents., Co-founded Standard Uranium Corp.; Energy Metals Corporation later acquired it and was itself acquired for US$1.8 billion., Chaired IG Copper through the US$200 million sale of the Malmyzh copper-gold discovery in 2018.

## Career timeline

- **c. 1985-2003** — Spent 17 years with Newmont Mining in senior technical and management roles, with work in Nevada, Southeast Asia, South America, Europe and Central Asia.
- **2003** — Co-founded the company that became EMX Royalty, initially operating as Eurasian Minerals.
- **2007** — Energy Metals Corporation, where Cole served as a director after it acquired co-founded Standard Uranium, was acquired by Uranium One for US$1.8 billion.
- **2017** — Eurasian Minerals changed its name to EMX Royalty Corporation to reflect its royalty-focused business.
- **2018** — As chairman of IG Copper, oversaw the US$200 million sale of the Malmyzh copper-gold project; EMX received an initial US$65 million distribution.
- **2025-03** — At PDAC, described EMX's mix of prospecting and royalty generation after eight consecutive quarters of free cash flow.
- **2025-11** — Appointed CEO of Elemental Royalty Corporation when the merger of EMX and Elemental Altus closed on November 13.
- **2026-02** — Joined Elemental Royalty's leadership team to ring the Nasdaq Opening Bell after the company's Nasdaq listing.

## Achievements

- Built EMX from a single-asset explorer with a C$3.3 million market capitalization into a royalty company with more than 250 mineral assets across six continents.
- Co-founded Standard Uranium Corp.; Energy Metals Corporation later acquired it and was itself acquired for US$1.8 billion.
- Chaired IG Copper through the US$200 million sale of the Malmyzh copper-gold discovery in 2018.
- Contributed during his Newmont career to exploration successes associated with the Carlin Trend, Yanacocha and Minahasa mines.
- Helped establish Newmont exploration programs in Turkey and identify early-stage acquisition targets in Eastern Europe.
- Became CEO of the combined Elemental Royalty Corporation following the 2025 EMX-Elemental Altus merger.

## Latest updates

- **2026-05** — Elemental Royalty announced an agreement to acquire Vizsla Royalties, with Cole presenting as CEO and director.
- **2026-04** — Elemental Royalty began trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange main board under the symbol ELE.
- **2026-02** — Cole joined Elemental Royalty leaders at the Nasdaq Opening Bell after the company's Nasdaq listing.
- **2025-11** — The EMX-Elemental Altus merger closed, and Cole was appointed CEO of the combined Elemental Royalty Corporation.

## Links

- Website: https://www.elementalroyalty.com/news/team/david-m-cole/
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/david-cole-0716a456

---

Profile page: https://yespress.io/david-cole
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-08-26