His experience spans work in federal and provincial geological surveys, exploration in North and South America with Cominco (now Teck), and proven executive leadership in the junior exploration sector, including recent success in the sale of two companies. He is extensively published, holds several industry awards, and is past-president of numerous industry organizations.

Upon completion of his PhD at the University of Western Ontario, Dr. Gunning spent nearly a decade leading global exploration projects, and learning the business of exploration within a multi-national and fully integrated mining and smelting company at Cominco. Following Cominco, Dr. Gunning accepted the role of lead Mineral Deposits Research Geologist with the Saskatchewan Geological Survey, which included both original, field-based mapping and research and mineral industry reporting. He also chaired the Energy file within the governments Strategic Development initiative. This work led Dr. Gunning to the uranium junior exploration sector in Vancouver. As CEO of Hathor Exploration Limited, he led successive resource and PEA milestones for the Roughrider uranium deposit discovery, and he guided Hathor successfully through a hostile takeover bid and a $654 million acquisition by Rio Tinto in 2012, which was one of the top ten M&A deals in the global mining sector that year. He built on that success as Executive Chairman of Alpha Minerals which was acquired in 2013 for C$190 million following the discovery of the Patterson Lake uranium deposit in Saskatchewan.