Our Leadership

Jesse R. Edmondson, PG, MS

chief executive officer

Jesse Edmondson is a professional geologist dedicated to creating secure, sustainable domestic supply chains of critical minerals in the United States to support the future of American energy technology in the 21st century. Edmondson served Alabama Graphite Corp. from 2012-2018, where he established their 42,000-acre mineral right package, directed exploration activities, and built the largest 43-101 indicated flake graphite resource in the US at that time. Edmondson also served as Director of Business Development and Director of Community and Government Relations for Alabama Graphite. 

Edmondson has strategic relationships with community stakeholders, state-level officials, dozens of US Congressional offices, various federal agencies including the Department of Defense, US Geological Survey, Department of Energy, and various national research labs, as well as the most relevant battery and battery materials companies in the US and around the world.  Edmondson now provides consulting services for several critical mineral-related clients, including state-level economic development organizations, major mining companies, and DC-based defense and energy intelligence firms. In 2019, he founded US Critical Minerals (USCM), and within 6 months facilitated an organic arms-length transaction for a new flake graphite exploration company in Alabama with an Australian partner.    

Edmondson holds a Bachelor of Science and Master of Science in Geology from the University of Arkansas and is a registered professional geologist in the state of Alabama.

Dr. Robert Cook, PG

vice president of exploration

Dr. Cook is one of America’s most accomplished professional geologists, with more than 40 years of experience in both the state of Alabama and surrounding region. Dr. Cook is a Professor Emeritus in the Department of Geology at Auburn University in Auburn, Alabama and headed the University’s Department of Geology for more than two decades. Dr. Cook’s professional specialties are mineral exploration, environmental geology, and mining.

Dr. Cook holds a Doctorate degree and Master of Science graduate degree in Geology from the University of Georgia, in addition to a degree in Mining Engineering from the Colorado School of Mines. Dr. Cook has consulted for the United States Department of Defense (DoD), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the United States Department of Justice (DOJ), and the United Nations (UN). Dr. Cook has been a member of American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers, Alabama Academy of Science, Geological Society of America, Alabama Geological Society, Georgia Geological Society, and the Society of Exploration Geochemists, among several other professional organizations.