A critical-minerals family office founded and run by Ashley Zumwalt-Forbes. We invest across the value chain, from Series B private companies to listed corporations, with roots in both government and industry.
An engineer with thirteen years of experience acquiring, financing, and developing greenfield and brownfield natural resources projects around the globe.
She formerly served as the United States' Deputy Director for Batteries and Critical Materials, overseeing the deployment of ~$6B in non-dilutive equity and ~$10B in tax credits into the US battery supply chain. Before government she co-founded and served as President of Black Mountain Metals and Black Mountain Exploration, and was Co-Founder and Senior Advisor of MAC Copper Ltd (NYSE: MTAL) from 2021 to 2023, through both its IPO and its business combination. Harmony Gold acquired MAC Copper in an all-cash deal valued at $1.03 billion in October 2025.
Earlier she held Lead Engineering roles at ExxonMobil and XTO Energy, managing drilling, completions, and planning for international shale exploration, laying the groundwork for more than US$1 billion of capital deployment. She was named to Forbes' 30 Under 30 in Energy, Oil & Gas Investor's Forty Under 40, and the Dallas Business Journal's Top 25 Women in Business.
With roots in both government and industry, we turn big ideas into execution-ready ventures.
Smoketree Resources
Founders, co-investors, policy counterparts, and press all reach us here. Every inquiry is read by the principal.