Wired: NRED announced Zacharia as an adviser, but she denies working there
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Wired found that on June 24, Katie Zacharia was announced as a member of the advisory board of NRED Intelligent Mining, then called NovaRed Mining, alongside Kristi Noem. A release said she would advise on exploration projects and artificial intelligence initiatives. Zacharia said the announcement was “fake” and had not been authorized by her. Sam Amsterdam, described by Wired as Zacharia’s friend and colleague, said the release was issued without her consent and that discussions about her joining the company had not progressed. Valentin Saitarli, NRED’s chief technology officer and incoming CEO, confirmed that the role never materialized. The release and Zacharia’s name nevertheless remained on the company’s website for some time. NRED later announced a shift toward MetalCore, its AI-assisted mineral exploration platform.
Why it matters · editorial interpretation
The episode raises questions about NRED’s communication and authorization controls, since the company published and for some time kept the name of an adviser who said she had not authorized the announcement. That could make verification of roles and partnerships especially important for AI and mining companies.