Keep up with the latest executive movements across the mining sector, featuring Wiluna, Liontown Resources, De Grey Mining and more.
****
Wiluna Mining Corporation has announced Milan Jerkovic has stepped down as executive chair, with Rowan Johnston appointed interim non-executive chair in his place.
Michael Monaghan has been appointed as acting chief executive officer (CEO) and will be supported by Robert Ryan as acting chief operating officer along with general manager – operations Jon Pluckhahn and his on-site team.
It comes as the company looks to reset its mine plan to take advantage of the 5.5-million-ounce gold resource at the Wiluna gold operation in Western Australia.
“With the new flotation plant producing saleable concentrate and operating at a higher than name-plate capacity and improved specifications, the question of metallurgy has been answered,” interim chair Rowan Johnston said.
“The gold is there, it can be extracted and recovered. With most of the upfront capital expenditure on the WilTails project already spent and its commissioning currently being targeted for October 2022, we will have a further revenue stream coming online.”
Wiluna was trading at $0.22 at the time of writing (July 7) with a market capitalisation of $78 million.
****
Ora Banda Mining has appointed Luke Creagh as CEO. Creagh brings with him 20 years’ experience working for mining companies and contractors at projects in Australia and overseas.
Creagh most recently served as chief operating officer of Northern Star Resources. Prior to becoming that, he held various senior positions within Northern Star, including general manager – business development, general manager – strategy and growth, and operations manager.
Ora Banda chair Peter Mansell said the appointment was a major boost for the company.
“We couldn’t be happier that Luke is joining us. He has had considerable experience managing mining operations and is highly qualified to guide Ora Banda through its current operational reset plan,” he said.
“We look forward to working with him for many years to come and are confident that, together, we can extract maximum value from Ora Banda’s highly prospective land package.”
Ora Banda owns the Davyhurst Gold Project in the highly productive Eastern Goldfields region of Western Australia.
****
Liontown Resources non-executive director Steven Chadwick has announced his retirement from the company’s board. Joining the Liontown board in January 2019, Chadwick has played an instrumental role in the company’s growth and success over the past three years.
Chadwick proved particularly influential in the formulation of Kathleen Valley’s definitive feasibility study (DFS), supporting the technical team in many key areas on the project.
He was also critical to Kathleen Valley’s metallurgical test work program, which ran for over a year and has helped position Liontown as a near-term lithium producer.
Chadwick’s retirement follows the appointment of highly experienced mining engineer Shane McLeay as an independent non-executive director in May, which the company said would ensure an appropriate balance of skills, capabilities and experience within the Liontown board as the company transitions from explorer to producer.
****
Paul Harvey has joined De Grey Mining as an independent non-executive director. With over 35 years’ experience in the global resources sector, Harvey has lived and worked in Australia, Africa and the Americas, serving in significant executive roles across global multi-commodity portfolios.
He worked at South32 from 2015–20, during which time he served as chief operating officer for four years. Prior to that, Harvey acted as the chief transformation officer and oversaw the South32 demerger from BHP.
De Grey chair Simon Lill is thrilled to have Harvey on board.
“Following an extensive selection process, we are delighted that Paul Harvey has agreed to join the De Grey board and will welcome his contribution and guidance as we continue to develop our Tier 1 Mallina gold project,” he said.
“De Grey is committed to building capability across the organisation and we have no doubt that Mr Harvey will be an important contributor, with his significant experiences of operations and development projects of size and scale.”