Keep up with the latest executive movements across the mining sector, including Fortescue Future Industries, Strandline Resources and Alcoa.
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Felicity Gooding has resigned as chief financial officer (CFO) of Fortescue Future Industries (FFI), having been in the role since November 2022.
She was previously FFI global head of commercial before being promoted to the CFO position upon Guy Debelle’s resignation.
When asked about Gooding’s departure by the Australian Financial Review, FFI chief executive officer Mark Hutchinson said the company would be sad to see her go.
“While we are sad to see Felicity go, particularly after a long and dedicated period of service to the Fortescue family at large during her time at Minderoo and Tattarang, we are grateful to her for the incredible contribution she has made and look forward to hearing of her many successes,” he said.
Gooding’s resignation comes after the broader Fortescue company also had its CFO resign in January this year, before the company appointed Christine Morris to the position in June.
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Strandline Resources has appointed a highly experienced operations executive to lead the company in developing its mineral sands projects.
Jozsef Patarica will assume the role of chief executive officer (CEO) at Strandline, which will provide additional executive strength for managing director Luke Graham. Patarica has extensive experience in executive resource positions across Australia and Africa, including the mineral sands sector.
Strandline has numerous mineral sands operations, including the Coburn mineral sands project in WA, and several more in Tanzania.
Coburn is one of the largest zircon and titanium deposits in the world. The project lies 240km north of the major minerals port of Geraldton in Western Australia. It has key project approvals already in place, including mining and environmental approvals and native title heritage agreements.
Strandline chair Didier Murcia said the company had grown rapidly from a small explorer to a significant mineral sands producer, requiring increased resources across the business.
“Jozsef brings invaluable technical knowledge and management experience,” Murcia said.
“His thorough knowledge of the mineral sands industry, extending from exploration and development through to processing and production, will be immensely valuable to Strandline as we unlock the full value of our outstanding Coburn project in WA.
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Following the departure of its chief commercial officer (CCO) Kelly Thomas, Alcoa has announced that Renato Bacchi will step up as COO and executive vice president.
Bacchi will lead the company’s sales and trading, along with marketing, supply chain, commercial operations, procurement and transportation.
He was previously chief strategy and innovation officer, which saw him oversee Alcoa’s global energy assets and technology programs.
“We will miss Kelly’s strong leadership, and we will build on the work that she accomplished with the signing of numerous supply contracts, including for our Sustana suite of products,” Alcoa president and chief executive officer Roy Harvey said.
“As Renato steps into his new role, he brings a wealth of experience and expertise, including his strategic view of our global energy markets and a focus on our long-term vision to reinvent the aluminium industry through our research and development programs.”
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Mineral Commodities has appointed Scott Lowe as its new CEO, who is currently managing director of Firefinch where he will finish up on August 31.
In the past, Lowe has also been CEO of ArcelorMittal’s West African mining business in Liberia and has held executive positions at BHP and Peabody Pacific.
He has extensive experience in dealing with public markets, having raised capital and negotiated successful joint ventures with BHP and Glencore. He also has operational experience, including managing the start-up of new mines in South Africa and West Africa.
Lowe’s appointment coincides with interim CEO Adam Bick transitioning to the role of CFO.
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Gerhard Redelinghuys has resigned as an executive director of Bowen Coking Coal due to personal reasons.
Redelinghuys founded Bowen Coking Coal in 2016 and listed the company on the ASX in October 2017.
“While disappointed with Gerhard’s decision, personally and on behalf of the board we would like to express our gratitude to Gerhard as founder of this business and his for efforts to steer the company to this point,” Bowen executive chair Nick Jorss said.
Redelinghuys said that with the handover to the company’s new CEO, Mark Ruston, complete, now was the time for him to step aside and move onto new challenges.
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