Mineral Commodities has named Scott Lowe as the company’s new chief executive officer. Mr Lowe has more than 35 years of industry experience and will oversee promising projects in WA and South Africa..
The company says the senior mining executive is currently the managing director of Firefinch and will start in his new role from September 1.
In recent years, Mr Lowe has worked with South32 in Australia and as chief executive officer of ArcelorMittal’s West African mining business in Liberia. He has also has worked as a chief executive officer for other ASX-listed exploration and development companies and in senior management roles for established miners, BHP and coal player Peabody Energy.
Management says Mr Lowe’s record includes the delivery of record production and low costs in an open-cut operation in West Africa during the pandemic and managing the start-up of new open-cut and underground mines in South Africa and West Africa. He holds an MBA, in addition to qualifications in mining engineering, a mine manager’s certificate of competency and a diploma in marine terminal operations from King’s Point Merchant Marine Academy in New York.
Mr Adam Bick who has been acting as interim CEO will continue with the company as chief financial officer.
Mr Lowe joins Minerals Commodities at an interesting time. Last month, the company moved forward with a graphite project when it inked a new deal with the Esperance Tjaltjraak Native Title Aboriginal Corporation (ETNTAC) to progress with its Munglinup graphite project in Western Australia’s South West region.
As part of the deal, a royalty payment of 0.5 per cent of gross proceeds from the sale or disposal of graphite concentrate extracted from the project each year – once production starts – will be payable to the traditional owner group. The payments will fund employment and training opportunities and broader community engagements for Kepa Kuri Wudjari residents.
Operations at Munglinup will be synchronised with the company’s other graphite mine in north-west Norway to enhance its potential to become a noteworthy supplier in the international graphite market.
Mineral Commodities is also a mineral sands producer via its Tormin operation in South Africa. It kicked another goal back in May when it tabled a maiden mineral resource at its De Punt project in South Africa of 66.1 million tonnes at an impressive 16.9 per cent total heavy minerals (THM) for 11.19 million tonnes THM.
The official resource brought the company’s total Tormin mineral resource to an estimated 282.6 million tonnes at 10.9 per cent THM, containing a massive 30.8 million tonnes THM. The upgrade represented a 31 per cent increase in Tormin mineral resource tonnes and a whopping 57 per cent increase for in-situ heavy minerals.
And the company says it has even more potential to increase its resource, considering only one of seven targets has been drilled at De Punt. That will clearly give Mr Lowe something to sink his teeth into.
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