Board and management

Managing director – Adrian Griffin

Mr Griffin has more than 40 years’ experience in the mining industry – in project identification, development and financing, as well as oversight of integrated mining and processing facilities. A founding director of Northern Minerals (the first heavy-rare-earths producer outside China) and Parkway Minerals (developer of the K-Max™ process to recover potassium and other metals from glauconite), he is also a non-executive director of Reedy Lagoon Corporation. With particular expertise in processing technology, Mr Griffin is currently identifying unconventional sources of lithium (including mine waste) and developing the technology to process them plus more conventional feed stocks such as spodumene. As managing director of Lithium Australia, he is also focused on the downstream production of lithium-ion battery components, as well as the recycling of battery/e-waste to recover the energy metals they contain. In so doing, Mr Griffin is positioning the company as a vertically integrated producer of lithium processing technology, a manufacturer of battery components and a developer of battery recycling technology, the aim being to access all facets of the lithium value chain.

Non-executive director – Kristie Young

Ms Young’s varied background includes more than 20 years’ experience across a range of sectors, including technical engineering, project evaluation, strategy, business development, growth, marketing, commercial, client management, governance and human resources.

Most recently, Ms Young held senior growth and business development executive roles with leading professional services firms PwC and Ernst & Young. She is non-executive Chair with ChemX Materials and sits on the boards of Wesley College and the Energy Club of WA.

Ms Young holds a Bachelor of Engineering (Mining) Hons from the University of Queensland and a Post Graduate Diploma of Education (Mathematics & IT) from the University of Western Australia. She is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and holds a CertIV HR from the Australian HR Institute.

Non-executive director – Phil Thick

Mr Thick has over 30 years’ experience as a senior executive in oil and gas, mining and chemical processing in large multinational – as well as smaller, ASX-listed and privately owned – companies. In addition, he has extensive experience on many boards, in non-executive director roles, and chaired many of them for extended periods. Mr Thick enjoyed a 20-year career with Shell, both within Australia and overseas; for the last three he was on the board of Shell Australia as downstream director. This was followed by five years as a director and CEO of Coogee Chemicals, then four as CEO of New Standard Energy. During the past four and a half years, Mr Thick headed up Tianqi Lithium Australia, a subsidiary of Tianqi Lithium Corp out of China, one of the world’s largest lithium companies. (Tianqi owns 51% of the Greenbushes mine in Western Australia, the world’s best hard-rock lithium resource.) Mr Thick was charged with building the world’s largest lithium hydroxide plant in Kwinana, south of Perth, an investment of nearly A$1 billion. He also chairs the boards of the Chamber of Arts and Culture WA and Perth Symphony Orchestra.

Non-executive chairman – George Bauk

Mr Bauk has more than 30 years’ experience in the resource industry and 15+ years as a listed company director, involved in mining exploration and production both within Australia and overseas. With qualifications that include a Bachelor of Business (Accounting and Finance) from Edith Cowan University and an MBA from the University of New England, he has held global operational and corporate roles with Northern Minerals, WMC Resources and Western Metals. A Fellow of the CPA, Mr Bauk also boasts a strong background in strategic management, business planning, team building, finance and capital/debt raising (more than $350 million), and his expertise encompasses a variety of commodities; in particular, critical minerals such as rare earths, lithium, graphite, gold and uranium. During his time as managing director of Northern Minerals, Mr Bauk led that company’s rapid development from greenfields heavy-rare-earth explorer to one of the few global producers of high-value dysprosium outside of China. Mr Bauk has previously held senior positions within the Chamber of Minerals and Energy, including as its vice-president, and continues to be a passionate contributor to the Western Australian resources sector.

Company secretary  – Barry Woodhouse

For some 25 years, Mr Woodhouse has been involved in manufacturing, mining services, exploration, mine production (gold, oil and gas, iron ore, bauxite, lithium, copper, uranium and manganese) and information technology in his roles as, variously, chairman, director, CFO, financial controller and/or company secretary of a number of listed and private entities.

His career has granted him exposure to a number of jurisdictions, including the US, Indonesia, China, Vietnam, Europe and India. In general, Mr Woodhouse involves himself with a company while it is establishing or redefining its investment strategy.

Chief financial officer – Stuart Tarrant

Mr Tarrant is a senior finance professional of more than 20 years’ experience, most gained in rapidly growing or changing environments. He has worked within a range of industries, including mineral extraction, mineral exploration, finance and agribusiness. Most recently, Mr Tarrant  was CFO at Danakali Limited (ASX: DNK), which is developing the world-class Colluli potash project in Eritrea, East Africa. During his time with Danakali, Mr Tarrant worked through the study phases of the financial model that underpinned the economic outcomes and successfully secured US$200 million of project senior debt, as well as negotiating material operating contracts. Before that, he held roles with BHP, Leighton Contractors and Great Southern Limited, and also consulted to small- and mid-sized enterprises. Mr Tarrant brings with him specific expertise in fundraising, strategic analysis, governance and compliance, with a focus on value creation.