Changing Of The Guard At Bushveld Minerals
Bushveld Minerals has appointed David Noko as an independent non-executive director to the Board of Directors, concurrent with this appointment, the Company has also announced the retirement of Anthony Viljoen from the Board.
Viljoen was a founding member of Bushveld Minerals and played an instrumental role in Bushveld Minerals’ growth and transition from explorer to producer. Following this transformation in the business, he focused on developing the Company’s tin assets, which led to them being spun out of Bushveld with the listing of AfriTin Mining on AIM in 2017.
Viljoen is the CEO of AfriTin and his retirement from the Bushveld Minerals Board comes at a time when AfriTin is rapidly developing its large-scale resources at the Uis Mine in Namibia.
Noko is highly regarded in the South African and global business circles and has years of experience both as an executive and more recently as board member on several prominent companies, including, Royal Bafokeng Platinum, Harmony Gold Mining Company, AstraPak and Platistone Holdings.
He is currently a Non-Executive Director at inter alia African Rainbow Minerals and Tongaat Hulett, as well as being a Lead Advisor at his consultancy company, ESG Advisory. He is also the Chairman of the Council of the University of the Free State.
Noko’s career included senior roles at General Electric Company, Pepsi Cola International, South African Breweries, De Beers Group and most recently held the position of Executive Vice President at AngloGold Ashanti until March 2019.
David’s appointment follows the appointments, announced on 17 March 2022, of three other non-executive directors, made to ensure that the Board’s composition meets the high standards of corporate governance expected of London listed companies and reflect Bushveld Minerals’ status as a significant primary producer of vanadium in South Africa.
Following the above changes, the Board of Bushveld Minerals will comprise two executive directors (Fortune Mojapelo, CEO and Tanya Chikanza, Finance Director), an independent non-executive chairperson, and five independent non-executive directors.
Viljoen comments:
“I am extremely honoured to have been part of this exciting story since the very beginning. Bushveld Minerals started as an idea between two colleagues who saw numerous opportunities in Southern Africa’s resource space that were not being pursued due to the lack of any meaningful homegrown junior mining companies at the time.
“In a little over a decade, the Company has consolidated a large part of South Africa’s, and the world’s, primary vanadium processing capacity and high-grade resources, while also providing the platform for AfriTin, the company I now lead, to develop into the tin producer and lithium developer it is today.
“It has been an incredible journey, but it’s time for me to stand back and watch Bushveld Minerals continue to grow while I focus on the expansion of AfriTin.”
Ian Watson, Chairperson of Bushveld Minerals, commented:
“On behalf of the Board, I must thank Anthony for his significant contribution to Bushveld Minerals over more than a decade of service. He played a core part in the formation of the company and in the years hence. As an upstart in the South African mineral space, Bushveld’s fresh approach and nimbleness allowed the Company to act quickly on opportunities and obtain assets that today are a great deal more valuable than what was paid for them.
“It is with great pleasure that I welcome someone of David’s calibre to the Board. As an established, globally significant vanadium producer, his appointment, and the other recent appointees, creates a formidable structure which reflects our ambition to uphold the highest standards of corporate governance, but also leverage the knowledge and sound advice that these highly experienced individuals can offer, to the benefit of all shareholders.”
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