Appointment of Independent NEDs and Board Changes

RNS Number : 1183F

Bushveld Minerals Limited

17 March 2022

 

17 March 2022

Bushveld Minerals Limited  

("Bushveld", the "Company" or the "Group")  

Appointment of Independent Non-Executive Directors and Board Changes

Bushveld Minerals Limited (AIM: BMN), the AIM-listed, integrated primary vanadium producer which owns high-grade vanadium assets in South Africa, is pleased to announce the appointment of three new independent non-executive directors and other changes to its Board of Directors (the "Board").

Kevin Alcock, Mirco Bardella and Jacqueline Musiitwa have been appointed to the board as non-executive directors ("NEDs") with immediate effect. These appointments have been 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.  

In conjunction with these appointments, the Company announces that Jeremy Friedlander, who has been a non-executive director of the Company since 2012, has retired from the Board. Additionally, the Company is giving notice that Ian Watson, Non-Executive Chairman, and Anthony Viljoen, Non-Executive Director, will be retiring from the Board over the course of the next few months. The sequencing of the retirements is to ensure both continuity and compliance with the Company's Articles of Incorporation.

Ian Watson will not stand for re-election at the forthcoming Annual General Meeting in 2022 with Michael Kirkwood, the Company's Senior Independent NED, then acting as interim chairperson until a suitable replacement is appointed. A formal search for a new chairperson is already underway. Anthony Viljoen's retirement will become effective once the onboarding of a fourth independent non-executive director has been finalised. Following the above changes, the board of Bushveld Minerals will comprise two executive directors (Fortune Mojapelo, Chief Executive Officer and Tanya Chikanza, Finance Director), an acting non-executive chairperson, and four independent non-executive directors.

Details of the new independent non-executive directors are set out below:

Kevin Alcock is an entrepreneur, business leader and adviser who has excelled in the development and growth of international services and investment companies across a range of industry sectors. He is a qualified chartered accountant and has actively managed a portfolio of consultancy clients and private equity investments in the UK and Southern Africa. He has held a number of non-executive director roles in the past dozen years, including board positions at several prominent asset management firms. Between 2006 and 2009 he was CEO of Morse Plc, where he led the transformation of the group into an integrated, single branded IT and professional services business in chosen industry sectors.

Mirco Bardella is a former EY Assurance Partner who led audits in the natural resources sector and advised organisations on a range of assurance and governance services. A chartered accountant with over 25 years of experience in this field, he led EY's assurance services in the Mining & Metals sector with extensive experience operating across borders and cultural divides. Throughout his career, he has been involved in mentorship programmes, diversity & inclusiveness initiatives, as well as other aspects of the people agenda.

Jacqueline Musiitwa's professional background is strongly rooted in policy, legal and regulatory reform, geopolitical risk analysis, collaborative facilitation, stakeholder engagement and environmental, social and governance compliance. A qualified attorney, she founded Hoja Law Group, a legal consultancy that represented governments in improving the business enabling environment and clients interested in cross border trade and market expansion. She previously served in various leadership capacities including as Chief Advisor of Corporate Relations for Africa and Ventures at Rio Tinto, Executive Director of Financial Sector Deepening Uganda, Legal Counsel and Assistant to the CEO of the Eastern and Southern African Trade and Development Bank, Advisor to the Director-General of World Trade Organization, Chief Legal and Investor Relations at Baobab Africa.

Ian Watson, Chairperson of Bushveld Minerals, commented:

" On behalf of the Board, I must thank Jeremy for his significant contribution to Bushveld over a decade of service to the Company, helping provide vital guidance and leadership as the business rapidly grew from an explorer to one of the most significant primary vanadium producers globally.

"It is with great pleasure that I welcome the new directors announced today. I have no doubt, these new appointments will help us maintain the strong combination of skills, experience and knowledge that we have always had, not only at board level, but throughout the company."

ENDS  

Enquiries: [e-mail]   

Bushveld Minerals Limited		[phone]
Fortune Mojapelo, Chief Executive Officer
Andrew Mari, Investor Relations
SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP	Nominated Adviser & Broker	[phone]
Richard Morrison / Charlie Bouverat
Grant Baker / Richard Parlons
Tavistock	Financial PR
Gareth Tredway / Tara Vivian-Neal/ Adam Baynes		[phone]

Schedule 2(g) of the AIM Rules

Information required under Schedule 2(g) of the AIM Rules for Companies ("AIM Rules) is set out below.

Mirco Bardella, aged 63

Current directorships and/or partnerships:	Former directorships and/or partnerships (within the last five years):
Bardella Investments Pty Ltd Bardella Investments Limited Fairfields Cobham Freehold Limited Chance for Childhood	Ernst & Young Europe LLP Ernst & Young LLP Street Child Africa

Mr Bardella holds no ordinary shares, options or warrants in the Company.

Kevin Robert Alcock, aged 59

Current directorships and/or partnerships:	Former directorships and/or partnerships (within the last five years):
Ninety One Fund Managers UK Limited Ninety One Assurance Limited Ninety One Alternative Investments GP (Pty) Limited RMI Investment Managers Group (Pty) Limited Executive Consulting Services Limited Sky Pharmaceuticals Group (Pvt) Limited Cadre Consulting (Pty) Limited Silica Group Holdings Limited	Coriolis Capital Limited Knadel Limited State Street Southern Africa Limited (Pty) Ltd

Mr Alcock holds 2,455,809 ordinary shares in the Company.

Jacqueline Munalula Musiitwa, aged 40:

Current directorships and/or partnerships:	Former directorships and/or partnerships (within the last five years):
Hoja Law Group PLLC PPC Zimbabwe Limited Crisis Action Limited International Rescue Committee, U.K. Ideo.org Transitional Trade Inc	Microcred Zimbabwe (Pvt) Limited Prime Insurance Plc Kalene Hill Resources Limited (prev. Kelene Hill Resources Limited) Lyapalo Limited Bank of Zambia International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development

Ms Musiitwa holds no ordinary shares, options or warrants in the Company.

ABOUT BUSHVELD MINERALS LIMITED  

Bushveld Minerals is a low-cost, vertically integrated primary vanadium producer. It is one of only three operating primary vanadium producers, owning 2 of the world's 4 operating primary vanadium processing facilities. In 2021, the Company produced approximately 3,600 mtV, representing approximately three per cent of the global vanadium market. With a diversified vanadium product portfolio serving the needs of the steel, energy and chemical sectors, the Company participates in the entire vanadium value chain through its two main pillars: Bushveld Vanadium, which mines and processes vanadium ore; and Bushveld Energy, an energy storage solutions provider. Bushveld Vanadium is targeting to materially grow its vanadium production and achieve an annualised steady state production run rate of between 5,000 mtVp.a. and 5,400 mtVp.a by the end of 2022, from projects currently being implemented. Beyond that, pre-feasibility studies are in progress to determine the optimal path to increase production even further to a steady state production run rate of between 6,400 mtVp.a. and 6,800 mtVp.a. in the medium-term and to a steady state production run rate of 8,400 mtVp.a in the long term. 

Bushveld Energy is focused on developing and promoting the role of vanadium in the growing global energy storage market through the advancement of vanadium-based energy storage systems, specifically Vanadium Redox Flow Batteries ("VRFBs"). 

Detailed information on the Company and progress to date can be accessed on the website www.bushveldminerals.com  

ABOUT BUSHVELD ENERGY LIMITED  

Bushveld Energy is a leading energy storage solutions provider, focusing on the African market. Bushveld Energy recognises that the requirement for electricity in Africa touches on both the paramount potential for social transformation and an immense commercial opportunity. 

Bushveld Energy is focused on developing and promoting the role of vanadium in the growing global energy storage market through application in vanadium redox flow batteries ("VRFB"). Its near-term strategy is to deploy several VRFB systems as part of its longer-term vision to become a significant electricity storage provider in Africa, meeting the demand for utility scale energy storage in Africa by leveraging South Africa-mined and beneficiated vanadium. Bushveld Energy's business model embraces a number of activities along the VRFB value chain, including electrolyte manufacturing, investment in VRFB manufacturing, battery deployment and project development. 

http://www.bushveldenergy.com  

 

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