Appointment of Non-Executive Directors

RNS Number : 8067F

Horizonte Minerals PLC

24 March 2022

 

NEWS RELEASE

24 March 2022

Horizonte Minerals Plc

("Horizonte" or the "Company")

Appointment of Non-Executive Directors

Horizonte Minerals Plc, (AIM: HZM, TSX: HZM) the nickel company focused on Brazil is pleased to announce the appointment to the Board of Gillian Davidson as independent non-executive director and Vincent Benoit as non-executive director with immediate effect.

Gillian Davidson

Gillian Davidson, an industry leader in sustainability, has over 25 years of experience in the extractives and natural resources sectors. She is an independent sustainability advisor and currently serves as a non-executive director on the boards of AIM quoted Central Asia Metals plc and TSX listed Lundin Gold and New Gold Inc.  Gillian Davidson is a founding member and Chair of the Global Battery Alliance, an initiative created to drive a sustainable battery value chain. Gillian Davidson is also Chair of International Women in Mining.

Gillian Davidson was, until 2017, Head of Mining & Metals at the World Economic Forum, leading global and regional initiatives for responsible and sustainable development. Prior to this, she was Director of Social Responsibility at Teck Resources Limited.

She holds a MA (Hons) in Geography from the University of Glasgow, a PhD in Development Economics and Economic Geography from the University of Liverpool and is an alumnus of the Governor General of Canada's Leadership Conference.

Vincent Benoit

Vincent Benoit has over 30 years of corporate finance, business development and M&A experience in the mining, telecom, and energy sectors. Vincent identified the opportunity to buy La Mancha and joined the company as Head of Strategy & Business Development in 2012, before leading La Mancha's portfolio restructuring and contributing to the enhancement of its mines performance in Australia and Africa then identifying and executing the combinations with Evolution and Endeavour, which positioned La Mancha as a leading private investor in the gold mining sector. From 2016 to 2019, Vincent was CFO and EVP Corporate Development at Endeavour where he reshaped the strategy, improved the mine portfolio quality, and enhanced the balance sheet to fund the organic growth. Endeavour's market capitalization was quadrupled by the time he left at the end of 2019. In early 2020, he re-joined La Mancha to oversee investments and fund raising.

Previously, Vincent was at Orange (2006-2012) where he served as EVP M&A. He led the development of the group's footprint in Africa and Europe and formed strategic partnerships with key European telecoms players. Prior to this, Vincent held various finance positions including with Orano (ex-Areva), Bull Information Systems and PwC. Vincent holds a MSc from Kedge Business School and is a Chartered Accountant.

Horizonte CEO, Jeremy Martin commented: "We are delighted to welcome two industry leaders to the Board of Horizonte. Gillian and Vincent both bring new expertise to the Horizonte senior team, particularly in the areas of sustainability, corporate finance and project oversight. Their experience will be invaluable in helping the Company achieve its objective of becoming the next major, low-cost, sustainable nickel producer, through the development of Araguaia and Vermelho.

The appointment of Gillian and Vincent is the first phase of the Board's evolution to better reflect our new shareholder register and the skillset required to successfully deliver two tier one nickel projects through to production."

Regulatory

The following information is disclosed in accordance with Rule 17 and paragraph (g) of Schedule 2 of the AIM Rules for Companies:

Full name and age:	Dr Gillian Davidson (aged 50)
Current directorships:	Cobalt Institute
	Global Battery Alliance
	International Women in Mining C.I.C.
	Lundin Gold Inc.
	New Gold Inc.
	Wild Mountain Consulting Limited
Former Directorships (previous five years):	Lydian International Limited

Full name and age:	Mr Vincent Marie Michel Touzery-Benoit (aged 54)
Current directorships:	La Mancha Capital Advisory Limited Liability Partnership
	La Mancha Services UK Ltd
	SC Amaré
	SCI A.B. Gestion
Former Directorships (previous five years):	Dailymotion SA
	Euronews SA
	Evolution Mining Limited
	Générale de Téléphone SA
	Innovacom Gestion SAS
	Orange Business Services Participations SA
	Orange Capital Investment SA
	Orange Capital SA
	Societé des mines d'Ity
	Transatel SA

Gillian Davidson and Vincent Benoit do not hold any ordinary shares nor options over ordinary shares in the Company. Vincent Benoit is a Partner and Chief Investment Officer of La Mancha Capital Advisory LLP, which holds 759,128,764 shares in the Company.

There is no further information which is required to be disclosed under Schedule Two, paragraph (g) of the AIM Rules for Companies in respect of Gillian Davidson and Vincent Marie Michel Touzery-Benoit.

For further information, visit www.horizonteminerals.com or contact:

Horizonte Minerals plc Jeremy Martin (CEO) Anna Legge (Corporate Communications)	[e-mail] [phone]
Peel Hunt (NOMAD & Joint Broker) Ross Allister David McKeown	[phone]
BMO (Joint Broker) Thomas Rider Pascal Lussier Duquette Andrew Cameron	[phone]

About Horizonte Minerals:

Horizonte Minerals plc (AIM & TSX: HZM) is developing two 100% owned, tier one projects in Parà state, Brazil - the Araguaia Nickel Project and the Vermelho Nickel-Cobalt Project. Both projects are large scale, high-grade, low-cost, low-carbon and scalable. Araguaia is fully funded and in construction. The project will produce 29,000 tonnes of nickel per year to supply the stainless steel market. Vermelho is at feasibility study stage and will produce 25,000 tonnes of nickel and 1,250 tonnes of cobalt to supply the EV battery market.  Horizonte's combined near-term production profile of over 50,000 tonnes of nickel per year positions the Company as a globally significant nickel producer. Horizonte is developing a new nickel district in Brazil that will benefit from established infrastructure, including hydroelectric power available in the Carajás Mining District.

 

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