Home » About us » Board of directors

Keith Liddell

Executive Chairman

BSc Hons (Minerals Engineering); MSc (Engineering)

Mr. Liddell has been a director of Platmin since March 29, 2006. Mr. Liddell has extensive experience in developing resource projects: he worked at Mintek in South Africa as Group Leader – Precious Metals from 1981 to 1988, with a focus on PGMs and refractory gold, and received two silver medals for his contribution to the development of platinum concentrators. Mr. Liddell is the former Managing Director of Aquarius Platinum Limited. Mr. Liddell is a registered Professional Engineer in Australia, South Africa and the United Kingdom and holds a number of patents relating to platinum processing and ultra-fine milling.

Kwape Mmela

Non-executive Deputy Chairman

LLB

Mr. Mmela joined Boynton Investments, Platmin’s operating subsidiary in South Africa in 2006. His key areas of focus include new business development and government relations. Mr. Mmela established the Moepi Group which is the BEE partner owning shares in the operating subsidiary Boynton Investments. He previously held the position of manager responsible for mining, mineral and land rights at Anglo Platinum. From 1995 to 1997 Mr. Mmela was an adviser to the Constitutional Assembly during the drafting of South Africa’s final constitution; from 1997 to 2002 he was the Land Claims Commissioner responsible for the resolution of land claims in two South African provinces. In recognition of his work in the public service, he was the recipient of the Batho Pele (People First) award from the former Minister of Agriculture and Land Affairs of South Africa. Mr. Mmela earned an LLB degree from UNISA. He has been a board member since July 2007.

Ian Clyde Watson

Chief Executive Officer

Pr Eng

Mr. Watson was appointed to the Platmin board in August 2004. He started his career at Gold Fields South Africa (GFSA) as trainee mining engineer and progressed through the ranks. He has held senior positions at a number of South African gold mines including that of mine manager at West Driefontein. He later led the start-up of Northam Platinum including the underground mine design, pioneering the use of hydropower and commissioning of the mine’s metallurgical operations. In 1992 Mr. Watson was appointed a Consulting Engineer for GFSA, providing technical and managerial services for the Group’s gold, platinum and base metal companies. In 1998 Mr. Watson returned to Northam Platinum Limited as its managing director, Mr. Watson became a director of Platmin on August 5, 2004.

Dr Peter Ruxton

Director

BSc (Hons); PhD Economic Geology; MBA

Mr. Ruxton was appointed to the Platmin board in October 2004. After his studies he joined The Sheel Company of Australia and progressed to Senior Geologist for South West Pacific, in Kalgoorie, Western Australia, a position he held until 1990. He also completed a research fellowship at the University of Tasmania during this period. From September 1992 to 1994, Mr Ruxton held the position of Regional Exploration Manager with Shell for the Northern Territory of Australia. In 1994 he joined Ross Mining N.L. of Australia as exploration manager. He formed a consultancy in 1997 where he practiced until November 2000, Mr. Ruxton joined CDC as an investment manager in its minerals, oil and gas team with a focus on Africa, and following the creation of Actis Capital LLP in 2004, held the position of investment principal before becoming a partner in November 2006. Mr. Ruxton has been a director of Platmin since October 27, 2004.

Brian Gilbertson

Director

BSc (Hons), MSc, MBL, PMD45

In 1960, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) awarded him a bursary to study at Rhodes University where, in 1963, he obtained a BSc degree, majoring in Mathematics and Physics. The following year he earned a BSc (Hons) in Physics. Following further study (part-time), he was awarded an MSc in Physics by Rhodes University in 1969 and an MBL by the University of South Africa in 1973. In 1983 he attended PMD45 at Harvard University.

From 1992, Mr. Gilbertson led the transformation of the South African conglomerate Gencor into a focused mining company. The industrial and financial interests were “unbundled” to shareholders, and large new capital investments (including Columbus Stainless Steel and the Hillside Aluminium Smelter) were successfully implemented. Gencor entered the international arena in 1994 via the US$1.2 billion purchase of the mining interests (the Billiton assets) of the Royal Dutch/Shell group. In July 1997, Gencor sold its non-precious metals interests to a new London-domiciled corporation, Billiton Plc. Billiton’s investments and acquisitions in the ensuing years (the Mozal aluminium smelter, the Worsley alumina plant, and the take-over of Rio Algom) culminated in the merger with BHP Ltd of Australia, on July 1, 2001, to create BHP Billiton plc. Mr. Gilbertson has also had active roles in the merger of the gold operations of Gencor and Gold Fields of South Africa, creating Gold Fields, a leader in the world gold mining industry, as well as the formation of Incwala Resources, a pioneering Black Economic Empowerment initiative in South Africa. He has also played a leading role in the October 2006 merger between Russian aluminum producers SUAL and RUSAL, and the alumina assets of Glencore, to form the world’s premier aluminium company. Mr. Gilbertson is currently the Chairman of Pallinghurst Resources LLP. Mr. Gilberson has been a board member since December 2008.

Arne Frandsen

Director

BA, LLM, Master in Law

Following completion of his degrees, Mr Frandsen undertook extensive legal research in Europe, Japan and South Africa, leading to the publishing of a number of articles as well as a book on cross-border investments. Once his research was successfully completed, Mr Frandsen moved to London to start a professional career as a Corporate Financier and Investment Banker. Mr Frandsen has over 10 years of investment banking experience in London and New York with Goldman Sachs and JPMorganChase, providing strategic advice, structuring mergers and acquisitions as well as executing corporate finance transactions for clients in 30 different countries, raising in excess of USD 20bn of capital. From 2004, Mr Frandsen acted as Client Executive for JPMorganChase in South Africa, followed by a year as Chief Executive Officer of Incwala Resources, one of South Africa’s leading BEE mining companies. Mr Frandsen joined Pallinghurst Resources LLP in 2006 and is a partner of the limited liability partnership and the Pallinghurst Investment Manager as well as the CEO of the listed Pallinghurst Resources. In addition, Mr. Frandsen is a non-executive director of many of the companies in which Pallinghurst has invested. Mr. Frandsen has been a board member since 19 December 2008.

John Calvert

Director

LLB (Hons)

Mr. Calvert is a Managing Partner of NGP Midstream & Resources, L.P. (“M&R”) a U.S.-based private equity fund which invests in the midstream energy sector and all facets of the mining & minerals sectors. Prior to co-founding M&R, Mr. Calvert had 15 years of experience as an investment banker responsible for initiating, structuring and executing transactions in the natural resource industries. Mr. Calvert’s prior experience included serving as a Managing Director at Deutsche Bank in the Large-Cap Investment Banking Coverage Group based in New York, where he provided strategic counsel and transaction execution advice to Deutsche Bank’s global mining and metals clients. Prior to joining Deutsche Bank, Mr. Calvert was a Managing Director and Global Head of Mining Investment Banking at Credit Suisse First Boston. Mr. Calvert earned a Bachelor of Laws (First Class Honors) degree from the University of Sydney. Mr. Calvert joined the board in April 2009.

Chris von Christierson

Director

BComm, MA

Mr von Christierson has been a director and principal of the Southern Prospecting Group of Companies since 1979 through which he has been actively involved in the establishment of a number of international exploration and mining projects. He has been a director of Gold Fields Limited since 1999. He founded and was Chairman of Rio Narcea Gold Mines Limited from 1994 to 2007. Prior to that he was Chairman of Golden Shamrock Mines Limited from 1991 to 1994, Chief Executive of East Daggafontein Mines Limited from 1981 to 1991. He was appointed to the Platmin Board on 2 June 2009.