Board of Directors
Christopher Sangster (Director and Chief Executive Officer)
BSc (Hons), ARSM, GDE
Mr Sangster is a mining engineer with over 28 years experience in the mining industry. He has a BSc Hons in Mining Engineering from the Royal School of Mines, Imperial College in London and a GDE in Mineral Economics from the University of Witwatersrand.
He currently lives close to the Company’s exploration licences at Comrie in Scotland with his wife and family.
Mr Sangster’s career covers extensive production and technical experience at senior levels in both junior and multi-national companies in gold, diamonds and base metals in Africa, UK and Canada and covers a wide range of mining applications.
Between 1996 and 1999 Mr Sangster was General Manger for Caledonia Mining Corporation for the Cononish Gold Project and a Director of Fynegold Exploration, where he was responsible for all aspects of the project including feasibility study preparation, project due diligence, finance negotiations, exploration initiatives and planning permission applications.
After 1999, Mr Sangster moved to the Zambian Copperbelt with Anglo American Plc / KCMPlc where he attained the position of Vice President Mining Services and in 2005 joined Australian Mining Consultants as a Principal Mining Engineer. More recently, Mr Sangster was employed as General Manager for AIM – listed company European Diamonds Plc.
John Bentley (Non Executive Chairman)
John is British and has 40 years experience in the natural resources sector. He was Managing Director of Gencor's Brazilian mining company, Sao Bento Mineracao, from 1988 to 1993 when he became chief executive of Engen's Exploration & Production division. In 1996 he was instrumental in floating Energy Africa Ltd on the Johannesburg stock exchange and became Chief Executive for the following five years. More recently John was Executive Chairman of FirstAfrica Oil plc from September 2006 until its acquisition by BowLeven plc in early 2007.
He currently serves on the board of a number of resource companies including as chairman of Artumas Group Inc and Faroe Petroleum plc and non-executive director of Resaca Exploitation Inc. and Kea Petroleum plc. John holds a degree in Metallurgy from Brunel University and lives in Fife. John was appointed to the board in February 2009.
Phillip Jackson (Non Executive Director)
BJuris LLB MBA FAICD
Mr Jackson is a barrister and solicitor with over 25 years legal and international corporate experience, especially in the areas of commercial and contract law; mining law and corporate structuring. He has worked extensively in the Middle East ; Asia and the United States of America. In Australia , he was formerly a managing legal counsel for Western Mining Corporation, and in private practice specialized in small to medium resource companies.
Mr Jackson is currently a director and senior executive of the Australian and Asian subsidiaries of a large multinational oil services company. He has been a director of a number of Australian public companies, particularly junior mining companies. His experience includes management, finance, accounting and human resources.
He has been chairman of Aurora Minerals Limited since it listed in 2004 and Desert Energy Limited, since it listed in August 2007.
Shane Beatty Sadleir (Non Executive Director)
BSc (Hons), FAusIMM
Mr Sadleir is a soil scientist and geologist with over 30 years experience in exploration, mining and environmental aspects of the mining industry. He graduated with a BSc (Hons) from the University of Western Australia in 1974 after specializing in the mineralogy and geochemistry of Darling Range bauxite deposits.
Following a brief period of research at the University Mr Sadleir joined Alcoa of Australia Ltd in 1977, where he gained extensive mining and exploration experience working on the bauxite deposits of the Darling Ranges and Mitchell Plateau in Western Australia. He left Alcoa in 1987 to work in senior positions in smaller mining companies operating alluvial and open cut gold mines in the Pilbara and Murchison goldfields. Between 1990 and 2009 Mr Sadleir was involved in the exploration of gold, uranium, nickel, base metals, bauxite and mineral sands projects in Australia and overseas. Until 2002, he was also involved in the environmental impact assessment of major industrial, mining and land use projects and the remediation of contaminated sites in Western Australia for the Environmental Protection Authority.
Mr Sadleir was the inaugural Managing Director of nickel and uranium explorer Bannerman Resources Limited in 2005 until his resignation in early 2006. During 2006 he was a non-Executive Director and assisted in the project acquisition and ASX listing of Trafford Resources Limited and Athena Resources Limited. From 2007 until his resignation in May 2009 he was Chairman of Scotgold Resources Limited and was instrumental in its project acquisition and listing on the ASX. Currenly he is a significant shareholder Scotgold Resources, Trafford Resources and Athena Resources and remains a non-executive director of Trafford Resources Limited. In October 2008 he was appointed to the Board of Robust Resources Limited as a non-Executive Director.