Bannerman has appointed a Technical Steering Committee to oversee and support the owner’s team management of the Etango-8 DFS. The Committee is chaired by veteran project developer Norman Green, who is complemented by John Turney, Mike Leech and Bannerman Energy CEO, Brandon Munro.
Norman Green has unrivalled expertise commissioning mines in Southern Africa. Most relevantly to Bannerman, he led the feasibility, environmental and construction phases of the large-scale Husab uranium mine in Namibia as CEO of Swakop Uranium, a subsidiary of Extract Resources Ltd, before handing over to CGN following their US$2.4B takeover of Extract in 2012. Amongst numerous other resources projects in Africa over the last 35 years, he led the construction and commissioning of the massive Skorpion Zinc mine and refinery project in Namibia and consulted to NamDeb on operational improvements at the Elizabeth Bay diamond mine, also in Namibia. Norman’s deep project development experience, extensive networks, detailed knowledge of the Namibian operating environment and direct experience developing a Namibian uranium mine provide ideal oversight and input for the Etango-8 DFS process and subsequent development pathway.
John Turney is also a titan of our industry. He is an engineer with more than 40 years’ resources industry experience including extensive experience in project development, mineral processing and mining operations. As Bannerman’s Project Director from 2008-2015, John oversaw the original Etango PFS (2009), DFS (2012) and DFS Optimisation Study (2015). His executive experience prior to Bannerman included an extensive role as Vice President, Capital Projects (Global) for Barrick, which saw him build deep expertise in the feasibility, development and commissioning of mining projects in Africa and elsewhere. He has also been around the block in uranium development. John is a deep thinker, is highly strategic and has particular expertise in metallurgy and mineral processing – in fact, he is the original patent holder for one of the most important developments in refractory gold processing.
Mike Leech is a respected statesman of the Namibian mining industry and offers a deep understanding of the Namibian operating, political and social-environmental landscape. He is a past President of the Namibian Chamber of Mines and past Chairman of the Namibian Uranium Association. Mike was Managing Director of Rossing Uranium Ltd, then the largest uranium mine in the world, until he retired in 2011. Before that, he was Rossing’s CFO for 15 years. Mike commenced working in the uranium sector in 1982 – so has seen more than one cycle – and is currently Chairman of Bannerman Mining Resources (Namibia) and a non-executive director of Bannerman.
The Technical Steering Committee meets weekly with Werner Ewald (Managing Director – Bannerman Mining Resources Namibia) and Wood’s lead project manager, together with other invited consultants as required.
You can read the full announcement on the Etango-8 DFS progression, including the Technical Steering Committee, here.