Akora Resources Ltd is confident of reaping the benefits of Matthew Gill's extensive operational experience in the mining industry after his appointment as a non-executive director of the company.
His operational expertise, including the establishment and operation of four mines, is expected to be put to good use strategically as the company advances its iron ore projects in Madagascar toward development and production.
Vast experience
Gill is a mining engineer with more than 40 years of experience in technical, exploration and operational roles in national and international jurisdictions, adding a broad range of skills to help advance Akora in the next phase of its progression.
He has held various key roles for reputable organisations such as Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO), Castlemaine Goldfields, WMC, Placer Pacific, Renison Goldfields and Singapore-listed LionGold Corp.
Akora Resources managing director and CEO Paul Bibby said, “We are pleased to welcome Matt onto the board of Akora.
"He will bring a fresh voice that will deliver experienced operational insights to assist the development of Akora’s projects.”
About Akora
Akora Resources is an exploration company engaged in the exploration and development of the Bekisopa, Satrokala, Tratramarina and Ambodilafa projects, all iron ore prospects in Madagascar.
The company holds 308 square kilometres of tenements across these three prospective exploration areas and is particularly focused on the production of high-quality ore suitable to produce ‘green steel’.
Matthew Gill.
Various commodities in range of locations
Gill has overseen the completion of several maiden resource estimates, has successfully led pre-feasibility studies and feasibility studies, and has been instrumental in the project development, establishment and operation of four mines, in Australia and internationally.
His knowledge extends to comprehensive commodity and country experience, covering gold, silver, copper, tin, mineral sands, nickel, zinc and iron ore in Australia, Papua New Guinea, Ghana, Bolivia, USA and India.
In India, he represented Rio Tinto as project director for the Orissa iron ore joint venture and most recently, he was CEO and MD of ASX-listed White Rock Minerals Ltd, with projects in Victoria, NSW and Alaska.
Gill, who is also a non-executive director of Polymetals Resources Ltd, brings executive management expertise to Akora, with a strong emphasis on safety, governance and risk management, in addition to a wide network in capital markets.
“Will be invaluable”
"His exploration and mining operational experience, gained in Australia and overseas, and small company executive experience, will be valuable as we continue to progress Bekisopa, Satrokala and Tratramarina,” Bibby added.
Gill holds three First Class Metalliferous Mine Manager’s Certificates of Competency, is a three-time winner of the Australian Mine Manager of the Year Award and received the AusIMM Leadership Award in 2008.
He is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy and, Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Gill has also held the position of board member and president of the Tasmanian Minerals Council, has chaired the Minerals Council of Australia (Victorian division) and was deputy chair of AMEC Victoria.
READ: Akora Resources lifts Bekisopa’s Southern Zone iron ore MRE by 34% to 5.54 million tonnes
Iron ore resources
Bekisopa is the most advanced of the Madagascan properties and the company recently increased the mineral resource estimate (MRE) for the project’s Southern Zone to 5.54 million tonnes of direct shipping ore (DSO) grading 60.35% iron in the inferred category.
This is 34% more DSO tonnes than estimated in April last year and at a higher grade.
Within this is 4.42 million tonnes of DSO grading 60.86% iron in the indicated category, which the company believes is suitable for a selective mining DSO start-up with relatively low mining and processing capital and operation costs.
This updated MRE is in addition to the previously estimated 3.6 million tonnes reported in the Northern and Central maiden MREs, bringing the total current DSO resource along the 6-kilometre Bekisopa strike to 9.14 million tonnes.
Future drilling in all three Bekisopa zones is expected to lift the DSO tonnes and grade.
“Beneath the weathered DSO Eastern zone is a high-grade magnetite iron mineralised zone, of 34 million tonnes at 45.3% iron, that could become the focus of an economical ‘green steel’ concentrate production start-up,” Bibby said at the time.