Cyprium Metals Ltd (ASX:CYM, OTC:CYPMF) has strengthened its senior management team with a number of key appointments as it prepares for near-term copper cathode production at the Nifty Copper Project in Western Australia.
Louis Chait has been appointed chief commercial officer following a long career with Glencore (LON:GLEN) where he finished as chief financial officer – copper while well-known mining leader Colin Mackey, who spent time at Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO), has been appointed chief operating officer.
In another management change, Milan Jerkovic is transitioning from chief operating officer to senior advisor.
“Two of the best”
“We are preparing for near-term copper cathode production and setting up for the larger commercial opportunity around the development of a large surface mine,” said executive chair Matt Fifield.
“Louis brings a deep copper-focused commercial background to our team and Colin adds the energy and experience of one of the industry’s premier mine-builders.
"These are two of the best in the industry and are already impact players at Cyprium.”
About Louis Chait
While at Glencore, Chait coordinated that company’s commercial activities in copper including sales and marketing, streamlined procurement and reporting processes across multiple operations, and drove financing and beneficial financial outcomes from within the portfolio.
“It’s a great time to be joining Cyprium,” said Chait. “The near-term supply from Nifty is in high demand.
"We are in conversations with potential offtake partners with whom I have a more than decade of practical experience.
"With a clean sheet of paper, great assets and a committed team, we are building our capabilities for efficient and swift commercial execution.”
About Colin Mackey
New COO Mackey was previously the managing director of Jadar and European Operations for Rio and led the construction, development and/or operational improvement of multiple mining operations within the major’s portfolio over an 18-year career.
“The heart of execution lies in strong culture, solid planning and clear communication,” said Mackey. “Nifty, a brownfields site with existing infrastructure, large resource and a deep supply chain in Western Australia, in unique in today’s market.
"This is the perfect time to join as we set up for execution. I’m excited to lead the effort to make our Nifty plans come together operationally and to work to grow the company beyond the opportunity that we can already see.”
Milan Jerkovic transitions
Milan Jerkovic's transition to senior advisor will allow him to focus on delivering important development milestones for the company’s next generation of projects and to commit more time for other commercial opportunities.
Jerkovic’s decades of experience in copper exploration and extensive knowledge of Maroochydore and the Paterson copper tenements make him ideally suited to lead these projects at Cyprium.
“There is so much opportunity within the broader portfolio beyond Nifty,” he said. “I’m looking forward to concentrating entirely on bringing these properties quickly up the development pathway to strengthen the Cyprium pipeline.”
Toward Nifty restart
In March 2024, Cyprium released a revised mineral resource estimate highlighting one million tonnes of copper metal in the sulphide resources at Nifty and in May 2024, it released the Surface Mine Scoping Study demonstrating the economic viability of producing 36,000 tonnes of copper annually via a large truck-shovel operation from sulphide resources alone.
The company expects to declare reserves for Nifty sulphide resources in the coming quarter and progress mine planning and design to a PFS level.
In the coming quarter, Cyprium expects to release a business plan outlining the expected economics of producing 5,000 to 6,000 tonnes of copper cathode, per year, following the refurbishment of the copper cathode plant and resumption of heap leach activities on current infrastructure.
“A transformative year”
“Since stepping into the executive chair, I have focused on increasing our pace of communication and decision-making,” said Fifield. “Our ability to scale and execute is transformed through these key appointments and re-alignment of team.
“With a number of these work streams coming to fruition, I suspect we will look back at 2024 and see it as the transformative year for Cyprium.”
The company is also in discussions with customers, offtake partners and financiers to support the copper cathode restart and is developing detailed plans for project execution - both necessary activities to advance to final investment decision.
“With focus, experience and horsepower in the right places, we are increasing our ability to create shareholder value through execution across multiple fronts,” Fifield concluded.