Growing up in South Africa, Charles Altshuler was always drawn to numbers — being an accountant was all he could ever see himself doing.
Now, as CFO of Globe Metals & Mining Ltd, he’s achieved that and so much more, including specialist knowledge of niobium while helping to realise the potential of Globe’s Kanyika Project becoming the first new globally significant niobium mine in 50 years.
Charles completed an accounting degree in South Africa before completing a traineeship at audit firm BDO and then stepping into his first CFO role — at just 25 years old — at South Africa's third-largest paint manufacturer, at the time.
From there, he had the opportunity to work for one of the world’s largest mining companies, Anglo American (JO:AGLJ), where he developed his mining industry knowledge during his seven-year tenure.
As one could imagine, working for a company such as Anglo American allows for a well-rounded and extensive understanding of the mining industry.
As Charles explained, his time at the company provided the opportunity to work on “mine expansions, new mining projects, working on a whole range of commodities, especially coal and manganese. Working in all different African mining jurisdictions such as South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Gabon and Central Africa, and some mining projects here in Australia, including a joint venture with BHP (ASX:BHP).
“That gave me that good mining background and the ability to be able to work on these large mining projects, understand what's important — things to do with ESG to do with my mine safety, and all about what makes a profitable mining business case.”
Then, seven years ago, Charles made the move to Australia where he has held multiple CFO roles at ASX-listed companies. Charles first worked at Blackmores before leveraging that experience to move into two CFO roles at medical cannabis companies.
While it might not seem obvious, these experiences have a lot of similarities to his current role at Globe Metals & Mining.
The cannabis space in Australia involves quite specific risks, including uncertainty about regulations and a battle to raise funds, given the market’s limited understanding of the space. That's not unlike niobium, which has its own challenges in that it is not a well-understood or familiar metal.
Charles elaborated, "Working within a company engaged in fundraising cycles entails navigating numerous parallels. It involves consistently elucidating to shareholders the operational intricacies, benefits of the company, and inherent risks, given its non-mainstream nature.
“Medical cannabis was a difficult sell to investors, as is niobium. Add to that the project location in Malawi not being a mainstream mining jurisdiction. Some don't people don't even know where it is.
“It is about selling a previously untold story to investors. Medical cannabis was a new story, and niobium and Malawi are new stories as well.”
Diverse role at Globe Metals & Mining
As the only Globe employee in Australia — the rest of the team is in South Africa and Malawi — Charles has to do what many CFOs don't, from marketing and social media posts, to talking to investors, ASX compliance, along with all the normal things that a CFO does. It requires wearing many different hats and learning on the fly.
Add to that, all that’s involved in the company is moving from exploration to development of the mine, including raising funds to build the mine, and move onto production.
Along with his past experience, Charles has a project management qualification from Stanford University as well as a MBA from a leading Australian University, to lean on in juggling all that the role involves.
He explained, “When you're developing a mine, you need a whole range of skills, it’s all about project management. You have to speak to the geologist, and to the mining engineers, and to the people doing chemistry — there’s a whole range of things that you have to work on in managing their project as a whole.
Charles often speaks alongside CEOs — last year he spoke at the Africa Down Under Conference and the Battery Minerals Conference— and while unusual for a CFO to be speaking to analysts and investors, Charles enjoys it.
“It's much better than just doing the financial statements or the management accounts on a monthly basis, that's maybe two to two days of the month. The rest of the time is all about project management, feasibility studies, social media, talking to investors and educating the market about niobium.”
Unique niobium knowledge
Charles is now one of only a handful of CFOs in the world that deal with niobium — a transition metal element with atomic number 41, known for its high melting point that comes in at number three on the US critical mineral list.
It is used in practically everything, from wind turbines, jet engines, airplane bodies, high-pressure pipelines, superconducting magnets, nuclear power, the defence industry.
Niobium is now also used in batteries. Putting niobium into a battery can mean that the battery can charge within six minutes and double the energy density and make it safe.
Yet this remains an unusual commodity that almost no one knows about. Along with educating the market and explaining niobium’s value to retail investors who don't know anything about it, Charles’ role involves finding these unique offtake partners and strategic investors.
“It's what we call an opaque market. It's not like gold or other commodities that have distinct marketing channels. Customers are specialty producers including those in the defence industry making, for example, the nose cones for missiles and for fighter jets. It's a very unique market. You just sell what you produce once you have found specific customers.
"That’s a major part of what makes the role challenging, as there isn't as much knowledge and benchmarking and the like that exists for other commodities. We as a company need to define our own pathway to success."
Towards world’s fourth producing mine
The project in Malawi, integrating mining, concentration and refining processes, has achieved notable success in niobium recovery via chlorination refining, a method chosen for its environmental advantages and reduced energy consumption. This approach also facilitates the extraction of valuable rare earth elements as by-products, bolstering the project's economic viability.
The imminent completion of a pilot plant, slated for operation during April 2024, represents a significant milestone, allowing for the production of marketing samples for potential off-takers in Europe, Japan and North America.
This milestone is pivotal for securing offtake agreements and advancing towards commercialising niobium and tantalum concentrates. The project’s phased development strategy aims to minimize initial costs and shareholder dilution while exploring structured financing options to support its progression.
“We want to develop the first significant niobium project in the last 50 years. That's our goal. There are three others currently, we wish to become the fourth producing mine in the world, while bringing that story to the everyday person and making niobium a household name.”