Premier1 Lithium Ltd will increase its focus on the quest for lithium discoveries in Western Australia after completing a board and executive management team transition with the appointments of Hugh Thomas as non-executive chairman and Paul Smith as exploration manager.
Thomas is an experienced public market director and former investment banker with more than 30 years of specialisation in the mining and exploration sectors, particularly across the Asia Pacific and African regions.
Smith has 13 years of experience in the exploration of precious, base and critical minerals throughout Australia and Central Asia and was critical in the discovery of the Andover lithium deposit in his role as former exploration superintendent of Azure Minerals.
Together with managing director Jason Froud, the new leadership team will form a key part for the future growth and success of Premier1.
“Add significant capabilities”
Managing director Jason Froud said: “I am delighted that Premier1 has been able to attract the calibre of Hugh, as chairman, and Paul, as exploration manager. Their respective skill sets augment and add significant capabilities to the company.
"Both appointments finalise the board and executive team of Premier1 with the company’s attention now on making a significant lithium discovery by building and developing an attractive lithium exploration portfolio across Western Australia.”
Experienced director
The previous roles of Thomas have included serving on the boards of various listed exploration companies and corporately as managing director and head of Natural Resources Asia Pacific for J.P. Morgan and Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS).
He currently serves as chairman of International Base Metals Limited and as a non-executive director of NT Minerals Limited.
Role at Andover
Smith was recently leading the discovery, exploration and drill out at the Andover Lithium Project by Azure Minerals, which has been acquired by joint bidders Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. (SQM) and Hancock Prospecting for $1.7 billion.
Before working with Azure Minerals, Smith was senior geologist at Iluka Resources responsible for project generation and evaluation as well as project management.
The company’s board has thanked outgoing chairman Nicholas Limb for his contribution during the past transition of Premier1 and has wished him well in his future endeavours.
“Foundation for success”
Incoming non-executive chairman Hugh Thomas said: "I am pleased to accept the role of chairman at Premier1 Lithium.
"The calibre of the team, quality of shareholders and innovative exploration approach, with access to a unique lithium database and machine learning technology, lays the foundation to the company’s future success.
"I look forward to working closely with the team and stakeholders to bring the company’s vision to fruition."