Torque Metals (ASX: TOR) has secured the services of an experienced team of gold discovery and development executives to drive the next phase of growth at its flagship Paris project in Western Australia.
The new line-up will be led by Simon Lawson as chair-elect, Craig Jones as chief executive officer and managing director-elect, and David Coyne as non-executive director-elect, who bring to Torque a combined resume of deep technical, operational, and capital markets experience across the state’s gold sector.
The executives all played key roles at Spartan Resources during exploration that led to the high-grade Never Never and Pepper gold discoveries at the Dalgaranga gold project and ultimately transformed the junior into a major gold developer which last year attracted a $2.5 billion merger with Ramelius Resources (ASX: RMS).
The Torque board believes they have the expertise to unlock the exploration potential of Paris and the broader Kalgoorlie district land package and position the company for a future transition to development and operations.
Strategic Leadership and Experience
Mr Lawson has extensive experience in exploration strategy, corporate leadership and capital markets gained through a number of roles, and is currently non-executive chair of Ramelius and a non-executive director of Gorilla Gold Mines (ASX: GG8) and Mammoth Minerals (ASX: M79).
As chair of Torque, Mr Lawson will provide strategic leadership to the company as it advances a discovery-driven exploration growth strategy.
Mr Jones has strong experience within the Australian gold sector over a career spanning 28 years that includes senior roles with Barrick Gold, Northern Star Resources (ASX: NST), Bellevue Gold (ASX: BGL), Poseidon Nickel, and Spartan.
As chief operating officer of Spartan, he played a key role in establishing underground access to the Never Never deposit while overseeing the progression of a mining re-start feasibility study and project permitting.
In his new role with Torque, he will lead a strategy to advance exploration while progressing Paris toward development and production.
Accounting and Mining Background
Mr Coyne is an accountant and mining professional with extensive operational and leadership experience both in Australia and internationally.
He has previously acted as chief financial officer, company secretary, and finance director for multiple mining companies on the Australian Securities Exchange, and currently serves as non-executive chair of Peninsula Energy (ASX: PEN).
Most recently, he served as executive director and joint company secretary of Spartan, where he oversaw the funding and financing of the company during its 2023 rebranding from Gascoyne Resources through to its merger with Ramelius.
“Good projects attract good people, great projects attract great teams, and Torque has attracted one of the best teams in the gold business,” outgoing Torque chairman Evan Cranston said.
“Simon, Craig, and their team […] bring the technical expertise required to systematically unlock the project’s full potential—we are excited to accelerate the next phase of exploration, with additional drill rigs planned and a significant increase in metres drilled as we pursue what we believe could become a major gold system.”
Extensive WA Landholding
The Paris project is located 100 kilometres south of Kalgoorlie within Torque’s extensive 1,200 square kilometre landholding, which remains significantly underexplored despite its presence in one of the world’s most prolific gold belts.
It is nearby to numerous Tier 1 gold operations including the Super Pit (owned by Northern Star), the Mungari project owned by Evolution Mining (ASX: EVN) and the St Ives development (Gold Fields).
Mr Jones will assume the role of chief executive officer immediately and transition to managing director following shareholder approval, while Mr Cranston will move into a non-executive director role.
The new team will work on an accelerated exploration program to advance high-priority targets across the company’s portfolio.
They have also commenced a review of historical exploration data to define multiple targets for expanded drilling campaigns across Paris this calendar year.
