Group 6 Metals appoints new CEO to lead Dolphin tungsten mine restart
With the $70,000 grant, King Island Scheelite will mobilise a rig to the Dolphin project before the end of the year.
Emerging producer Group 6 Metals (ASX: G6M) has appointed Keith McKnight to the role of chief executive officer as the company moves closer towards re-starting the Dolphin tungsten mine in Tasmania.
Mr McKnight has more than 22 years of domestic and international experience in the areas of mining and resources project delivery and company management.
He has expertise in mechanical design, contract and construction management, and commissioning and operations control and was previously managing director and co-founder of commodities development company Kirrama Resources, which has chromite and manganese assets in Madagascar.
Mr McKnight brings considerable minerals experience to his new role, backed by a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering (honours) from the University of Limerick in Ireland.
Leading the company
Group 6 executive chairman Johann Jacobs said Mr McKnight will have responsibility for leading the company through the final stages of Dolphin’s redevelopment.
“Over the past three years, focused on financing offtake arrangements required to enable the restart of this wholly-owned asset,” he said.
“As we enter the next phase of development, it is necessary to engage an executive with the appropriate skills to lead our company and we believe Keith fulfills these criteria.”
Honour and privilege
Mr McKnight said his appointment is “an honour and a privilege”.
“Group 6 is a company with a strong foundation for growth, underpinned by the world-class Dolphin tungsten mine, and a talented team who are passionate about their industry and community,” he said.
“The opportunity to lead this team as we work towards production at Dolphin and pursue critical mass is exciting.”
Remuneration
Group 6 has engaged Mr McKnight on a $30,000 per month consultancy agreement through Dara Advisory.
The remuneration includes a performance bonus of $144,000 per year on the achievement of set targets.
Mr McKnight will also be eligible for long-term incentives subject to shareholder approval.
These will include a sign-on bonus totalling three tranches of 2.5 million unquoted share options.
Highest-grade deposit
Located on Tasmania’s King Island, Dolphin has a current reserve of 4.43 million tonnes at 0.92% tungsten trioxide.
According to Mr Jacobs, the mine is host to the “highest-grade tungsten deposit of significant size in the Western world”.
Group 6 plans to ship 275,000 metric tonne units of tungsten trioxide concentrate a year following the restart in the first quarter of 2023.