Senior Management

A flat management structure allows for flexible and efficient decision making.

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  Chief Operating Officer

  Qualifications:

  ACIS Associate of the Chartered Institute of Secretaries and Administrators

  Michelle Taylor joined Tharisa in 2008 and has been integrally involved in the group’s development. As the Chief Operating Officer of the Tharisa Group and Managing Director of Tharisa Minerals, Michelle is responsible for all of the group’s operations including the mining, processing, marketing and logistics aspects of the business. Tharisa is a stable co-producer of both PGM’s and chrome concentrates. Tharisa is one of South Africa’s largest exporters of metallurgical chrome concentrates with 1 Mt being sold into China and 300 kt of speciality chrome concentrates being sold internationally annually. Prior to joining Tharisa, Michelle was a partner and head of corporate governance at Routledge Modise Inc. (later Eversheds South Africa) from 1999 to 2008, and has advised a number of listed mining and technology companies.

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  Executive – Legal Affairs

  Qualifications:

  Bachelor of Commerce, Bachelor of Law (Rhodes University, South Africa)

  Charles Kantor has been the Executive Legal Counsel of the Group since November 2010 and is responsible for overseeing all legal matters and all matters relating to transactions and risk management for the Group. Charles has a total of 12 years’ experience in the mining industry and has worked on various IPOs, mergers and acquisitions since 1999. From 1999 to 2009, he was a partner at Routledge Modise Inc. (later Eversheds South Africa), where he worked on various mining deals including the listing and sale of Eland Platinum Holdings Limited, and was appointed as head of Eversheds international mining law industry sector in 2008. From 1992 to 1999, Charles was legal counsel at Datakor Holdings Limited, subsequently Dimension Data Holdings plc. From 1986 to 1992, Charles was an associate and partner at Cliff Dekker and Todd in Johannesburg, specialising in commercial and corporate law.

Subsidiary Management

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  Operations Director, Tharisa Minerals

  Qualifications:

  Bachelor of Engineering (University of Pretoria, South Africa)

  Hans van Wyk has been the Consulting Metallurgist to Tharisa Minerals since September 2011 and is responsible for overall management of all processing, smelting and beneficiation operations at the Tharisa Mine. He has over 15 years’ experience in the recovery of chrome and PGM, having worked on a number of chrome and PGM concentrator operations.

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  Executive Director – Community and Transformation, Tharisa Minerals

  Qualifications:

  Diploma in Personnel Management (Institute of Personnel Management), Masters Diploma in Human Resources (Rand Afrikaans University)

  Thabang Maluke has been an Executive Director at Tharisa Minerals since April 2009 and is responsible for human resources and stakeholders engagement in South Africa. He has over 24 years of experience in the mining industry. He previously worked for Goldfields, DRD, and was head of human resources at Barplats.

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  Metallurgical Manager, Tharisa Minerals

  Qualifications:

  B.Sc. Chemistry and Physics (UNISA), N.Dip. Analytical Chemistry (Port Elizabeth Technikon)

  Alston Smith joined Tharisa Minerals in April 2011 as an Operations Manager, responsible for the commissioning of the PGM and Chromite plants, their operation and management. Alston has almost 21 years’ experience in the mining industry. Alston started his career at the Lonmin’s Western Platinum Refinery in 1995, where he worked for a total of nine years – four years at the Precious Metals Refinery and a further five years at the Base Metal Refinery. Alston joined Barplats Crocodile River Mine in November 2004 as a Metallurgical Superintendent and within two years he became a plant manager. Alston left Barplats in 2009 to start his own business and he worked for a brief period at Minopex before he joined Tharisa.

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  Head: Sustainable Development

  Qualifications:

  National Higher Diploma in Rock Engineering and Mining Engineering (Technikon Witwatersrand), Graduate Diploma in Engineering in Mining Engineering (University of the Witwatersrand)

  Derek Baker has been with the group since 2011 and is responsible for the overall management of the safety, health and environment portfolio for the Group. Derek is a qualified mining engineer with over 35 years of experience in the mining industry, including 15 years in the legislative environment of the Department of Mineral Resources. Prior to joining Tharisa, he had ten years of senior management safety, health and environmental experience with Anglo Platinum – including at Amandelbult, Anglo Platinum's largest operation.

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  Managing Director: Arxo Logistics

  Qualifications:

  Bachelor of Commerce in Logistics Management (UNISA)

  Elize Rogers has been the Managing Director of Arxo Logistics, a company that was established to develop the logistics for the Tharisa Mine, since 2009. She is responsible for the overall management of the logistics and transport services provided by Arxo Logistics to the Group’s operations. Elize has over 30 years’ experience in logistics. Prior to joining Arxo Logistics, she worked for Columbus Stainless, holding various managerial positions, including sales and shipping supervisor, traffic manager and logistics area manager.

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  Regional CFO Cyprus and Managing Director, Arxo Resources

  Qualifications:

  Bachelor of Arts Honours Degree and Associate of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales

  Marios Tavros has been with the Tharisa Group since 2011 and is the Regional CFO Cyprus of the Group’s Cypriot companies and Managing Director of Arxo Resources. Marios is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the Cyprus office. This includes the overall responsibility of the Group financial reporting process and also the trading function of Arxo Resources. He has been a Chartered Accountant since 1995. Marios previously worked for 10 years in various senior financial positions within a large property and tourism group in Cyprus.