Mirabela Nickel

APPOINTMENT OF IAN PURDY AS CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

 

Mirabela Nickel has appointed Mr Ian Purdy as Chief Executive Officer of the Company commencing today.  Mr Purdy replaces Nick Poll, the founding Managing Director of the Company, who continues with the Company as Executive Director - Strategy.  As CEO, Mr Purdy joins the Board of Mirabela with immediate effect. The position is based in Perth.

 

Mr Purdy, age 43, was previously Managing Director of Norilsk Nickel Australia, and prior to that Director Finance and Strategy of LionOre Australia, where he lead the management of five operating nickel projects.  He has a strong track record in operations management, sales and logistics, and financial control – all important skills for the Company as it enters production.  He is a Chartered Accountant and Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

 

The arrival of Mr Purdy complements the appointment of several key senior managers over the last 6 months as part of the Company’s desire to establish a high performance executive team with strong operational experience.

 

As part of the remuneration package, the Company has offered My Purdy the grant of 600,000 options exercisable at A$3.00 each on or before 30 June 2014 vesting over the first 2 years of his tenure, or an alternative long term incentive of equivalent value to be determined by the Board upon resolution of the current uncertainty in respect of the Australian tax treatment of options.

 

 “The appointment of Ian is an important part of Mirabela’s transition into a fully fledged nickel producer,” said outgoing Managing Director Nick Poll.  “Ian is passionate about operations and brings the right skills to lead an executive team that can get the most out of our operations and position the Company for future growth.  I remain very committed to Mirabela and will continue to serve the Company in the role of Executive Director assisting investor relations and business development,” said Mr Poll.

 

Mr Poll founded the Company with Craig Burton and Bill Clough in 2004.  He led the discovery of the Santa Rita project and has seen the project grow from first drill holes to first nickel production.

 

 Santa Rita is the largest nickel sulphide discovery in over a decade and is ramping up to a production capacity of 26,000tpa of nickel in concentrate.  “I feel privileged to have had this opportunity,” said Mr Poll.  “However, a project of this scale is always a team effort, so I would like to thank the Board, my founding partners, and the Mirabela team for their hard work and support over the years.  I wish Ian great success as the new CEO and look forward to working with him.”

For and on behalf of the Board

 

Background

Mirabela Nickel Ltd owns 100% of the world class Santa Rita nickel sulphide project and is listed on the Australian and Toronto stock exchanges. With a JORC/NI 43.101 Indicated open‐cut resource of 130mt grading 0.60% Ni for 780,000t of contained Ni, Santa Rita is the largest nickel sulphide discovery worldwide in over a decade.

 

Commissioning of the Santa Rita plant and mining operations are well underway.  The operation is expected to ramp-up to the full name-plate capacity of 6.4Mtpa of ore producing 26,000tpa of nickel in concentrate by September 2010.  Current reserves support a mine life of at least 19 years.