Board & Management

Henk Ludik is a mining engineer with a career spanning over 20 years in mining with expertise in engineering, feasibility, mine optimisation, ESG and corporate finance. Mr Ludik has worked on a number of landmark transactions in the resource sector since 2006. Mr Ludik holds a BEng in Mining Engineering, MSc in Oil and Gas Engineering and an MBA. See less

Aaron Banks is a specialist business consultant with over 20 years’ experience in contract negotiations and business development including senior roles in sales, marketing and construction management. In 2015 as founder & Managing Director of Australian Silica Pty Ltd, Mr Banks discovered one of the largest high grade silica sand resources in the world. Whilst on the Board of Australian Silica he successfully negotiated the sale of Muchea Silica Sand Project to Ventnor Resources Limited that pivoted the former base metals explorer to the emerging silica sand producers known today as VRX Silica (ASX:VRX). In 2020 he vended his private companies into what is Suvo Strategic Minerals today. Aaron has an extensive background in industrial minerals and has focused on developing emerging assets globally. See less

Oliver Barnes has over 25 years’ experience in natural resources and asset development with expertise in carbon, rural development, ESG and clean technology commercialisation. Mr Barnes was previously the Managing Director of an ASX listed land and water developer and held a senior role with an ASX listed phosphate technology company. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture Business Management. See less

Dr. Wilson is an economic geologist with over forty five years’ international experience in industrial minerals. He has held key technical and management positions in a major publically listed mining and construction enterprise, was a Senior Scientific Officer in what is now the British Geological Survey, and has been an independent consultant since 2001. His experience spans the range from exploration and resource estimation to project development and production, and includes global and regional marketing for a wide variety of industrial minerals, including kaolin, halloysite, calcium carbonate, talc, bentonite, barytes, magnesite, and others. He has authored many articles in peer-reviewed journals and has been a regular contributor to Industrial Minerals magazine for over 17 years. He was formerly Secretary of the Mineralogical Society of London (Clay Minerals Group) and has been the convenor of several international conferences on clay minerals. In 2009 he was awarded the Hal William Hardinge Award by SME in recognition of his services to the industrial minerals industry. See less

Bojan Bogunovic is a qualified Chartered Accountant with a Bachelor of Commerce from Curtin University. Mr Bogunovic has extensive experience in the mining, exploration, construction and agriculture industries in Australia and overseas. Mr Bogunovic has held senior financial roles with a number of ASX listed mining and exploration companies. See less

Marty Helean has over 25 years’ experience in senior management and executive roles across mining, exploration, manufacturing and construction industries. Mr Helean was previously a Director of Operations for ASX and LSE listed Greenland Minerals and Energy Limited and Chief Operating Officer of Meneghello Industries. See less

Murray has a broad experience in the fields of mineral exploration, feasibility studies, due diligence, mineral processing / classification, industrial mineral reviews, strategic planning/technical marketing of industrial minerals, and mining and metallurgical management. In his experience, Murray has carried out work for Rio Tinto (Australia & Canada) on monazite. He also has experience in deposits of heavy mineral sands in Australia, Vietnam, Malaysia, China (Hainan Island), and Indonesia (Kalimantan/Sampit). Known as a specialist in heavy mineral sands having assisted large and small companies and chaired and given presentations at Australian Mining Journal meetings for more than 15 years as well as Industrial Minerals conferences globally. Murray also has close relationships with buyers of kaolin and silica (among many other industrial minerals) throughout Asia including China, Taiwan, Japan and Korea. See less

Frank has extensive technical and commercial experience in industrial minerals gained through more than 40 years of direct involvement in technical evaluation and quality control. Frank is a specialist in mineral refining, analysis and interpretation of chemical & physical properties with skills in market research and product development through industrial trials. With 28 years’ senior management at Goonvean Ltd in the UK, Frank gained extensive experience in the global kaolin industry including operational, geological and chemical aspects of mining and refining from open cast kaolin quarries. Additionally, technical experience in the beneficiation and marketing of feldspar, mined as the sole UK source from a hard rock quarry. He managed a testing facility for companies investigating new deposits including silica sands, kaolin and halloysite samples from Canada, USA, Sweden, Korea, Australia and Africa. This led to the establishment of First Test Minerals Ltd in 2013. Frank has close relationships with buyers of kaolin and silica and manages contracts for the analysis, refining and market development of new kaolin and halloysite deposits globally. See less