We are delighted to announce the formation of our Founding Members Advisory Board comprising EV Metals, FYI Resources, GHD, Lava Blue, Satarla, Source Certain, SRK Consulting Australia, and Project Blue.
The CMAA recently held its inaugural Advisory Board meeting for an open and future-looking discussion on how the CMAA can propel the critical minerals industry forward in the coming year.
Full list of Advisory Board members below.
Phil Baker
Phil is a Senior Executive Adviser in GHD’s Advisory practice with nearly 40 years’ professional experience working in 19 countries, predominantly within the resources sector, focussing on high-level strategic and management guidance.
Phil provides guidance in project concept development, planning, feasibility and execution, management consulting technical due diligence including technical inputs related to acquisitions, divestment, mergers and demergers, capital raising, debt and equity finance/refinance. He has worked across multiple resources sectors including base metals, gold, coal, iron ore, phosphate, and critical minerals sector, as well as infrastructure/logistics supply chain (rail, ports, roads etc.).
An Engineer by background, Phil’s experiences also include corporate risk and liability assessment and reporting, environment and social impact, asset closure, rehabilitation, repurposing, and exit.
Jack Bedder
Jack is an economist and political scientist with over 15 years’ experience of analysing the economics of natural resources and leading commodity research and consultancy.
Before founding Project Blue, he was Head of Research at Roskill, leading its global team of analysts. Before that, he worked in public policy in both the private and public sectors.
He has a PhD from the University of Cambridge where his research explored the behaviours which shape critical materials supply chains. He is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and a Professional Member of the IOM3.
Roland Hill
Mr Hill holds a Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Commerce from Curtin University. Mr Hill was appointed to the position of chief executive officer on 4 February 2011 and to the position of Managing Director on 1 July 2014.
Mr Hill has extesive resource industry and investment, finance and funds management experience. He has been directly associated with the mining and exploration sector for over 20 years in contracting roles and with Western Mining Corporation and Normandy Poseidon and a 7 year role as Managing Director and Chairman of Crescent Gold Limited – an ASX listed gold producer with production of ~100,000oz pa.
Prior to Crescent Gold, Mr Hill was employed by several Australian national and international stockbroking firms and investment banks in ECM and as a senior mining analyst before taking a senior role as a Portfolio Manager with Deutsche Bank in their Australian and International resources equity Fund.
Mr Hill is a member of the Nomination and the Remuneration committees.
Michael McCann
Consulting and research in the energy economy have led Michael to the commercialisation of new technology.
Lava Blue Ltd has built an advanced processing platform to demonstrate extremely efficient production of high-purity alumina (HPA) directly from kaolinitic clays and aluminium-rich waste streams flowing from other mineral processing operations. HPA is what every LED light in the world is built on, and now it is one of the essential elements in high-performance lithium-ion batteries, applied in nano-scale layers to the ceramic-coated separators. Lava Blue is also applying what it has learnt about processing high purity battery grade materials to a range of other battery metal processing opportunities.
Carl Murray
Carl Murray has some 36 years of experience working in various operational positions and has been with SRK for almost 20 years. Carl is the Managing Director for SRK (Australasia) and is a Principal Mining Engineer. He specialises in open cut mining, with experience in project management, due diligence and feasibility studies, mine planning and optimisation.
Carl's operational experience is in open cut mining, specifically gold, copper, and iron ore. Combining this with his consultancy experience, Carl can provide a balanced application of technical and practical mining skills. His experience includes project management, due diligence, audits, feasibility studies, short- and long-term planning and hands-on production management, supervision and technical drill and blast. Carl has worked in small and large-scale open pit operations. His particular areas of proficiency are due diligence and feasibility studies, open cut optimisation, and operational analysis. He has experience in equipment productivity evaluation and application of results to the selection of optimal equipment for working operations. Using the latest mining software, Carl has both practical and technical experience in optimising an orebody from the resource model stage through to a workable open cut mining operation.
Michael Naylor
Michael has over 35 years of experience in the management and development of companies engaged in the business of mineral resources, mining finance and process technology in gold, nickel, cobalt, chromium and platinum group metals in Australia and South Africa.
He led the acquisition and re-consolidation of the mineral rights and mining tenements covering the Weld Range Complex commencing in 2007. Michael led and has managed the evaluation of Range Well Mineral Resources in Western Australia since 2009, the Ausinox Stainless Steel Alloy Project, the Range Well MHP Project, as well as the Battery Chemicals Complex in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
In May 2022, Michael led the acquisition of the Battery Minerals Business of Johnson Matthey plc in the UK comprising world-leading battery minerals technology, pilot plants, laboratories, and battery technology centres. He has been a Director of EV Metals Group plc since 2015. He was formerly a Director and CEO of Podium Minerals Ltd.
Cameron Scadding
Cameron Scadding is a Forensic and Analytical Chemist, a globally recognised and respected expert in his discipline with extensive complex forensic investigation experience. Cameron has specific experience and expertise in supply chain integrity, security and managing supply chain risks.
Cameron’s supply chain and forensic skill set have made him a leading consultant across many sectors including agriculture, seafood, cannabis, critical and strategic minerals, gold and diamonds. He is invited to speak regularly on global trends in supply chain integrity, specifically around agri-food, the integrity of food, food fraud, transparency, trust, traceability and provenance.
Cameron is a vocal advocate of connecting customers to the sources of food and products by developing tools, systems and platforms that mediate transparency within the supply chain. In addition to his role as Managing Director of Source Certain, Cameron was a founder of Source Certain and a founder and the CEO of TSW Global and TSW Analytical.
Debra Watson
Debra Watson, a highly accomplished hands on ESG professional with extensive experience in the mining and manufacturing sectors. With a career spanning over three decades, Debra has consistently demonstrated exceptional expertise and leadership in managing the juxtaposition of applying high standards of ESG stewardship to operations enabling companies to navigate a broad range of environmental and social threats and opportunities.
Debra’s current role as the Managing Director of Satarla Australia Pty Ltd sees her leading the development and implementation of integrated risk management solutions that is helping deliver responsible and sustainable mining practices. Notably Debra has played a key role in transforming risk management systems to enhance consistency and value, underscoring her dedication to maintaining ethical and environmentally responsible operations.
Debra’s international career is a testament to her global perspective and adaptability which have enabled her to navigate complex relationships with government authorities, NGOs and local communities to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements and establish best practices globally.
Debra has held a various positions in mining companies ranging from juniors to Tier 1 miners, including Newcrest, South 32, Grande Cote, South 32 and Glencore.
Debra holds a Bachelor of Applied Science (Environmental Studies) with Honours and is a member of the EnvironmentInstitute of Australia and New Zealand (EIANZ).