DIRECTORS

Andrew Kenneth Bruce Mortimer
Chairman and Managing Director

Andrew Mortimer has a legal and mining background but moved full-time to the mining and mining finance industries in 2003, after being involved part-time for over a decade. Through his work as head of corporate advisory firm Superstructure International Pty Ltd, Mr Mortimer has forged relationships with many of Australia’s resource companies. He has also assisted with the ASX listing of several exploration companies of Proto Resource’s size. Mr Mortimer was instrumental in founding Proto Resources and in sourcing its projects and management.  Mr Mortimer holds a BA and LLB from Sydney University and is a Member of the Australian Institute for Mining and Metallurgy. 

Kent Hunter

Company Secretary

Mr Hunter is a chartered accountant with over 16 years corporate and company secretarial experience. He has been involved in the listing of over 20 companies on ASX in the past 9 years. He has experience in capital raisings, ASX compliance and regulatory requirements and is currently a director of Cazaly Resources Limited, Cauldron Energy Limited and Red Emperor Resources NL and is company secretary of two other ASX listed entities
Commencing with Hall Chadwick Chartered Accountants in 1990, Mr Hunter completed his professional year and became chartered in 1993. Joining Solution 6 Limited, an ASX listed accounting software provider, Mr Hunter was responsible for customer service for Western Australia including the roll-out of the new legal accounting software program.
Mr Hunter joined Ord Partners Chartered Accountants in 1995 and became Corporate and Audit Manager for a range of listed and unlisted entities.
Mr Hunter founded Mining Corporate in 2000 and established a business of identifying projects requiring a route to commercialisation including industrial, technology, mining and exploration companies, requiring route to ASX listings

Lia Melissa Darby
Joint Managing Director

Lia Darby is admitted to practice law in the Supreme Court of NSW but now works full-time as a mining company executive.  Ms Darby also has a marketing and publishing background from her work in a legal publishing house and on other publications.  Since 2003 Ms Darby has worked with Mr Mortimer in a corporate advisory role listing mining securities and assisting listed companies on both the ASX and London’s Alternative Investment Market. Ms Darby was instrumental along with Mr Mortimer in founding Proto and developing its projects and operations.  Ms Darby holds a BA and LLB from Sydney University and is the Chairperson of Global Nickel Investments Ltd, an ASX listed company.

Ian Gordon Campbell
Non-Executive Director

Ian Campbell brings a deep knowledge of the Australian regulatory environment with a particular focus on industry and the environment. Mr Campbell has worked at the highest levels of government both nationally and internationally. In 2008 Mr Campbell retired from Federal politics after a distinguished career spanning 17 years in the Australian Senate.  He was a member of the Cabinet and the Expenditure Review Committee from 2004.  During his time as Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasurer Mr Campbell initiated the Corporate Law Economic Reform Program (CLERP) which heralded sweeping pro-market changes to business law. These reforms covered Takeovers (including the new Takeovers Panel provisions), Fundraising, Accounting (including the introduction of IFRS and the Financial Reporting Council), and Financial Markets.  Mr Campbell represented Australia at the Annual meetings of the IMF and at the Board of Governors of the World Bank in 2002-3.  Mr Campbell is a member of the Boards of Austal Limited, ASG Group, and Solco, a solar energy Company. He is on the Advisory Board of Australian-based international geothermal developer Green Rock Energy Limited.

(Aziz) Greg Melick
Non-Executive Director

Greg Melick is a Senior Counsel with chambers in Sydney and Hobart whose experience includes mining investigation, occupational health and safety and corporate law.  He has considerable experience in advising and working with governments having formerly been a Crown Prosecutor/Principal Crown Counsel in the Tasmanian Crown Law Office and a Statutory Member of both the National Crime Authority and the NSW Casino Control Authority.  Mr Melick is also a Major General in the Australian Defence Force and is currently Assistant Chief of the Defence Force (Reserves) and Head Reserve and Employer Support Division. Mr Melick brings strong experience in corporate governance, management and legal compliance to Proto Resources, particularly through his involvement in the Beaconsfield mining enquiry.

(Patricia) Kay Philip
Non-Executive Director

Kay Philip is an experienced Geophysicist whose background embraces project acquisition, financial analysis of resource projects and companies, and logistics. She has experience with rights issues and capital raisings, as well as with preparing and managing prospectuses. Ms Philip holds a part-time position on the Academic Staff at the University of Sydney, and has been a Director of a number of listed and unlisted companies in the oil and gas sector. Ms Philip is currently a Director of Alexanders Securities Ltd and Austex Ltd, both ASX listed companies. Ms Philip was decorated by the French Government in 2005 with the award of Chevalier de l’Ordre National du Mérite, for facilitating collaborations between French and Australian scientists. Ms Philip is a Member of the Australian Institute of Physics, Secretary of the Australian-French Association for Science and Technology, and Fellow of the Financial Services Institute of Australia.

MANAGEMENT

Ashley Keith Hood
Chief Operating Officer

Ashley Hood has more than ten years experience in the mining industry working in exploration and operations for junior and large miners including Anglo Gold Ashanti. Currently Chief Operations Officer with Proto Resources, Mr Hood has broad senior management experience, delivering exploration outcomes through all aspects of project management.  Mr Hood’s skills in people management, project planning and contractual negotiations are supported by experience in exploration activities from geochemical sampling, through to the delivery of geophysical programs on some of Australia’s major exploration drilling projects. Past and current duties in the corporate sector include work on capital raisings, addressing stock broker/shareholder meetings, developing investor reports, and working on native title access acquisitions and major exploration contracts.  Additional duties include operations consulting to Global Nickel Investments Limited.  Mr Hood is also a Director of Ridley Resources Limited, a WA gold and poly-metallic mineral exploration company, and Director and Head of Operations of Mt Vetters Pty Ltd.  Mr Hood is currently doing his Masters of Business Degree at the University of Technology, Sydney.

Pierre Jules Richard
Chief Development Officer

Pierre Richard has a background in project management and investment economics.  As Chief Development Officer, Dr Richard has responsibility for managing the feasibility assessment and approvals processes for the Barnes Hill nickel-cobalt project in Northern Tasmania.  This has included close work in the development of the proposed mining and processing activities and the coordination of environmental and other studies supporting the project.  Dr Richard has worked in the infrastructure industry, including in project development, economic assessment and finance, and in corporate law.  He holds a BCom and LLB from the University of New South Wales and a PhD in strategic management from the Australian Graduate School of Management.

Glen Paul Darby
Business Development/Special Projects

Glen Darby is involved in capital raising and project generation for Proto Resources, having strong relationships with stock brokers and private investors both domestically and internationally and an academic background in financial valuation with a particular focus on real estate.  Mr Darby gained his experience as part of the team that developed Proto Resources, commencing his involvement in mid 2005 as Head of Special Projects. Mr Darby is also involved in international project development for the Company, including in Europe, Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa.

Andrew Jones
Consultant Geologist

Andrew Jones is a geologist with 12 years field experience gained in various commodities including gold, nickel and base metals.  Mr Jones has worked throughout Australia, in Africa and in South America on projects ranging from grass roots regional exploration through to resource drilling programs and mine development.  He has a Master of Science degree in geology from the University of Tasmania, has completed post graduate studies with the Securities Institute of Austral