Senior Management

Brendan James, Chief Executive Officer

B.Met.Eng (Hons)(UNSW)

Mr James’ diverse career spans senior operational and technical management, investment banking, and funds management. Originally a Metallurgical Engineer, Mr James has had operational roles with Straits Resources, the CSA mine in Cobar, and WMC’s Olympic Dam. He headed WMC’s Copper/Gold/Uranium technical groups from Melbourne, before moving to Rio Tinto to lead its OTX Global Hydrometallurgy Group. Mr James was a senior mining analyst for Deutsche Bank, and a partner at Perennial Growth Funds Management.

More recently, Mr James was Managing Director and CEO of an Australian listed Uranium mining company in Spain, before moving into the CEO role of Washington H. Soul Pattinson’s majority owned CopperChem Ltd. Mr James remains CEO of CopperChem Ltd, whilst also heading Exco Resources following WHSP’s successful acquisition in November 2012.

Paul Griffin, Senior Project Manager

B.Min.Tech, G.Dip.Man, MAusIMM

Mr Griffin is a Mining Engineer with 30 years broad experience in both mining and construction materials, and recently has generally been working in high level strategic planning, project management, and mine feasibility studies. Mr Griffin has mainly worked in WA where he obtained his First Class Mine Managers certificate while working at WMC’s gold and nickel mines at Kambalda, Norseman and Leinster. He was the inaugural underground manager, and then Resident Manager at the Darlot Gold Mine.

Following a stint contract estimating for surface and underground mining contracting with Brandrill, Mr Griffin was the WA State Technical Services manager for Boral asphalt and concrete products. He has also worked at the CSA Copper mine in NSW, the Coyote, Golden Grove, Tindals, and Sunrise Dam mines in WA, and the Geita gold mine in Tanzania.

Douglas Cook, Exploration Manager

B.Sc (Geology), MAusIMM

Mr Cook is a geologist with over 25 years of experience working in New Zealand, Australia, Eastern Europe, Central Asia, South America and the Middle East where he has gained substantial experience in gold, copper and nickel exploration, across a broad range of mineralisation styles and geological terrains.


His early career was spent in exploration and production roles with Western Mining Corporation and was followed by time with Anaconda Nickel, Oriel Resources in Central Asia and most recently with Mirabela Nickel in Brazil.