4 days ago
Hastings taps former Nationals WA politician Vince Catania as CEO after ceasefire with Forrest's Wyloo
WA Labor turncoat Vince Catania has ascended to the top job at Hastings Technology Metals less than a month after the company mended fences with Andrew Forrest's private mining arm.
Mr Catania, who served for 18 years in WA's Parliament predominately as a National Party politician, will be paid $340,000 a year for his new gig.
He joined Hastings as its general manager of corporate affairs shortly after leaving politics in 2022.
Mr Catania finished his political career as a long-time member for the vast seat of North West, which covered the Gascoyne region where Hastings' flagship Yangibana rare earths and niobium project is situated.
Hastings sold a 60 per cent stake in Yangibana for $150 million to the Forrest family's mining offshoot, Wyloo, last month. The deal followed a bitter public fight where Wyloo accused Hastings of financial mismanagement and even questioned its solvency.
Hastings executive chairman Charles Lew said Mr Catania had been a key figure in managing the relationship with Wyloo.
Shareholders are due to sign off on the Wyloo deal later this month.
Negotiations on the deal — initially meant to be executed by March — had been in the works since in February, when Wyloo called off a $220m loan issued to the explorer in 2022 in exchange for majority ownership of the asset.
Hastings retained a 40 per cent stake in the joint venture and the Forrest-backed entity has taken over as manager of the project, which has faced considerable budget blowouts and delays to scheduled production over the years.
The first-stage mine and beneficiation plant are due to be finished by 2027. The $475m build currently faces a funding shortfall of about $300m
'I look forward to working closely with Wyloo as we move Yangibana further along the construction path and into final investment decision, as well as working to progress our broader portfolio of assets including the Brockman heavy rare earths and niobium project and the Whiteheads gold project,' Mr Catania said.
The rare earth aspirant is also dabbling in the red-hot gold space after acquiring the early-stage Whiteheads a fortnight ago in a deal worth up to $1.2m.
The project is 80km east of Kalgoorlie in the heart of WA's gold mining country.
Shares in Hastings were up 3.5 per cent to 30¢ in early trade.
The announcement of Mr Catania's appointment also mentioned the immediate departure of non-executive director and joint company secretary Neil Hackett to 'focus on other business interests'.
