Latest news with #VictorRajasooriar
RNZ News
02-06-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
Australian Mining company gets lucrative Marlborough Sounds exploration permit
Antimony is used as a flame retardant in electronics including iPhones, lithium batteries in electric vehicles and circuit boards. Photo: Monique Berger / Biosphoto / Biosphoto via AFP Australian Mining company Siren Gold Limited has been granted an exploration permit for gold and antimony in a remote part of the Marlborough Sounds. The five-year exploration permit covers almost 12,000 hectares of land around Endeavour Inlet, Te Anamāhanga / Port Gore and Titirangi Bay. In a statement to the ASX, Siren Gold said it had been granted the exploration permit that contains the historic Endeavour mine, which was first established in the 1870s and was historically New Zealand's largest antimony producer. Siren Gold chair and interim managing director Brian Rodan said in the statement that the exploration of the high-grade Queen Charlotte antimony and gold asset would allow Siren to build "substantial scale" along with its existing Langdons prospecting permit for antimony and gold near Reefton. Former Siren Gold managing director Victor Rajasooriar said the Reefton area could have up to 5 percent of the world's supply of antimony. It is one of the few elements classified as a 'critical and strategic' mineral by countries including the United States, China, Australia, Russia, the European Union and, more recently, New Zealand. In January, Resources Minister Shane Jones announced the government's plan to double mineral sector exports to $3 billion by 2035 - up from the previous target of $2 billion . Jones said New Zealand was a prospective destination for sought-after minerals, like antimony, which is on the country's first Critical Minerals List . The price of antimony has surged in recent years due to constrained supply and the decision by China last September to restrict antimony exports. It is used as a flame retardant in electronics including iPhones, lithium batteries in electric vehicles and circuit boards. It's also used in the military for lead bullets and armour. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
West Australian
12-05-2025
- Business
- West Australian
Rajasooriar to lead Noronex Namibian copper charge
ASX listed Noronex Limited has picked up experienced mining industry player Victor Rajasooriar as its new managing director and chief executive officer in a move set to realise its ambitions across the coveted Kalahari Copper Belt in southern Africa. Rajasooriar, a mining engineer with over 25 years of global experience, officially takes the helm next week and brings with him a resume tailor-made for emerging resource plays. It includes various senior positions at industry giants Newmont Mining and Gold Fields Ltd. Rajasooriar is no stranger to the junior mining game either, having carved out a reputation with stints at Breakaway Resources, Panoramic Resources and Siren Gold. Although his hands-on experience stretches from early-stage explorers all the way to producers, a key chapter of his career was spent at mining contractor Barminco between 2014 and 2018. There, as Chief Operating Officer, he ran the company's contract mining operations across Australia and Africa, including the Zone 5 copper mine in Botswana. However, it was at Echo Resources where Rajasooriar turned a few heads. Taking charge of the then-$43 million junior, he propelling it into the spotlight with a rapid rise that saw its value skyrocket. In less than a year, Echo's market cap had touched $243 million and the company was ultimately snapped up by Northern Star in a takeover. Rajasooriar has also contributed some skin in the game to his Noronex appointment with a $100,000 commitment to 7.1 million new shares at 1.4 cents each, subject to shareholder approval. The mining veteran landed his new job after current director James Thompson decided to step down from all managerial and directorship roles with the company following six years of involvement. Thompson founded Noronex privately in 2018, helped assemble the company's original copper asset base and crafted the acquisition strategy for the Kalahari Copper Belt. He intends to remain a shareholder. Rajasooriar has joined at an exciting time for Noronex as it looks to unlock the potential of its extensive copper portfolio in Namibia including a 10Mt resource grading 1.3 per cent copper at the company's Witvlei project. In total, Noronex's exploration package spans a massive 10,000 square kilometres of the Kalahari Copper Belt. The highly prospective region is also home to Chinese-backed MMG's massive 7 million tonne Cupric copper mine and Sandfire Resources' Motheo mine with 700,000 tonnes of contained copper. About 130 kilometres northeast of Witvlei, Noronex has its foot on two further projects called Humpback and Damara. Drilling is underway at the early-stage Damara grounds to test the margins of mineralisation, however, the real excitement is currently at the Fiesta prospect within its Humpback leases. Stretching across 4.5 kilometres, reverse circulation drilling at Fiesta has unearthed several copper equivalent hits from 80m downhole including 45m grading 1.0per cent, 30m running at 1.1 per cent and 16m at 1.3 per cent. The results have been enough to convince mega base metal miner, South 32 to join the party. Last year, the two signed an earn-in agreement and strategic alliance to fund and accelerate ongoing exploration at Humpback and Damara. The deal, which provides Noronex with strong technical and strategic support also allows for South 32 to earn up to 60 percent of the project areas by spending $15 million in exploration over five years. With drilling data covering more than 180,000m, strategic partnerships in place and fresh leadership now locked in, Noronex is gearing up for what could be a transformational chapter just as global copper demand surges and prices toy with new highs over US$10,200 (A$16,000) a tonne. Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact:
