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January 16, 2024

International Coach adds to ILM Team Strength

Matthew Van Pelt is our latest addition to the Industry Link Media team.

ILM Team Member and Goldfields Giants Coach Matt Van Pelt

Van Pelt, a 32-year old native from the United States, is a professional basketball coach, former professional basketball player, entrepreneur, sports writer, and a recently published author.

He has ventured to Kalgoorlie not only to boost our intimate, but ever-growing staff with Industry Link Media, but also to take on the challenge of leading our Goldfields Giants Men’s Basketball team back to prominence.

Basketball has been Coach Van Pelt’s passion, life, and area of expertise for more than two decades now.

With basketball experience in more than 25 countries, his experience with the game runs deep. Firstly as a player, Van Pelt spent seven years playing professionally across 13 different countries.

He won league MVP in Cambodia and Thailand, led the league in the Northern Territory of Australia in both scoring and assists, led the leagues of Indonesia, Ireland, and Thailand in assists, and won championships in French Polynesia, Italy, Switzerland, Cambodia, and Vietnam.

Prior to traveling the globe as a professional, Van Pelt played four years of college basketball at Spring Arbor University in Michigan, where he started all four seasons and won the Pete Maravich Award, which often goes to one of the nation’s top point guards, and had his school rename their team’s award for its best defender after him, dubbing it the ‘Matt Van Pelt Defensive Player of the Year’ award.

As an athlete, Van Pelt hardly passed the eye test as a 5’9 undersized point guard on the court. He carried with him an underdog mentality which has since joined him along his coaching career path as well, as teaching not just the pros, but also the beginners, has been a focus of his.

In his young, but busy coaching career thus far, Van Pelt has led camps, clinics, and skill workouts for athletes of all ages and abilities, from coaching kids in Jordan who have never touched a basketball, to coaching primary school kids in Malaysia, high schoolers in the Maldives, and non-English speakers in Tahiti and Guatemala among other places, Van Pelt’s passion for teaching the game has reached all parts of the globe.

While educating young athletes in the basics brings Van Pelt joy, he’s at his best when working with the best.

Van Pelt has coached with or trained under five of the world’s most famous and well renowned basketball trainers in the world. He has also coached multiple former NBA players himself on the player development side of things, and has won consecutive championships at some of the highest levels of basketball in Asia, where he has spent his last 8 years living.

Most recently, Van Pelt has lived in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam for the past four years, where he has led the Vietnam Men’s National Team in both 5v5 and 3×3 to multiple medals in the Southeast Asian Games, and also where he has steered the Saigon Heat, arguably Vietnam’s most prestigious professional sports organisation, to four straight championships in Vietnam, something never before done in southeast Asia.

Van Pelt hopes his recent success won’t be a thing of the past, but something that will be contagious as he brings his winning desires to Kalgoorlie’s very own Goldfields Giants men’s team.

“I can already sense Kalgoorlie Boulder has a very strong sports community, and I hope to make it proud,” said Van Pelt.

“It’s not going to be easy, as the NBL1 West competition only keeps getting stronger, but I didn’t come here to lose games. Our aim is to win, and to win sooner than later. After just a handful of training sessions I can see we’ve got a great group of guys who are very coachable, get after it with intensity, and put the team first. We are looking to add one or two more talented pieces to the roster that I think will fit in perfectly to what we’ve got already. It will take some time to grow our chemistry and we must have a very intentional training camp, but we plan to compete,” Van Pelt added.

While Coach Van Pelt aims to instil the winning mentality into each of his Giants players, he too hopes to get the community behind the team, and to become an integral part of that community himself.

It won’t be just his leadership of the Giants, but also his background in sports writing and media that will help to power the Kalgoorlie Boulder community and a new local sports media venture moving forward

Van Pelt graduated from university in 2013 with a degree in English Writing and Journalism. He wrote articles for various newspapers and websites, co-hosted his own blog titled Rant N Rave Sports, and even once interviewed for a sports writing position with the Los Angeles Lakers when formerly living in California.

Van Pelt also used his vast international basketball experience to publish his first book titled, “Hoopin’ Abroad: How to have a long, successful career playing professional basketball around the globe.”

Aside from writing, Kalgoorlie Boulder’s newest coach also delves into business and media, as he is also the president of Van Pelt Sports Management, a placement company he founded in 2015 that helps place professional athletes and coaches with jobs abroad, and has a YouTube channel that shares hoops related content online.

He plans to use his experience with writing, business, and media to smoothly and eagerly integrate into the Kalgoorlie-Boulder community.

“I am really looking forward to meeting those involved with Kalgoorlie Boulder sports community. Obviously, I will be coaching the Giants but I also cannot wait to go check out some of the City’s other sports, meet the teams and fans, get behind the community, and hopefully help put out some content on the various activities happening in our neighborhoods.”

March 24, 2023

What You Missed in the News This Week

Rivet Mining Services has gone into administration due to extreme weather events, labour shortages, project delays and rising costs.

Mining services, which provides bulk haulage and ancillary onsite services to mining companies in WA, is the only business within the Rivet Group effected.

Chris Hill, Vaughan Strawbridge and Hayden White from FTI Consulting have been made receivers and managers of the company.

Desert Metals has begun extensive field work at three of its key projects near Meekatharra.

The projects include drilling of a previously untested 15m greenstone belt for gold and other base metals at the Belele project; heritage surveys at the Dingo Pass project; and metallurgical work to determine recovery rates of clay hosted REE mineralisation at the Innouendy project to identify the most cost-effective processing methodology.

Rio Tinto has been the victim of a data hack.

Data on GoAnywhere software regarding former and current employees may have been stollen by hackers who have threatened to release stollen data.

“While investigations into this incident are ongoing and threats have been made by a cybercriminal group to release data on to the dark web, to date none of the records described above have been released, and we still do not know if the cybercriminal group holds these records or not,” a memo to staff said.

Several companies using GoAnywhere have reported data breaches, including Hitachi.

Lightning Minerals has identified lithium soil anomalism at its 100% owned Dundas project in WA.

Lightning Minerals CEO, Alex Biggs, said: “Further positive lithium in soil anomalism being identified at our Dundas project again supports our exploration strategy and belief in the region as an emerging lithium and critical minerals district.”

The S&P/ASX200 markets had a turbulent week, falling from 6,974 points o Monday to 6,900 on Tuesday, the market jumped again on Wednesday to 7,030 points before falling to 6,961 points on Thursday then finishing off the week at 6,955 points on Friday.

The All Ordinaries has lost 0.70% over the last 5 days. The market was at its lowest at close on Monday at 7,085 points. The All Ordinaries closed at 7,138 points on Friday.

Gold fell Tuesday afternoon from $1,985.88USD to $1,943.47USD before recovering the remainder of the week to $1,990.70USD on Friday, the highest price since April 2022.

Silver finished at $23.22USD on Friday, the highest it’s been since the start of February 2023.

March 10, 2023

What You Missed in the News This Week

Lynas has secured $200m in investments from Japan Australia Rare Earths through a subscription of ordinary shares.

Lynas CEO and managing director, Amanda Lacaze, said “JARE has been a valued and strategic partner to Lynas since 2011 and we welcome these new agreements which better reflect demand forecasts from the Japanese rare earths market.”

MinRes has pledged $600,000 over 3 years to the Lion’s Healthy Hearing Outback Program for Aboriginal Children in the Pilbara.

The Lions Healthy Hearing Outback program is run by a conglomerate of health organisations, including Ear Science Institute Australia (ESIA), Rural Health West and the Puntukurnu Aboriginal Medical Service.

“MinRes is proud to partner with Ear Science to help expand this life-changing ear health service into some of Western Australia’s most remote communities,” MinRes managing director, Chriss Ellison said.

“Far too many Aboriginal children experience ear disease and hearing loss, and Ear Science Institute are at the forefront of reducing that devasting burden.”

GBM Resources and Novo Resources have signed a sale and Purchase Agreement for GBM to sell its remaining 50% interest in the Malmsbury Gold Project to Novo.

The sale includes cash of $1M plus 4,037,872 Novo Shares, representing $1.45m.

The S&P/ASX200 dropped sharply on Friday, dropping 166.4 points to 7,144.7, setting a 20-day low.

The All Ordinaries followed suit, dropping 166.2 points to 7,348.2 points on Friday.

Gold fell sharply on Wednesday, falling from $1,881.58 to $1,816.17 but recovered slightly on Friday to $1,834.35.

Silver dropped sharply on Tuesday, falling from $21.35 to end the week at $20.24.

February 24, 2023February 24, 2023

What You Missed in the News This Week

Weeks after the West Australian Government raised concerns that Alcoa’s mines posed a risk to the Serpentine Dam and 1/5 of Perth’s drinking water, it has been discovered that the US miner has risked another WA dam.

Alcoa applied for approval to build pipelines over WA’s Waroona Dam to pump PFAS contaminated water from firefighting foam, and despite not yet receiving approval, has already built the pipeline.

The Water Corporation worries a leak in the pipeline could contaminate the dam and said Alcoa built it without their knowledge.

A spokesperson from Water Corp said “It is Water Corporation’s view that such a pipeline would, along with other concerns, present an unacceptable risk to drinking water quality, therefore, Water Corporation does not support Alcoa’s proposal in its current form.”

BHP has announced it is selling its Daunia and Blackwater mines in Queensland, citing a 9.3B (32%) drop in its half-year profits and increased royalties.

BHP Mitsubishi Alliance asset president Mauro Neves said the Queensland Government’s decision to raise cola royalties had made the state uncompetitive.

Mineral Resources has entered into two binding agreements with Albemarle Corporation, the first to change their 40% ownership of the joint owned Wodgina Mine to 50% and the second to increase investment in lithium in China.

MinRes managing director Chis Ellison said “We are delighted to have reached these binding agreements, which cement MinRes’ place as a world-leader in lithium mining and leverage our partner Albemarle’s strong track record in battery chemical production.

“By growing our battery chemicals business and expanding into global chemical marketing, MinRes will become one of the world’s largest fully integrated lithium chemical suppliers to auto manufacturers, capitalising on the increasing demand for sustainable battery mineral products.”

The Federal and West Australian governments will invest $565m into expanding and upgrading the port at Port Headland.

In the first stage, two seawalls and a causeway will be constructed, increasing the port’s capacity to export lithium and copper.

MGN Civil will complete the construction works, with 90 per cent of materials and suppliers being sourced within the Pilbara region along with partnerships with First Nations businesses.

Anthony Albanese said “Demand is growing locally and overseas for clean energy sources and our Government’s investment in the Lumsden Point expansion will help position northern Australia to take advantage of the economic opportunities this demand presents.”

Magnis Energy Technologies has entered into an agreement with Tesla to supply them with critical minerals for electric vehicles.

Tesla will buy a minimum of 17,500 tonnes per annum of lithium and other critical minerals from February 2025.

Magnis chairman Frank Poullas said “We are really excited to bring our high-performing AAM to market that requires no chemical or thermal purification throughout the whole process, which differentiates this sustainable material in the market and provides great value to all parties.”

The S&P/ASX200 markets have continued its month-long downward path. The week started at 7,354 points, falling sharply on Tuesday and Wednesday, before raising slightly to 7,307 points at close of day Friday.

The All Ordinaries saw similar drops on Tuesday and Wednesday. The index lost 0.52% for the last 5 days.

Gold had a somewhat disappointing week, dropping from $1,848.42USD on Monday to $1,828.95USD on Friday, continuing the downward trend for the month.

Silver stayed steady at the start of the week, though stumbling at the end of the week to finish off at $21.58USD.

February 3, 2023February 3, 2023

What You Missed in the News This Week

Boss Energy has appointed James Davidson as general manager of its Honeymoon Uranium project and Jacobus van Rooyen as its construction manager.

Boss Energy managing director, Duncan Craib said James Davidson “has immense experience across project management and construction, with particular emphasis on uranium metallurgy and operations.”

Craib also said “Kobus is a team player, having held and achieved key senior roles as a multi-disciplined
construction manager, effectively managing resources to deliver small scale all the way through to mega project objectives and deliverables safely, on time and within budget, he will further bolster our team as construction at Honeymoon ramps up.”

Oz Minerals saw an increase of total copper production in the December Quarter compared to the previous quarter, increasing 6,295 tonnes to 36,307 tonnes. Total gold production decreased from 56,334 ounces to 54,856 ounces.

Both copper and gold production of the FY2022 sat within the target figure – which was revised mid-year.

Managing Director and CEO, Andrew Cole said “A strong final quarter saw a 21 per cent lift in copper production, quarter on quarter, resulting in group production and cost guidance (revised mid-year) being met and creating positive momentum for 2023.

“We are pleased with how the team rest and recalibrated performance to end the year on a strong note after a challenging first half impacted by adverse weather, COVID-19 absenteeism, and supply chain disruption and inflationary pressure. The December quarter of 36,307 tonnes of copper is the highest group copper production on record.”

Iluka Resources has awarded SciDev a three-year contract for the supply of MaxiFlox chemistry, used for the treatment of mine site tailings to maximise water recovery and reduce the tailings footprint.

SciDev CEO, Seán Halpin said “Our ongoing relationship with Iluka reflects both the quality of our products and the skill set of our team.”

Liontown Resources has commenced open pit mining at its Kathleen Valley Lithium Project.

Iron Mine Contracting is providing open pit mining services at the site, including drilling; blasting; loading and hauling of ore and waste; hauling road construction; and pit dewatering services.

Liontown Managing Director and CEO, Tony Ottaviano said “Completion of the first blast and commencement of open pit mining at Kathleen Valley is a significant milestone for Liontown, signifying our transition from explorer to mining operator.”

The S&P/ASX200 markets have continued the strong increase from the start of the year, beginning the week at 7,492 points and finishing off at 7,558 points.

The All Ordinaries followed the same trend, setting a new 100-day high, and ending at 7,772 points.

Gold continues to stay around the highest its been since May, sitting at $1,919.07oz.

Silver started slow at $24.07oz and peaked at $24.47oz on Thursday but fell again at the end of the week to $23.75oz.

December 20, 2022

12 Months of Mining Recap

A lot has happened in 2022 so we’ve compiled some of this year’s biggest mining news:

January

Rio Tinto expects the introduction of battery-electric powered trains in the Pilbara will help them halve their emissions by 2030.

They hope the trial will pave the way for its entire fleet of 220 diesel locomotives to go electric.

Fortescue Metals Group also plans to replace diesel-powered vehicles by 2030 in their plan to decarbonise.

Then FMG chief executive Elizabeth Gaines said to achieve carbon neutrality: “we will have to replace our mining fleet, our rail fleet, shipping, all of those areas that are mobile that rely on the use of diesel.”

February

Lynas has received approval from WA Environment Minister Reece Whitby to build $500m rare earths refinery at Kalgoorlie.

The plant is scheduled to begin production next year and is expected to create over 120 jobs.

Kalgoorlie-Boulder Mayor John Bowler said he hopes the plant will operate for decades: “This is the next big metal, something totally different from gold and nickel … it’s a big occasion and great day for Kalgoorlie-Boulder.”

May

Ron Sayers, West Australian mining tycoon who founded the Perenti Group, has died after his battle with stomach cancer and Alzheimer’s disease.

Sayers began as a fitter on Kalgoorlie’s Golden Mile before founding his company Ausdrill in 1987.

Today the ASX200 listed company employs more than 8,000 employees across 12 countries.

Construction has begun on a 580km pipeline in WA that will take gas from the Perth basin to the Goldfields.

The $460m pipeline will form part of the Northern Goldfields Interconnect pipeline, aimed to significantly increase the volume of gas available inland.

June

The United States Department of Defence has awarded Lynas Rare Earths a $120USD contract to build a processing facility on the Gulf Coast in Texas.

The production of the facility aims to reduce the US’ reliance on China for rare earth minerals.

Lynas managing director Amanda Lacaze says the deal demonstrates the priority that the US is placing on “ensuring that supply chains for these critical materials are resilient and environmentally responsible”.

July

Australian mining company Lucapa has unearthed a rare 170-carat pink diamond, one of the biggest pink diamonds ever found.

“The Lulo Rose” is believed to be the largest found in 300 years.

October

Two people have died in 72 hours in separate mining incidents in WA.

The first died after a rock fall at the Hamlet underground mine at Saint Ives near Kambalda.

The second died at the Capricorn Metals’ Karlawinda gold mine near Newman when his vehicle was run over by a large dump truck.

November

A $750m community investment trust funded by WA’s big fish in mining has been set up by the state government to help fund infrastructure in remote communities and legacy projects.

The government hopes to eventually have $1b in the fund, so far Rio Tinto and BHP have contributed $250m each, Hancock Prospecting has contributed $100m, Woodside $50m, Chevron $50m and Mineral Resources has contributed $50m.

Projects to be funded include an Aboriginal Cultural Centre for Perth’s CBD, the refurbishment of the Perth Concert Hall and upgrades to the Perth Zoo as well as several projects in remote WA.

Swedish company, Epiroc, has agreed to acquire Kalgoorlie Boulder company, Remote Control Technologies Pty Ltd.

RCT was founded 50 years ago and provides automation solutions to mining companies.

RCT is the second Kalgoorlie Boulder company acquired by Epiroc this year, after their acquisition of JTMEC earlier in the year.

The acquisition is expected to be completed by the end of the year.

December

St Barbara and Genesis Minerals have announced their merger to create Hoover House,

St Barbara will acquire 100% of the shares in Genesis. Genesis shareholders will own 41% of Hoover House, with St Barbara shareholders owning 38%.

Hoover House will have a production target of over 300,000oz of gold per annum.

St Barbara chair, Tim Netscher, said: “The merger with our Leonora neighbour, Genesis, to create Hoover House, will accelerate our Leonora Province Plan. Shareholders will reap the benefits of more production at lower cost and lower risk from this prolific mining district.”

Genesis Managing Director, Raleigh Finlayson, said: “By combining with St Barbara, we are creating Hoover House, the premium Australian gold company we envisaged, with sustainable, high-quality production.”

Elizabeth Gains is stepping down as CEO of Fortescue to become their ambassador for their global green hydrogen brand. Gains will remain a non-executive director.

Gains will be responsible for promoting green hydrogen, green ammonia and green energy.

Since Gains began leading the company in 2018, Fortescue’s share price has quadrupled, and shareholders have grown from less than 35,000 to 170,000.

“ I don’t see this as a departure of any shape or form. I think it’s just the opportune time for Fortescue who are genuinely transitioning,” Ms Gaines said.

December 16, 2022

What you missed in the news this week

St Barbara and Genesis Minerals have announced their merger to create Hoover House,

St Barbara will acquire 100% of the shares in Genesis. Genesis shareholders will own 41% of Hoover House, with St Barbara shareholders owning 38%.

Hoover House will have a production target of over 300,000oz of gold per annum.

The federal government has announced a cap on gas and coal prices as part of its Energy Price Relief Plan.

The plan includes the 12-month emergency gas price cap, a targeted energy bill relief for households and businesses, and investment in cleaner, cheaper and reliable energy.

Anthony Albanese said the action is designed to “provide all Australians with a buffer in unprecedented times.”

A South African researcher has developed a new way to remove contaminates from water used in mining.

The process involves small polystyrene beads that chemically bond with pollutants as the water passes through, cleaning the water and collecting the pollutants for reuse.

Ed Hardwick, owner of Cwenga Technologies said the beads extract valuable materials from the water: “What has been identified in some streams, especially coal mining streams, is that the acid that’s produced from the mine waters actually dissolves out some rare earth materials.”

Aruma Resources has announced its recently completed diamond core drilling program at their Salmon gums Gold Project has expanded the project’s Greenstone footprint to over 75km².

The drilling, located at their Norseman Gold Camp was designed to provide a deeper geological understanding of the project and opened up the potential for the project to host multiple horizons.

Kin Mining has completed their first deep diamond drill-hole at Helens-Rangoon Fault – which saw wide zones of shallow gold – to test an Induced Polarisation anomaly.

The drilling was completed at their Cardinia Gold Project near Leonora and has intersected significant zones of gold mineralisation.

Kin Mining Managing Director, Andrew Munckton, said: “This represents a strong start to the 5‐hole diamond drill program, which is designed to test the first generation of deeper targets at Cardinia with the aim of uncovering new, high‐grade discoveries within the exciting Eastern Corridor.”

S&P/ASX 200 markets started out the week a little lower, at 7,163 points before climbing to 7,253 points at the end of Wednesday. The markets saw a sudden drop Friday morning, falling from 7,209 points to 7,122 points before making a slight comeback to finish the week.

The All Ordinaries followed a similar trajectory, falling 91 points to 7,304 points Friday morning, before climbing again throughout the day.

Gold peaked at a 3-month high of $1,813.70USD on Wednesday, before dropping again to $1,787.85USD to round out the week.

Silver saw a 6-month high of $24USD on Wednesday before a slight decline to $23.35USD to end the week.

December 2, 2022

What You Missed in the New this Week

Surbiton Associates has announced Australian gold production for the September 22 quarter is down 9% from the June 22 quarter.

The September quarter saw 76 tonnes compared to the 83 tonnes from the June quarter.

Surbiton Associates director, Dr Sandra Close said gold production for the quarter is somewhat disappointing and stated “some wet weather and Covid-19 problems affected output adversely” but is confident these effects are slowly receding.

Gold Fields has awarded their Barren Lands open pit project to establish a new mine at their Agnew Gold Mine, 150km Northwest of Leonora to MLG Oz.

The project will run alongside their current St Ives cooperation.

MLG founder and managing director Murray Leahy said “we are very proud to continue to support Gold Fields at their St Ives and Agnew operations extending what has, and continues to be, a long and rewarding relationship.”

Metal Hawk Limited has announced diamond drilling at their Berehaven Nickel Project has commenced.

The project, located 20km Southeast of Kalgoorlie Boulder, continued after high grade nickel sulphide was discovered in the area last year.

Minerals Resources is offering starting salaries of over $140,000 to New Zealanders in an entice them to Perth. The campaign is set to see several hundred New Zealanders over the next 6 months.

The S&P/ASX200 stumbled slightly on Monday before recovering to start the month on a high of 7,372 points yesterday. The markets finished off the week on 7,302 points, dropping 0.72% from yesterday.

The All Ordinaries peaked at 7,572 points yesterday, finishing at 7,504 points today.

Gold was relatively stable at the start of the week, before picking up on Wednesday to finish the week at the biggest high since August at $1,802.25USD/oz.

Silver followed suit, starting stable before reaching the biggest high since June at $233.04USD/oz.

November 18, 2022

What You Missed This Week in the News

BHP has offered Oz Minerals a takeover offer of $28.25/share, including $9.6B, three months after their initial unsolicited offer.

BHP offered a$25/share, $8.4m takeover offer in August, which Oz Minerals rejected, saying it failed to properly value the company’s portfolio.

The offer comes after the two renewed talks on Thursday, and Oz Minerals board have accepted the offer, OZ Minerals Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Andrew Cole said: “BHP’s Revised Proposal is a clear reflection of OZ Minerals’ unique set of highly strategic, quality assets in quality jurisdictions. We look forward to working with BHP in a collaborative way to progress the Revised Proposal in the best interests of OZ Minerals’ and its stakeholders.”

MetalsGrove Mining has announced that drilling contractor Topdrill has mobilised its drill rig in preparation to commence the inaugural drilling at their Upper Coondina Lithium Project.

The project is located 100km south of Marble Bar, near Port Hedland.

BHP, Curtin University and Greening Australia have partnered to trial vegetation barriers to improve air quality and capture dust in the West End scheme in Port Hedland as part of BHP’s Pilbara Air Quality Program.

Phase 1 which involved planting 80,000 seedlings, has been completed and another 80,000 is scheduled to be planted in the next few months.

The ”What’s Down the Track” Forum was held in Kalgoorlie Boulder on Thursday. The event, run by the Kalgoorlie-Boulder Chamber of Commerce, provides a 12-month forecast into the drivers that support the growth and opportunities that exist within the region.

The event included speakers and exhibitions from BHP, Kai Rho Contracting, Deep Yellow Limited, St Ives, Northern Star, Lynas Rare Earths, Evolution Mining and Epiroc.

The S&P/ASX200 markets stumbled at the beginning of the week, starting off on the month’s high of 7,196 points before falling to 7,106 points on Wednesday. The markets made a comeback to finish the week at 7,152 points. Oz Minerals was the top performing stock, up 3.92% after their takeover offer from BHP.

The All Ordinaries us up too, finishing the week on 7,355 points.

Gold is trading at $1,765.52USD after a stable week, and silver at $21.35USD, after peaking early on Tuesday at $22.28USD.

February 24, 2021

Top Story – Bill Beament Leaves Northern Star In July.

Northern Star Resources Limited has provided an update. In their efforts to initiate a global search for an Independent NonExecutive Chair, Bill Beament will retire from the Northern Star Board, effective July 1, 2021. Mr Beament has agreed to take up an Executive Director role with Venturex Resources from July 1. Mr Beament said he fully appreciated the opportunity to help Northern Star generate exceptional results for all stakeholders. “I share the view that now is the right time for Northern Star to begin the search for an Independent Chair,” he said. “The Company is in an extremely strong position, with an outstanding team and some of the best gold assets in the world.”

Northern Star Non-Executive Director John Fitzgerald thanked Mr Beament for his outstanding contribution. “Bill has guided Northern Star through a period of exceptional growth, building a globally-significant gold company which generates substantial returns for Shareholders,” Mr Fitzgerald said.

The Northern Star Board has decided that Independent Non-Executive Director John Fitzgerald will perform the role of Independent Non-Executive Chair from then until the appointment of the new Chair.