resourcestocks* chief executive officer of the ye

fyi Matt Wood Mgr Director IBR,BLR and Director ELK ,is a nominee for ResourceStocks CEO of the year:

Best Australian Executive of 2005

Friday, December 30, 2005
As you would expect in the midst of what is predicted to be a prolonged boom period for the resources industry, several companies and their front men have made a dash for the esteemed title of RESOURCESTOCKS* chief executive officer of the year. And, equally predictably, the push from some of the insurgents has bumped several contenders from 2004 out of the running.

On the starting grid

Last year's bridesmaid and Straits Resources' leader Milan Jerkovic has hardly put a foot wrong, but a comparatively quiet year for Straits has meant Jerkovic finds himself outpointed.

The dynamic Andrew Forrest, third last year, has also been cast well out of contention, as this year's judges adopted a wait-and-see attitude toward the feasibility of Fortescue Metals' Pilbara iron ore project.

Several others from 2004's top nine executives have made way for fresh faces while others who featured on the lower rungs of our ratings ladder made a move toward the giddy heights of number one.

As usual, RS will determine this year's standout performer by sifting through what has become an inflated list of candidates.

They are: John Borschoff (Paladin Resources), Ian Buchhorn (Heron Resources), Julian Hanna (Western Areas), Kerry Harmanis (Jubilee Mines), Owen Hegarty (Oxiana), Michael Kiernan (Consolidated Minerals), Reg Nelson (Beach Petroleum), Kim Robinson (Kagara Zinc), Gavin Thomas (Kingsgate Consolidated), Don Voelte (Woodside Petroleum), Rohan Williams (Avoca Resources) and Matt Wood (Iberian Resources and Elk Petroleum).

Who broke down?

Surprisingly, Kerry Harmanis polled just a single vote, giving an indication of what's required to wrest this year's crown. What's even more surprising is that this year marks Harmanis' first appearance as a nominee for this title.

Heading up the company that took out the Diggers and Dealers Best Miner gong for an unprecedented second time following another exceptional year at Cosmos was not enough to push Harmanis to the top of the heap.

Unfortunately for the former lawyer and onetime roadside seafood vendor, the lofty heights achieved in previous years have left him limited northward scope in which to move.

Avoca boss Rohan Williams (one vote) has also staked a claim as one of the industry's movers and shakers for the first time, thanks mainly to the progress made at the Higginsville gold project in WA.

With production to start next year at a rate of approximately 60,000oz of gold per annum, Williams may very well feature more prominently in next year's calculations.

Another fresh face to the Best of the Best awards is Matt Wood (two votes), who has returned double first year success with floats across the petroleum and hard rock sectors.

Iberian Resources had a cracker of a stock market debut in November last year, when the shares it had issued at 20c opened at 40c.

The company's main asset when it listed was the Montemor gold project in Portugal, which is in pre-feasibility mode having identified about 600,000oz of a targeted 2Moz resource, but the company has also pressed into the former Soviet state of Armenia where it has an 80% interest in the Lichkvaz project, described as a "world class gold play in a world class province".

Wood has simultaneously advanced the Elk Petroleum play, flying the flag for the male of the species by proving men can do two things at once.

Elk jumped from a listing price of 20c in June to register 60c in July, having made steady progress on the Grieve oil field in Wyoming, USA.

Both of these companies could help Wood to the head of the class in the future but for 2005, it's an honourable mention only.

Julian Hanna also finished on two votes for driving Western Areas' progress at the Flying Fox nickel deposit in WA.

After picking up the ground as no more than a high priority drill target within the Forrestania project in 2002, Hanna has delineated extensions to the mineralisation and now has a high-grade resource of 61,200t contained nickel.

That resource continues to grow and production is on the cards for next year. Hanna has also initiated a dual listing on the Toronto Stock Exchange, but with the full impact of that decision yet to be seen, it was so long to Julian for 2005.

Rounding out those with a couple of votes is Woodside's Don Voelte, though the company did sweep the pool in the best explorer category.

The big boys often find it hard get their men into the limelight when it comes to individual awards because the judging panel rightly questions the influence one man can have on a large company, in this case Woodside.

But Voelte's vigour in driving the fifth North West Shelf LNG train, fast-tracking the company's Pluto project and the developing a new Browse Basin LNG hub is likely to transform Woodside and deserves recognition.

At the smaller end of town, Beach Petroleum saw a production rise of 8% from an already substantial base in 2004/2005 under the guidance of Reg Nelson.

More notably, reserves rose by 253% and net profit more than doubled, marking the sixth successive improvement in full-year earnings for the Adelaide-based oil and gas producer and explorer.

Exploration, appraisal and infill drilling programs continue to build Beach's reserves in foundation regions in Queensland and South Australia, but the company is also spreading its wings by expanding into onshore and offshore work in Victoria, entering into the coadbed methane sector in Queensland, and farming into a New Zealand offshore prospect.

Project highlights include gas discoveries at Hurricane-1, offshore WA, and rapid progress at the innovative Basker-Manta-Gummy oil and gas project – an effort which has left Nelson just one vote shy of the dais on three votes.

Kim Robinson (three votes) may also consider himself a little unlucky to miss out on the silverware.

Robinson is one of handful of people to have polled votes in every count from the past three years, thanks to his long-held belief in the long un-sexy (but now irresistible) zinc.

Kagara's 400% after tax profit boon for the recent financial year netted $14.4 million, compared to $3.4 million in 2004, thanks to record production and margins at the flagship Mt Garnet project in Queensland.

Importantly, the emerging Mungana gold and base metal project looks like developing into low-cost, bulk-tonnage underground mine like Newcrest's Ridgeway and has the ability to double Kagara's zinc output sometime next year.

Depending on how the Mungana development unfolds, Robinson could find himself further toward the peak of next year's Best Executive pile.

Best Australian Executive of 2005 - Chequered flag contenders

Friday, December 30, 2005
It's a crowded podium this year with judges unable to decide on a top three, instead the votes unveiled a top five as three chiefs tied for second.

The result once again reflects the competitive nature of the industry and demonstrates the number of companies and individuals who are making hay while the sun is well and truly shining.

Coming in outright third is John Borschoff. Dealing in what has gone from the outhouse to the penthouse in recent times, uranium, Borschoff has taken the Paladin share price from a 2005 opening of 48c to $2.61 in September. And it was only a couple of years ago the Paladin was trading at just 1.2c.

The stock strengthened throughout the year as its flagship Langer Heinrich project in Namibia progressed.

Shares then soared in September, following a $77 million placement to fund project development and working capital, and a 14% resource upgrade to 17,041t of uranium.

Borschoff, a long time expert in uranium exploration and marketing, has transformed what was a two-bit stock into the darling of the ASX, dodging a foray of political bullets and persisting through a prolonged period of investment scepticism.

As Langer Heinrich develops there is little doubt Borschoff will continue to attract attention from the industry judiciary.

Owen Hegarty is equal second on five votes and another who has been in the reckoning for best executive three years running.

The carry over champ from 2004 continues to press forward with the The Mighty Ox and has added considerable depth to its make-up by adding copper to its operation in Laos, recently acquiring the Golden Grove operation in WA, and pushing the Prominent Hill copper-gold project in South Australia to feasibility stage.

The move has basically left Oxiana as the only mid-tier diversified mining house in Australia, a position of which many companies would no doubt be envious.

Sepon continues to perform strongly and Macquarie Bank has predicted the company growth pipeline should turn it into a 500,000ozpa gold and 200,000tpa copper producer within three years.

Ian Buchhorn can chalk up his five votes and share of best man duties to his potentially company making deal with nickel monster Inco.

What Buchhorn described as a global search for a joint venture partner to progress its Kalgoorlie Nickel Project ended when it targeted and secured the nickel laterite expertise of Inco.

Discussions were also in progress to encapsulate the nickel sulphide rights in a second joint venture with the same company.

What are impressive are the terms Buchhorn has negotiated. Inco will earn its 60% interest in KNP only when it has completed the BFS and finance has been secured.

Similarly, Inco will earn a 60% stake in the sulphide rights only on discovery. It's a vindication of Heron's laterite strategy that many thought would never eventuate.

The last bloke to squeeze onto the second place platform is Gavin Thomas. For his spruiking of Kingsgate alone, Thomas could be considered for this year's top mantle.

Consistently proclaiming you have in your possession another Super Pit (at least in terms of depth) is bound to draw plenty of attention, and thankfully for Thomas, the production and exploration results from the low-cost Chatree gold mine in Thailand in 2005 are enough to justify such lofty declarations.

As recently as October, the company hinted at expansions to the operation that could take its capacity to 5Mtpa, then followed that announcement with a 25% resource upgrade in November to 1.84Moz.

Chatree is currently producing at 150,000ozpa with a discovery rate of 125,000oz a month – a production to discovery ratio that could see Kingsgate in Thailand for many, many years to come.

Thomas has also firmed up local connections with a 20% investment in Goldstar Resources, the company redeveloping the Wyalla mine in Victoria.

Kingsgate's share price performance has also turned around under Thomas, who was appointed managing director of the company late last year.

Sitting at around $2.80 at the time of Thomas' appointment and coming perilously close to less than $2 earlier this year, Kingsgate paper is once again worth more than $4 apiece.

The winner

And then there was one. Michael Kiernan is this year's top executive in the eyes of our judging panel, comfortably outgunning his peers with eight votes. In fact, given the competitiveness for minor placings, it would be fair to proclaim Kiernan the winner and daylight second, such is the ease at which he took out this year's title.

The result could probably be put down to a several factors.

Firstly, a stellar 2004/2005 fiscal year for ConsMin, in which increased production at Woodie Woodie and Coobina and rising metal prices delivered a record $70 million net profit.

Kiernan has forecast a doubling of gross earnings for this fiscal year to $140 million because of increased manganese and chromite production and growing contributions from nickel, mainly thanks to the purchase of Reliance Mining and its Kambalda nickel assets.

But the urgency to get behind Kiernan was most likely stoked by the revelation he would be leaving the company in July next year. Kiernan has now agreed to stay on under a new one-year contract, but many of our judges were eager to see him rewarded for his endeavours before he walked out of the limelight.

Outside of ConsMin, Kiernan is one of the heads behind the emerging Monarch Resources, which recently emerged from relative obscurity to purchase the Davyhurst gold mine from Croesus and merge with fellow goldfields explorer Siberia.

In a slight twist, Croesus revealed Kiernan as its new non-executive chairman just days after the company announced the sale of Davyhurst.

For those achievements alone we could rightfully catapult the former trucker to the head of the class, but it is entirely possible the margin by which he has won is a reflection of the willingness of the judges to reward the man for previous years' work and possibly a backlash against institutional investors who wrongly tried to rob the man of his just desserts in recent contract negotiations with ConsMin.

Thankfully, given recent events, this is unlikely to be the last time RS has the chance to bestow is highest individual honour on the big man.

So it is with great pleasure and plenty of sentiment that RS anoints Michael Kiernan as Best Executive of 2005.