Greg Lilleyman -as I understand it from talking to several...

Greg Lilleyman -as I understand it from talking to several people associated with FMG - is very highly regarded.
On the 12 person Fortescue core leadership team he is (still for now) marked number two after Elizabeth Gaines .https://www.fmgl.com.au/about-fortescue/executive-team
Don Hyma is still up there too - so they have just lost 16.67% of their core leadership...

Whatever the ‘communications issues’ about the discovered problems they must have been VERY significant.
cheers

Here’s what the Australian had to sat about Greg’s exit;
....... ..
..... “Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Ms Gaines said the departure of Mr Lilleyman and the project’s management team was not related to any allegations of improper personal behaviour or mismanagement of money.

While Ms Gaines would not give specific reasons for their departure, she confirmed “communications issues” over problems at Iron Bridge were a factor in the decision.

“There has been some breakdown in communication, and that goes to the overall culture. Which is not our culture, our culture is actually to share. That’s very important to our culture. So there has been some breakdown in communication,” she said.

Ms Gaines thanks Mr Lilleyman for his service to Fortescue, crediting him with operational improvements that have cut its costs and improved the quality of its iron ore products.

“I would like to thank Greg Lilleyman for his enormous contribution since he joined Fortescue in January 2017. The success of our integrated marketing and operations strategy is a lasting legacy of Greg’s strategic focus and his commitment to our success over that period,” she said.
Fortescue is also mulling financing options for Iron Bridge, having previously said any borrowings would be secured against the project itself, without recourse to Fortescue’s balance sheet.

Iron Bridge includes an ore processing facility capable of producing 22 million tonnes of concentrate a year, an airstrip and accommodation camp, a 135km pipeline to Port Hedland to pump magnetite slurry to the port and return water to the mine, as well as another 195km pipeline to source water from borefields in the Canning Basin.

Fortescue originally planned to ship the first ore from Iron Bridge by mid-2022, with the mine designed to deliver 22 million tonnes when it is fully ramped up.

The mine is a key element of Fortescue’s plan to move its iron ore up the value chain by producing higher grade ore and moving its average shipment grade above 60 per cent iron.

It could also eventually provide a feed for the “green steel” plan unveiled for Fortescue by chairman Andrew Forrest in January, with the company planning to build a pilot plant in WA by the end of 2021, and a commercial plant within a few years...” https://www.theaustralian.com.au/bu...t/news-story/aef918026595ec248b7bfa312628d212;