Former Atlas chief to join Pilbara Minerals

From the Aussie.

• The Australian
• December 4, 2015 12:00AM
• Paul Garvey
• Resources reporter
• Perth

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/bus...pilbara-minerals/story-e6frg9df-1227633124347

Former Atlas Iron managing director Ken Brinsden will join lithium upstart Pilbara Minerals, the one-time penny stock that has rocketed into a $220 million speculator’s favourite following its Pilgangoora discovery in WA.

Pilbara yesterday announced that Mr Brinsden would join as chief executive, with incumbent executive director Neil Biddle to remain in his role until the completion of a feasibility study into Pilgangoora next year.

Mr Brinsden stepped down as an executive director of Atlas two months ago after three years running Atlas.

Drilling success by Pilbara at Pilgangoora, coupled with growing investor excitement about a possible surge in demand for lithium due to growth in electric vehicles and power storage, has seen Pilbara shares soar from 3c to as high as 41c this year.
While the lithium sector is far removed from the world of iron ore, Mr Brinsden told The Australian he was “commodity agnostic” having previously worked in gold and mineral sands operations before joining Atlas.

“I genuinely believe the guys there are on to a massive discovery, and it’s going to become, over time, a meaningful resource in the lithium space,” he said.
“It’s still in its relatively early stages but it has enormous potential, and I’d like to think I can make a difference. It’ll be a fantastic challenge with a bit of fun along the way.”

He said the macro-economic momentum behind the lithium sector also appealed to his background in engineering. “We’re on the precipice of significant change globally about how we go about our business, about how we work with power and how we work with transport and energy storage, and it’ll be great to be part of that story,” he said.
Mr Biddle said Pilbara had been looking for an executive with experience in building mines in the Pilbara region, making Mr Brinsden a good fit.

While the last year of Mr Brinsden’s time at Atlas was marred by a slumping share price and concerns about the iron ore miner’s future, Mr Biddle said Atlas had been hit by factors outside of its control. “I think Ken and [Atlas executive] Dave Flanagan did a tremendous job in getting down costs and keeping the business going, not many people could have achieved what they did,” Mr Biddle said.

Pilbara shares jumped almost 9 per cent on the back of yesterday’s news to 30.5c. Atlas, meanwhile, is under real pressure from the continued weakness in iron ore prices, having fallen to 1.9c per share this week.
Mr Brinsden will collect fixed remuneration of $350,000 a year.