Well firstly, he has been on the board a long time so he...

Well firstly, he has been on the board a long time so he probably understands the business and the industry very well.

Secondly as Premier of WA he no doubt has an expanded network of people he knows both professionally and personally, locally and internationally which no doubt will assist in opening a few doors and getting a few appointments & opening a few doors. Do not underestimate the dealings he would have had with China during his time as Premier.

Thirdly, in terms of infrastructure the WA Govt is influencing the calls on which rail lines are declared open for third party access. With a Liberal state Govt you can bet Dickie has a direct line to the people concerned and even without exerting any undue influence, he has the capacity to understand and work that system better than anyone else.

As a negative, not coming from the mining industry is certainly not ideal but Mal Randall had 25 yrs with RIO and he remains on the board so maybe it's just Richard's turn to have a crack?

Comments from others?