EcoGraf appoints veteran Hatch and Rio Tinto Executive as new COO - Kalkine Media

Highlights

• EcoGraf has appointed veteran Hatch and Rio Tinto Executive, Mr Dale Harris, as its new Chief Operating Officer.
• He served as Chief Operating Officer and also held several General Managerial roles at Rio Tinto.
• Mr Harris will work with EcoGraf’s Managing Director Mr Andrew Spinks and the Board to guide the development of vertically integrated battery minerals businesses.

Shares of a diversified battery anode material company, EcoGraf Limited (ASX:EGR), zoomed 3.7% on Monday following the announcement of the appointment of its new Chief Operating Officer. EcoGraf has appointed veteran Hatch and Rio Tinto Executive, Mr Dale Harris, to take up the position of CEO to drive the development of its integrated battery graphite businesses.

Industry veteran joins EcoGraf

Mr. Harris is an industry-renowned professional with over 3 decades of experience across the resources, mineral processing and engineering sectors with an established track record of delivering successful projects and robust operational performance.

During his 20-year-long stint at Rio Tinto, Mr. Harris held key leadership roles across Australia and abroad in the areas of business planning and analysis, project development, construction and commissioning, mining and mineral processing operations, business development, asset management, integrated planning, automation and business improvement.

He served as Chief Operating Officer and also held several General Managerial roles at Rio Tinto. He was also the first General Manager of state-of-the-art remote operations in Perth and managed the rollout of the Lean Six Sigma improvement program.

Subsequently, he also served as the Managing Director of Gindalbie Metals Limited and then as Chief Executive Officer of its Karara Mining Joint Venture, leading the transformational journey and the ramping up of operations at the multibillion-dollar magnetite mine and processing plant.

Until recently, Mr Harris held the position of Director at global engineering group Hatch. At Hatch, he along with his team worked on numerous developments, construction, optimisation and management of base metals, battery minerals and bulk commodity projects in Australia and abroad.

Coming to his academic qualifications, he holds a Bachelor of Engineering Degree from the University of Adelaide and an MBA from the University of Western Australia. He has also completed leadership and directors’ courses at the London Business School and the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Opportunity at EcoGraf

The board at EcoGraf has welcomed the appointment of Mr Dale Harris. Mr Harris joins EcoGraf at an exciting time when the company gears up for the construction of its first EcoGraf™ HFfree Battery Anode Material Facility in Western Australia and also develops its Epanko Graphite Project in Tanzania.

Mr Harris will work with EcoGraf’s Managing Director Mr Andrew Spinks and the Board to guide the development of vertically integrated battery minerals businesses, benefiting from the EcoGraf™ HFfree purification process to manufacture high-purity battery anode material from high-grade graphite from its Epanko mine.

Buoyed by the global lithium-ion market, demand for natural graphite is slated to grow at a rate of 31.5% a year in the current decade. Customers seek to secure new sources of supply and reduce their dependence on China-based existing supply chains.

EcoGraf believes it is positioned to support this growth journey through its flake graphite projects and high-purity, environmentally superior EcoGraf™ HFfree battery anode material products. EcoGraf has been conducting extensive testing programs with potential customers and independent consultants resulting in the superior performance of Epanko graphite in mechanical shaping, purification and electrochemical testing and also bolstering confidence in the EcoGraf™ HFfree process.