Junior Australian miner Southern Palladium has appointed Roger Baxter as executive chair.
Baxter was appointed as a director and non-executive chair in January and has subsequently played a key role in advancing the profile of the company while overseeing governance at the board level, the company said in a statement on Tuesday.
Baxter will focus on investor and government relations, which complements the role of Johan Odendaal as MD, who is overseeing the more technical aspects of advancing the company’s 70% interest in the pre-development platinum group metal Bengwenyama Project.
“I am excited by the prospect of a more active role at Southern Palladium which is emerging as a significant platinum group metal producer,” said Baxter.
“My focus as an executive of the company will be on investor and government relations.”
Baxter said he and Odendaal would soon be embarking on Southern Palladium’s first North American Roadshow.
Baxter’s remuneration will increase to A$160,000 per year, some of which he may elect to take as options to acquire ordinary shares in the company subject to shareholder approval at the AGM to be held on November 28, the company said.
The company also provided an update on the Bengwenyama PGM project, confirming that the prefeasibility study is nearing completion. The company hopes to have results of the study released before the end of October.
The Bengwenyama project, situated on the eastern side of the Bushveld Complex, has the potential to produce palladium, rhodium, platinum and iridium. Bushveld contains about 70% of the world’s known platinum group metal (PGM) resources.
Business Day reported in August that Odendaal said the group was on track to complete the mining right application process by the end of the first quarter of 2025, with the formal granting expected shortly thereafter.
“This will position Southern Palladium to advance the Bengwenyama project, delivering significant value to our stakeholders and contributing to the economic development of the region,” he said.
With Lindiwe Tsobo
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