Aim-listed Bushveld Minerals has appointed Bertina Symonds GM of Bushveld Vametco and Hiten Ooka group finance head.

Symonds’ appointment combines the roles of CEO and COO into GM for the company’s Bushveld Vametco business, which owns the company’s vanadium mine in South Africa’s North West province.

Symonds previously served as GM of the Nkomati nickel mine, which is owned by JSE-listed African Rainbow Minerals.

She succeeds outgoing CEO Malcolm Curror, who will continue to provide consulting services to Bushveld, and outgoing COO Lyndan Williams, who will enter a group vanadium specialist role at Bushveld’s head office.

Further, Ooka, in the newly created position of group finance head, will report to FD Geoff Sproule. Ooka is a chartered accountant and will be responsible for the group’s financial management capacity, including financial reporting, treasury, tax and consolidation.

The appointments form part of Bushveld’s new operating model, which is intended to enhance coordination between Bushveld and its operating companies, as well as to deepen leadership capacity on its growth journey to reach production capacity of 10 000 t/y of vanadium within five years.

The company expects to announce further appointments in due course.

• [Editor:tianyawei]