SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA: Suvo Strategic Minerals Limited (ASX: SUV) announced the appointment of Mr Hugh Thomas as Chief Executive Officer of the Company, commencing 1 April 2023.

With over 35 years’ industry experience, Mr Thomas brings a strong mix of commercial and operational experience to Suvo Strategic Minerals, having held several executive positions across the natural resources sector.

Hugh Thomas’ previous positions include Managing Director and Head of Asia Pacific Natural Resources for both JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley in Hong Kong, Head of Natural Resources Investment Banking at Investec Bank in Sydney and Partner at Deloitte Corporate Finance Pty Ltd.

Hugh Thomas has extensive experience working with a number of listed Company’s, having held both management and board positions with Robust Resources, Indochine Mining, NT Minerals Limited and the unlisted International Base Metals.

Mr Thomas’ appointment follows the successful Pittong plant upgrade and commissioning, as announced on 6 February 2023 which validated a nameplate processing capacity of ~60,000 tonnes per annum of hydrous kaolin.

As Executive Chair, Henk Ludik successfully guided the upgrade of the Pittong plant back to nameplate. The Company can now begin to fully leverage its position as the only operating hydrous kaolin producer in Australia, and with the plant back at nameplate capacity, the focus of the board and management team is to execute the SUV sales strategy.

The appointment of Hugh Thomas as CEO rounds out a highly capable, dedicated, and experienced team. Chief Operating Officer – Hanno Van Der Merwe has coordinated the ‘on time and on budget’ plant upgrade through the challenging times of COVID and will continue to manage the Pittong plant operations.

The Company’s Sales & Marketing Manager Julian Anthony has been travelling domestically and internationally since his appointment meeting with existing and potential customers, and importantly having now been with the Company for 3 months, is familiar with the SUV products, potential products and overall market dynamics. Mr Anthonys’ focus now moves to filling the available plant capacity and optimising product mix.

Incoming Chief Executive Officer Hugh Thomas commented: “The opportunity to join Suvo Strategic Minerals comes at a positive inflection point with the recent successful upgrade of the Pittong plant. I am looking forward to working with such a capable team that were able to deliver the plant upgrade on time and on budget.

With the global demand for hydrous kaolin continuing to grow forecasts remain robust, Suvo Strategic Minerals is extremely well positioned to leverage these markets as it unlocks the potential of its Pittong operations in Victoria.

With additional sales orders on the horizon and the near-term ability to start generating positive cashflows for the Company, I look forward to adding my experience and supporting the Company’s next phase of operations and development of its superior portfolio of assets.”

Interim Non-Executive Chairman Aaron Banks commented: “We are delighted to have Hugh join as CEO. Hugh has a successful track record in the natural resources sector and brings to the Company a strong blend of corporate and operational expertise.

Our ability to attract Hugh is a testament to the quality of our Pittong operation and wider portfolio of assets and he joins Suvo with a clear vision to capitalise on the work completed to date, at a time when global demand for hydrous kaolin and silica sand is continuing to strengthen.

With a strong commercial and development background, Hugh’s appointment is complimentary and means all the C-suite executive positions have now been filled to support the next phase of operations. We look forward to Hugh’s contributions and leadership.

As Hugh joins and to balance the Board to match the C-suite executive skillset, I will transition from Executive Director to Interim Non-Executive Chairman and previous Executive Chairman, Henk Ludik, will continue on the Board as a Non-Executive Director.”