Apollo Group • An investment and management group

B.Com, CA, MAICD, SA Fin, JP

Mr Welborn has extensive experience in the natural resources sector as a senior executive and in corporate management, finance and investment banking. Most recently Mr Welborn was the Managing Director of a resources company focused on bulk commodities. Previously, Mr Welborn was the Head of Specialised Lending in Western Australia for Investec Bank (Australia) Ltd. Mr Welborn has more than 15 years’ experience in national and international professional services and management consulting firms.

Mr Welborn is a Chartered Accountant and has a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Western Australia and holds memberships with the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia, the Financial Services Institute of Australasia, and the Australian Institute of Company Directors. Mr Welborn is also a Director of Rugby WA Ltd and a Commissioner of Tourism in Western Australia.

Mr Arima is highly regarded by the investment community for his ability to identify and develop new bulk commodity projects, in particular, coal. Mr Arima previously worked in the hydrocarbon division at WorleyParsons Limited, and more recently was working as an analyst for an investment banking firm, where he specialised in the technical and financial requirements of resource projects.

Mr Arima was directly responsible for identifying and negotiating the acquisition of Coalspur Mines Limited Vista Coal Project, the Piedmont Lithium Project
for WCP Resources and the Buck Creek Project of Paringa Resources.

Mr Allen is a Chartered Accountant with over 10 years commercial experience, including senior roles with Rio Tinto Limited and Oyu Tolgoi LLC. Mr Allen previously worked for Ernst & Young Transaction Advisory Services, completing multiple resource and industrial transactions both in Australia and internationally.

Mr Leatherman is an exploration geologist with over 25 years of experience. Mr. Leatherman is a founder of Piedmont Lithium Limited, before which he was project geologist for BHP Minerals and Noranda. He has extensive experience in numerous styles of mineralisation including precious and base metals in addition to lithium, rare earths and mineral sands.

Mr Middlemas is a Chartered Accountant, a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree. Mr Middlemas has an enviable track record of identifying and developing major resource projects. Mr Middlemas was a Senior Group Executive for Normandy Mining for more than ten years prior to forming the Apollo Group. Normandy was Australia’s largest gold miner (+2m ounces per annum) before merging with Newmont Mining.

As Chairman of the Apollo Group, Mr Middlemas is also currently Chairman of Prairie Mining Limited, Berkeley Energia Limited, Equatorial Resources Limited and a number of other listed resource companies. Mr Middlemas was also previously Chairman of Papillon Resources Limited and Mantra Resources Limited.

Mr Behets is a geologist with over 28 years’ experience in the mineral exploration and mining industry in Australia and internationally. Mr Behets is a Fellow of The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy and a Member of the Australian Institute of Geoscientists. He was until recently a member of the Australasian Joint Ore Reserve Committee (JORC). He was the founding Managing Director of Mantra Resources Limited and remained on the Board from the IPO in late 2006 until its takeover by Atomredmetzoloto. Prior to this he held various senior management positions with WMC Resources Limited in Australia, Cuba and Brazil. He was a Director of Papillon Resources Limited and is currently a Director of Berkeley Energia Limited.

Technical studies are an essential requirement for developing resource projects in a systematic and staged approach for assessing all aspects of a project’s technical and commercial characteristics which provides a solid building block for the ongoing development of projects.

Technical studies must be carefully managed by experienced people with utmost attention to detail to ensure a project’s operations occur as planned and to ensure a project will receive the necessary government approvals and funding required before construction commence. Accordingly, we complete our studies in line with standards that are world’s best practice, and using industry experts.

Once a suitable resource base has been established during the exploration stage, we will commence staged technical studies to confirm all aspects of the project are technically viable and economically sound as outlined below.

Scoping Study, also known as a Preliminary Economic Assessment, is a high level technical and economic study to identify areas that require further work (for example, additional drilling to expand the resource base, or further metallurgical test work to improve recoveries).
Pre-feasibility Study (PFS), is a more accurate and detailed study which also expands the factors being considered, and will include the assessment of non-technical issues, such baseline environmental studies, social and community issues and also legal / fiscal regimes.
Final Feasibility Study, also known as a Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS) or a Bankable Feasibility Study (BFS), is the last major technical study which is also the most accurate and detailed assessment of all relevant aspects (technical and non-technical) of the project. The final study is generally required as part of the process to seek funding for the construction of the mine and to make a final investment decision and also forms the basis for details design and construction plans.

Mr Stoikovich holds a Bachelor of Mining Engineering from the University of NSW; a Master of Environmental Engineering from the University of Wollongong; and a MSc in Mineral Economics from Curtin University. Mr Stoikovich also holds a 1st Class Coal Mine Managers Ticket from the Coal Mine Qualifications Board (NSW, Australia) and is a registered Chartered Engineer (CEng) and Chartered Environmentalist (CEnv) in the United Kingdom. He has extensive experience in the resources sector gained from a unique career firstly as a Mining Engineer with BHP Billiton and more recently as a senior executive within the investment banking sector in London. He is currently Chief Executive Officer of Prairie Mining Limited.

We only acquire resource projects with world class potential. Prior to making acquisitions, we complete extensive due diligence processes to review a project’s technical, legal and commercial fundamentals.

With our success over the last 20+ years, Apollo Group has earned a reputation in the global resources sector for identifying, funding and developing world class projects. As a result of this reputation, we have access to many new high quality opportunities in the resources sector.

Upon acquisition of a project, we look to immediately commence exploration and development activities. The projects we acquire are all at difference stages of development, so the activities we undertake are tailored to achieve the best outcome for all stakeholders of the project.

We apply modern exploration techniques to all of the projects we explore. We develop targets systematically using the latest geological, geophysical, and geochemical methods, all of which improve the effectiveness of our mineral exploration. Our geologists continually keep up to date with the latest discoveries so new techniques and models can be applied to our projects. Strict adherence to legal, safety and environmental requirements for all exploration activities undertaken is a core value and minimum standard that must be followed.

Once funding for construction has been secured we then complete Front End Engineering Design (FEED) whilst securing all final permits. Construction of the mine and associated processing and logistics facilities will then commence. Project management teams are further enhanced at this point to closely monitor construction costs and timelines for the mine and processing / logistics facilities, as any deviation will impact total capital costs, funding requirements and time taken to commence the important first production milestone.

Once a project commences production our focus changes again, this time to key ongoing operational issues. The management team is further expanded to focus on:

health and safety
continual training and upskilling staff
community engagement
environmental compliance and ongoing rehabilitation
cost control and processing efficiencies
mineral recoveries
mine planning and resource inventory management
ongoing exploration to expand the resource base
mine expansion opportunities

Mr Schumann is an experienced mining executive who is currently serving as Executive Director of Apollo Minerals Limited. He was previously Chief Commercial Officer at Berkeley Energia Limited where he led the US$120 million financing of the Salamanca uranium mine with the sovereign wealth fund of Oman at the bottom of the uranium price cycle and managed the company’s off-take marketing program. He commenced his career as a management consultant before moving into the natural resources sector and for the past decade has worked in corporate development functions in London for a number of listed mining companies, predominantly focused on projects located in Europe. He has played a leading role in numerous financing transactions, stock exchange listings, commercial offtake deals, infrastructure deals, investor relations programs and project development programs across a range of commodities. Mr Schumann holds an MBA from INSEAD in France, is a CFA Charterholder and holds a Bachelor of Business Science (Finance CA) from the University of Cape Town.

Mr Pearce is a Chartered Accountant and a Fellow of the Governance Institute of Australia and a Fellow of the Financial Services Institute of Australasia. He has had considerable experience in project acquisition and the development of listed resource companies. He is currently a Director of several listed companies that operate in the resources sector, including Prairie Mining Limited, Equatorial Resources Limited and Salt lake Potash Limited. Mr Pearce was also a founding director of Mantra Resources Limited.

Mr Woodman is a geologist with over 25 years’ experience in exploration, development and operations in the resources sector. He is a graduate of the Australian National University and is a corporate member of the Australian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy.

Mr Woodman has worked for a number of mining companies during his extensive career in the resources sector and has been influential in major project acquisition and discovery. He has a strong background in management, exploration planning and execution, resource development and mining operations both in Australia and overseas.

Mr Woodman most recently held the position of Chief Geologist at Regis Resources Limited where he oversaw exploration and resource development activities for its WA and NSW projects. Prior to his role with Regis Resources Limited, he held positions with Papillon Resources Limited, Sovereign Metals Limited, WCP Resources Limited (now named Piedmont Lithium Limited) Samantha Gold NL, Ranger Minerals NL, Hellman & Schofield Pty Ltd, Centamin Egypt Ltd and Kingsgate Consolidated Ltd.

Mr Syme is a Chartered Accountant and an accomplished mining executive with over 26 years’ experience in senior management roles in Australia and overseas. He most recently held the position of Managing Director of copper-gold developer Sierra Mining Limited, which merged with RTG Mining Inc in early June 2014. Mr Syme was responsible for the acquisition of Sierra’s key Mabilo Project in late 2011. Prior to joining Sierra in 2010 he was Managing Director of Berkeley Energia Limited where he successfully guided the acquisition and scoping studies of Berkeley’s Salamanca Uranium Project in Spain.

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