Board of Directors

The Board comprises two executive Directors and three non-executive Directors who jointly have a mix of technical, financial, commercial and international experience (including China) that the Board considers is appropriate for the current business activities of the Company.

Brief biographies for the Directors are set out below.

Mr Tom Blackhurst (aged 47)
Executive Director
Chief Executive Officer

Mr Blackhurst is a dual British and Australian national based in Brisbane who co-founded CMC in May 2007. He has more than 20 years experience in building new businesses and consulting to various businesses in Australia and Asia. Beginning his career in metals trading, he later embarked upon various other successful entrepreneurial ventures, including the manufacture and distribution of magnetic bed underlays, which he sold in 2005.

Since that time, Mr Blackhurst has been pursing business ventures in China, and has consulted to two Singapore listed companies which held interests in or were seeking to acquire interests in various Chinese businesses. He is currently a director of various Australian and Chinese companies, including the Shanxi JV Company, Beijing Energas (China) Technology Company Ltd (which is developing a technology for the gasification of biomass products and of which Mr Liang is also a director) and various other companies involved in coal-to-gas projects, bridging finance and other businesses.

Mr Xinping Liang (aged 47) BEng, MEng
Executive Director
Chief Operating Officer

Mr Liang is a Chinese engineer based in Singapore with more than 22 years experience in international project and corporate development, mainly focussing on infrastructure assets, heavy industries and technologies which support those industries. He has extensive senior executive experience in project evaluation, financial analysis and project/business development for numerous private, public and state owned enterprises in Asia (particularly China and Singapore), Australia and the UK.

Mr Liang introduced Mr Li, whose family owns Lu Yuan Industrial Company (the previous owner of the Shanxi Magnesium Business), to Mr Blackhurst in January 2007, which led to their co-founding of CMC in May 2007. He is currently a director of various Chinese, Singaporean and Australian companies including the Shanxi JV Company, Beijing Energas (China) Technology Company Ltd (of which Mr Blackhurst is also a director – see above) and various other companies involved in cement production, coal-to-gas projects, power industry IT solutions and other businesses.

Mr William Bass ( aged 53) BEcon, ACA, AInstIB, FCS, FTIA
Non-Executive Chairman

Mr Bass has considerable corporate and listed company experience. He brings extensive commercial and financial management experience from a range of leading Australian and international public companies including General Electric, Billabong, 1300SMILES, Country Road and On Card International.

Mr Bass has a Bachelor of Economics, is an Associate of the Institute of Chartered Accountants and the Institute of Independent Business and a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Taxation Institute of Australia.

Mr Peter Robertson (aged 53) BE (Met), MBA
Non-Executive Director

Mr Robertson is an Australian metallurgist with more than 25 years of experience in mineral processing, smelting and rolling of aluminium and developing new technologies for the recycling of Aluminium waste material. Over the past 15 years, Mr Robertson has been involved in the manufacture and supply of consumables and consulting services to the aluminium cast house industry through his role as General Manager of Leymont Pty Ltd. He is also currently a director of Macquarie Harbour Mining Limited (an ASX listed exploration company) and the Digipak/PDC/Leymont JV, which is involved in the recycling of aluminium salt cake waste material.