Board of Directors

Clifford Elphick
Non-Executive Chairman
Clifford Elphick is the founder and CEO of Gem Diamonds Limited, a diamond mining company listed on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange. Mr Elphick joined Anglo American Corporation in 1986 and was seconded to E Oppenheimer & Son as Harry Oppenheimer’s personal assistant in 1988.

In 1990 he was appointed managing director of E Oppenheimer & Son, a position he held until his departure from the company in December 2004. During that time, Mr Elphick was also a director of Central Holdings, Anglo American and DB Investments. Following the buy-out of De Beers in 2000, Mr Elphick served on the De Beers executive committee until 2004. Mr. Elphick formed Gem Diamonds Limited in July 2005.

Clinton Dines
Non-Executive Director
Clinton Dines has been involved in business in China since 1980, including senior positions with the Jardine Matheson Group, Santa Fe Transport Group and Asia Securities Venture Capital. In 1988 he joined BHP as their senior executive in China and, following the merger of BHP and Billiton in 2001, he became president, BHP Billiton China, a position from which he retired in 2009.

Mr Jonathan Velloza
Non-Executive Director
Johnny Velloza has a wealth of experience in the mining industry and is currently completing his tenure as Deputy CEO and COO of Gem Diamonds Ltd. Prior to this he was with BHP Western Australia Iron Ore where he was General Manager at Mining Area C, the largest iron ore mine in the BHP portfolio, from 2013 to 2015, leading a number of successful operational efficiency programs. He has also acted as a Senior Exploration Manager in Zambia and Chile for BHP from 2011-2013, Operations Manager at AngloGold Ashanti from 2009-2010 and held numerous managerial positions at De Beers from 2001-2009.

Mr Velloza holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mining Engineering from The University of Johannesburg and a Bachelor’s degree in Business from The University of South Africa.

Mr Peter Hill

Non-Executive Director

Mr Hill is Head of Iron Ore Marketing at Glencore International AG. Mr Hill brings over 15 years’ experience in the mining sector, having joined Glencore in 2009 and was previously at BHP Billiton.

Mr Denis Weinstein
Non-Executive Director

Mr Weinstein is a trader in Glencore International AG’s Iron Ore Marketing team, with experience in commodities trading and business development, primarily focused on ferrous and base metals. Mr Weinstein rejoined Glencore in 2022, having previously been with the company from 2012 to 2020.

Management

Mr Marty Knauth
Chief Executive Officer

Mr Knauth is a senior mining executive with extensive experience in the industry spanning more than 30 years in a wide range of cultures, countries and commodities, with notable success in project development, operations and transformational growth phases, as well as establishment of performance cultures. With previous experience in Australia, Kazakhstan, Madagascar, Cuba, the DRC and many other jurisdictions, working for such companies as Western Mining Corp, Vale, Sherritt Metals International, KAZ Minerals and Glencore. He has a strong record in establishing and maintaining positive relationships with governments, communities, employees and other Project stakeholders critical to the Company’s success.

Mr Knauth holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mining Engineering from the University of Queensland, a Masters degree in Mineral Economics from Curtin University and is a Member of the AusIMM.

Mr Andrew Trahar
Corporate Development and IR Manager

Mr Trahar More is an experienced executive with more than 16 years mining transaction experience. He is also the Co-Founder of Vision Blue Resources, a mining private equity fund with more than US$650 funds under management. Prior to this, Mr Trahar was at JPMorgan Cazenove in the corporate finance, equity capital markets division.

Mr Colin Harris
Lead Technical Expert

Mr Harris has more than 40 years of experience in the mining sector, with extensive knowledge of West African iron ore in particular. Mr Harris was formerly Project Manager of the Simandou Project for Rio Tinto, and formerly Project Manager of the Zanaga Iron Ore Project.

Mr Gary Vallerius
Chief Financial Officer

Mr Vallerius has more than 30 years of experience in the mining sector, with extensive knowledge of West African iron ore in particular. Mr Vallerius was formerly Finance Director of the Simandou Project for Rio Tinto.