Nev Power joins Future Battery board

Ex-Fortescue Metals Group boss Nev Power has joined Perth-based explorer Future Battery Minerals as a non-executive director, bringing more than four decades of experience in mining, minerals processing, construction and steel making to the company.

Power led FMG as managing director and chief executive officer from 2011 to 2018, guiding the company to quadruple its production to more than 170 million tonnes per annum. Prior to joining FMG, one of the world’s biggest and lowest-cost producers of iron ore, he also held chief executive positions at Thiess and the Smorgon Steel Group.

As part of an ongoing presence in the WA mining industry, Power is a non-executive director at Strike Energy, which can lay claim to being Australia’s newest exploration and production company after bringing its maiden natural gas project, Walyering, online last month. He is also the non-executive and lead independent director of employment services provider, APM Human Services International.

Power was sought out by Future Battery, as the company believed his portfolio of experience would give it a robust edge as it aggressively advances its exploration program both domestically and overseas.

We are very pleased to welcome an individual of Nev’s calibre and professional track record to the FBM team. His achievements within the resources industry are well known, and the substantial value he will bring to our business is self-evident. I believe that his decision to join FBM also represents another strong validation of both our projects and people. I look forward to working closely with Nev and our existing team in continuing to build a world-class lithium exploration and development business.

Power, who is also a past chair of the Foundation for the WA Museum and Perth Airport, said he was attracted to Future Battery largely because of its exploration assets and the energy and talent within its executive team.

“This has seen the company achieve a huge amount in a relatively short period of time and also holding a very clear vision of where it wants to go in the future,” Power said.

“In my experience, these are the makings of an outstanding resources business and one that is already resolutely shareholder-value focussed. I look forward to helping drive FBM to new levels of performance and profile.”

Last week, assays from the company’s drillholes into the Rocky prospect at its 100 per cent-owned Kangaroo Hills project in Western Australia’s Goldfields region went as high as 4m at 1.34 per cent lithium oxide from 9m, 4m at 1.37 per cent from 25m, 4m at 1.01 per cent from 146m and 8m at 0.83 per cent from 127m.

Three holes targeting extensions to the east, west and south of the Big Red prospect, also at Kangaroo Hills, returned results of 5m at 1.21 per cent lithium oxide from 37m, 3m at 1.05 per cent from 34m, 2m at 1.29 per cent from 6m and 8m at 0.91 per cent from 34m.

Further afield in Nevada, Future Battery has an 80 per cent stake in a project with five large-scale lithium prospects located about 200km south-east of the Telsa Gigafactory near the city of Reno.

The company has just finished its second round of drilling in Nevada and has confirmed it is onto two lithium-bearing claystone intervals of more than 170m thickness. Some lithium assays went as high as 179.8m at 766 parts per million from 39.6m, including a chunk of 19.8m thickness at 1010ppm from 80.8m, 170.7m at 764ppm from 67.1m including 27.4m at 1030ppm from 112.8m, 44.2m at 542ppm from 114.3m and 22.9m at 652ppm from 163.1m.

Management says it looks forward to resource definition drilling and delivering a maiden mineral resource estimate for its Nevada project early next year.

Today’s addition of Power will no doubt add exactly that to Future Battery’s boardroom given his extensive history at the industry’s most pointy end. Add to that a healthy portfolio of projects and what seems like a constant news flow of shallow lithium hits from Kangaroo Hills, the company will be one to watch in the coming months.

Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: matt.birney@wanews.com.au