Rainbow Rare Earths Ltd (LON:RBW), the rare earth element mining company, today announced the appointment of George Bennett to the Board as Chief Executive Officer, with immediate effect.
With over 25 years’ experience in mining, finance and management, George has led a number of mining and energy companies, including Shanta Gold Ltd (which he successfully listed on the London Stock Exchange in 2005), OreCorp Ltd, Argentum (Pty) Energy, and most recently Karo Power (Pvt) Ltd.
In 2006, George established MDM Engineering Ltd, which he successfully listed on the London Stock Exchange in 2008. MDM Engineering Ltd is a mining engineering company building mineral process plants and mining infrastructure throughout Africa. In 2014, George was instrumental in selling the business to Foster Wheeler Limited for US$120 million.
In addition, George has been a partner and director with a number of leading financial, broking and advisory businesses including Fergusson Bros, Simpson Mckie, and HSBC Securities Africa (Pty) Ltd.
Martin Eales, who has been CEO since 2014 and under whose oversight the Company was transformed from an early-stage exploration play to Africa’s only producing rare earth mine, fully listed on the London Stock Exchange, is stepping down.
Rainbow’s Chairman Adonis Pouroulis stated, “We are delighted to bring someone of George’s calibre on board. George has considerable experience in developing assets, particularly in the natural resources and energy space, and has a track record of success. We think he will be instrumental in helping Rainbow reach the next stage of its development. At the same time, I would like to thank Martin for his support during the early stages of Rainbow’s development, IPO, and initial production.”
George Bennett, Chief Executive Officer, said, “I am looking forward to the challenge of the role. Rainbow Rare Earths has a truly unique asset, with enormous potential, which is as yet largely untapped. My focus will be on setting out a clear strategy based on two areas: stabilising production at Gakara; and developing an understanding of the deposit, through a programme of exploration, combined with a robust study of how best to develop this exciting project.”