PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Emerging iron-ore producer Brockman Resources has appointed Barry Cusack, the former MD of Rio Tinto Australia, as its nonexecutive chairperson.

Cusack has held a number of key executive roles with diversified giant Rio Tinto, including as MD of HiSmelt Corporation, MD of operations with Hamersley Iron and MD of Rio Tinto Australia.

He also chaired Coal & Allied Industries, Bougainville Copper, Energy Resources Australia and Oz Minerals.

Brockman’s founding chairperson Ross Norgard would assume the role of deputy chairperson in an expanded board structure, which already includes former senior BHP iron-ore executive Wayne Richards as MD, executive director Colin Paterson and nonexecutive directors David Nixon (former chairperson of Atlas Iron) and Ross Ashton (former MD of Red Back Mines).

“Cusack joins Brockman at a critical time in our company’s evolution as we move into the development and financing phase of our flagship asset, the Marillana iron-ore project,” Norgard commented.

“His experience in the Australian iron-ore sector, including in the funding, development and operation of major projects, will be invaluable to Brockman as we move to the next level of our corporate development.”

The Marillana project, in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, will potentially be the largest junior iron-ore project in Australia.

The project contains a mineral resource of 1,53-billion tons of beneficiation feed mineralisation grading 42,6% iron, and 101,9-million tons at 55,6% iron channel iron deposit mineralisation.

The project was scheduled to start production in 2013, at a nominal rate of between 17-million and 20-million tons a year.

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