JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Australian mineral exploration company Platypus Minerals has appointed Joe Walsh as its new CEO, effective November 7.

Based in Brisbane, Walsh, who has over 25 years of industry experience, will lead Platypus in its strategy to become a lithium producer by exploring for lithium minerals and by developing operations using the L-Max process. “Walsh already developed a strategy that will see us transition from a mineral explorer to mine developer and lithium producer by 2019,” the company said in a statement.

This will be achieved through the delineation of lithium mineral resources at Platypus’s projects and joint ventures, currently in Australia, Canada and South America.

Prior to the appointment, Walsh served as PanAust corporate development GM for 12 years and was instrumental in the evolution of PanAust from an explorer in 2004 to a plus-$2-billion, S&P/ASX Top 100 Index, multi-mine copper and gold company with a portfolio of development assets in Asia, the Pacific and South America. 

Walsh also spent ten years working for investment banks in Australia, Canada and the UK, focused on equity capital markets and the technical and economic evaluation of numerous mining assets and companies around the world.   

Walsh holds a B.Eng Mining Engineering from the Camborne School of Mines and a masters in Exploration Geophysics from the Royal School of Mines, London.

“We are pleased to be able to attract a CEO of the calibre of Joe Walsh.  He is an industry professional with a demonstrated track record in transitioning listed companies from explorer to producer.  He will provide the leadership and industry experience that Platypus requires to develop its project portfolio and achieve commercial production of lithium chemical in the near term,” Platypus chairperson Gary Johnson said.