Peter Freyberg
Photo by: Bloomberg
JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Glencore senior executive Peter Freyberg has been appointed to the board of directors of PolyMet Mining Corporation, the US-based company with corporate headquarters in Toronto.
Freyberg, who launched his 40-year mining career with Anglo American in South Africa after graduating in mining from the University of the Witwatersrand, in Johannesburg, currently serves as the head of industrial assets for Glencore, on which he has a board seat.
PolyMet chairperson Ian Forrest sees Freyberg’s extensive mining background as benefitting the Toronto-listed company’s move to construct and operate the first copper/nickel mine in Minnesota through the development of the NorthMet project. PolyMet controls rights to the NorthMet deposit in the Mesabi Range.
Freyberg, who joined Glencore’s coal assets business in 2000, transferred to Xstrata in 2002 when Glencore sold its coal assets to Xstrata. He became CE of Xstrata Coal in 2008, rejoined Glencore in 2013 when Glencore merged with Xstrata, and was appointed to his current Glencore position earlier this year.
Publicly traded mine development company PolyMet is wholly owned and controls 100% of the NorthMet copper/nickel/precious metals orebody through a long-term lease.
It has received all permits necessary to construct and operate the NorthMet project, which is expected to require two-million hours of construction labour, create 360 long-term jobs directly and generate a level of activity that will have a multiplier effect on the local economy.