Metallicum Minerals Corporation Pty Ltd is a team of dedicated professionals who are committed to making the transition to a future life built on new knowledge and technologies.
Governance Board
Chris Bevan
Executive Chairperson and Director
Chris is a Barrister with over 30 years’ experience. He has a Bachelor of Economics and Bachelor of Laws, and a Master of Laws (Hons) from The University of Sydney. Chris practises in the areas of Commonwealth and State taxes, corporations law, trust law and commercial law. His equity specialty is in tax law. He has advised the Australian government since 2008 on a number of international tax reform proposals, as well as being an advisor on corporate private equity and joint venture projects.
Chris is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and is a Fellow of the Governance Institute of Australia and the Tax Institute. He is Vice-Chair and a non-executive director of ADHD Australia Limited, the peak NFP body for ADHD. Chris' interests include improving governance standards in the NFP sector.
Mark Purcell AM
Non-Executive Director
Mark Purcell AM is a Rear Admiral who served in the Royal Australian Navy from 1985 until his retirement in 2016. He was engaged in a wide range of roles during his time in the Navy and has a Master of Science in Military Electronic Systems Engineering, and a Master of Business Administration. After he left the Navy, Mark has focused on advising government and other organisations on strategic and defence issues, and renewable energy. Please see the Announcements page for further information.
Mark Arnold
Non-Executive Director
Mark is a corporate management professional with over 40 years’ experience, predominantly within the wine, liquor and associated industries/sectors. He has crossed all areas of production/production line management, farming, product development, marketing, export, import, retail, wholesale, consultancy, property development, directorship and top-level management. He has worked in some 25 countries including the UK, USA, China and France during his career.
He successfully established, operated and sold a number of businesses including retail, wholesale, production and farming assets. This success has been achieved in various capacities: owner, shareholder, partner and manager on behalf of several companies.
Mark has managed and worked with legal, accountancy, OH&S, statutory bodies, government bodies, compliance, production groups, organisations, boards and shareholders. He is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Walter Villatora
Non-Executive Director
Walter is an innovation and technology specialist with international experience that traverses the industries of information and communications technology (ICT), finance, media, software development, biometrics, health, automotive/logistics and government ranging from publicly listed companies to small business including his extensive interest in start-up organisations and the mentoring of business leaders and entrepreneurs.
Walter studied business at the University of Technology, Sydney and is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Management. He has been a senior advisor and campaign director to the Prime Minister, Premier of NSW and Mayor of a major New South Wales local government. Walter is presently the Managing Director of Outcome Group, a Sydney-based corporate advisory firm focusing on government relations and competitive advantage through technology and innovation.
He is an Advisory Board member of two not-for-profit organisations: Echo Economics, which promotes financial and economic literacy through the NSW school system and the Dental Truck, which provides dental services to remote and disadvantaged communities.
Advisory Board
Sasha Grebe
Deputy Chair
Sasha Grebe is a senior government and corporate adviser with 20 years’ experience in the successful development and implementation of corporate vision and strategy.
He has held senior advisory positions on some of Australia's largest projects, including reforming the Australian Wheat Board following the Royal Commission, the acquisition of Spotless Group by Downer EDI, resolution of the services contract for the new Royal Adelaide Hospital and the transition of Melbourne's tram franchise. Sasha also has a long and distinguished career in government, having worked for two Federal Treasurer's, and senior Cabinet Ministers, working on some of Australia's most contentious public policies.
Sasha has a proven track record in promoting continuous improvement in organisational effectiveness and efficiency, working on cross-functional activities and projects and with different business units and teams on strategic initiatives and business development. He has expertise in strategic change and business transition, including corporate strategy and business planning, having worked with corporate boards and management teams on strategy planning and statements of strategic intent, as well as corporate plans, organisational business plans and functional planning.
Professor Sami Kara
Member
Sami Kara is a professor of sustainable manufacturing and life cycle engineering at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Sydney (www.lceresearch.unsw.edu.au). He has a professional background of more than 30 years in industry, research and tertiary education, including several engineering and management positions in manufacturing companies in Australia and around the world.
His research interest is in developing technology solutions with a life cycle view by using circular economy strategies to decarbonize and reduce environmental impact of manufacturing industry while helping them create value. He is regularly invited as a Subject Matter Expert to review Australian and international government proposals for decarbonisation of the manufacturing sector and environmental sustainability. He also works as an advisor for various international organisations, providing strategic directions to them on how to decarbonise as they move towards achieving their net-zero targets.
Professor Kara is an elected fellow of the International Academy of Production Engineering (CIRP), the Royal Society of New South Wales, UNSW Scientia Education Academy, the International Academy of Engineering and Technology (AET), and the German National Academy of Science and Engineering (ACATECH).
Irfan Malik
Member
Irfan Malik is the National Associate Chair and NSW President of the Australia India Business Council. He is also Co-Founder, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of inQinnovation, with offices in Sydney, Dubai and Palarivattom in Kochi, India.
Irfan’s experience includes startup and innovations eco-system curation and launch, global incubator and accelerator startup networks, startup investments and fundraising, global innovation bridge programs between Australia and India and the Middle- East/Asia-Pac, senior IT leadership, IT strategy and governance, business technology innovation, enterprise mobility solutions, enterprise business intelligence and digital applications. He has also been involved with business relationship management, program management, application development, client account management and vendor partner management.
He is well recognised in IT/Business leadership community and acknowledged as an “Innovation champion” for thought leadership and bringing “outside in” to enrich delivery practices and processes for successful business outcomes.
Professor John Mavrogenes
Member
John Mavrogenes grew up in Chicago, Illinois and majored in Geology at Beloit College in Wisconsin. He completed a PhD in Geochemistry at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute in 1994 before moving to the Australian National University in Canberra for a three-year post-doctoral fellowship funded by Western Mining Corporation. He is still at ANU as Professor of Economic Geology, researching and teaching ore deposit geology. He has supervised more than 50 honours and 25 PhD students over these years, covering a range of ore deposit types and experimental simulations of ore forming processes.
For the past decade John has focused on the study of Australian rare earth deposits, including hosting the first two national conferences on rare earth deposits at ANU (REECON). In 2023 he received the Joe Harms medal from the Geological Society of Australia for lifetime achievement in economic geology research.
Dr Kate C. McCauley
Member
Dr Kate C. McCauley is a seasoned infrastructure and property leader with over 20 years’ experience driving strategy, governance, design and delivery of large-scale, complex infrastructure and development projects for the public and private sectors.
Kate holds a PhD in executive decision-making, as well as degrees in property economics, legal studies (Comm Law), and human geography. Kate is also GAICD qualified and brings expertise in managing large multidisciplinary teams, navigating complex stakeholder and political environments, and delivering commercially viable, innovative outcomes. With a robust network, deep major project expertise and a commitment to environmental stewardship, Kate is uniquely positioned to support MMC’s vision to advance its strategic goals and establish sustainable rare earth processing in Australia.
Senior Management
Peter Dunoon
Company Secretary
Peter Dunoon is a chartered accountant, registered tax agent and a fellow member of the Governance Institute of Australia. During the past 30 years, Peter has held various CFO and company secretary positions in the mining sector. Peter is the managing director of Sydney Accounting Practice Pty Limited and has in-depth knowledge of capital raisings, mergers, acquisitions and company listings on the Australian Securities Exchange
Warren Wickman
Chief Operating Officer
Warren has worked in both government and private organisations in the arts, media and management. After graduating from The University of Sydney with a Bachelor of Arts (Hons), he was a curator at the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences in Sydney. This was followed as the manager of a publishing company, two bookshops and as a data manager in media and events businesses. He has been interested in renewable energy and the energy transition since 2012, especially hydropower, and more recently rare earth elements, their importance and applications in modern technology.
Warren has co-authored three books and his interests include Roman history and archaeology, the history of photography and Australia during the decade of the 1850s.
Arthur Kassabian
Head of Compliance and Risk
Arthur has a Bachelor of Business (majoring in Economics Finance) from the University of Technology Sydney and a Diploma of Gemology from the Gemology Association of Australia. He has worked in a number of roles in sales, data research and as a manager in business development.
Arthur’s interests include gemology, history, cinema and film making.
Barry Groom
Head of Customer Relations and Marketing
After graduating from The University of Sydney with a Bachelor of Arts (Hons), Barry worked in the heritage sector and museums for a number of years. Using his writing and marketing skills, he moved into fundraising and then marketing as a copywriter and creative director for agencies such as Ogilvy & Mather and K&D Bond.
In the early 1990s, he co-founded Boomerang Integrated Marketing & Advertising, which grew to a staff of 70 before being sold in 2009. Barry specialises in building client relationships, creative direction and strategy development. He has advised many dozens of clients, including companies and organisations such as Toyota, Fuji Xerox, Australand (now Frasers Property), IBM, The Fred Hollows Foundation, The Smith Family and The Garvan Institute of Medical Research.
Barry is a published author and spends his spare time reading history books, among other things.
David Green
Head of Quality Control
David is a seasoned professional manager with over 30 years of experience in the design and manufacture of high-tech scientific instrumentation and equipment. David's hands-on approach and data-centric management style have earned him a reputation for maximising the effectiveness of a company's assets, its people and processes. His career has given him a deep understanding of the various applications of this equipment which is used extensively for elemental analysis in the environmental and mining area. His leadership has been instrumental in green fielding a factory in Malaysia for manufacturing a range of elemental spectrometers, showcasing his ability to drive successful operations on a global scale.
Throughout his career, David has held senior management positions in Quality, Operations, and General Management, highlighting his versatility and proficiency across various domains within the manufacturing sector. His commitment to excellence, regulatory compliance and continuous improvement has been evident in his leadership roles, where he consistently strives to achieve the best outcomes for the organisation.
Greg Napper
Chief Project Engineer
Greg is a hydraulic engineer with a proven record of accomplishment in project and design management for large scale public and private sector infrastructure projects. He has led many teams in the role of design manager for site wide infrastructure, orchestrating the delivery of supply connections to high voltage transmission networks and reticulation to kiosk transformers and substations, ring main units, low voltage, communications, external lighting, and security networks. Above the ground, Greg is skilled in the co-ordination and management of REVIT and 3D BIM delivery across all MEPF building services sectors. He also corresponds, negotiations and seeks approvals from supply authority and utility operators for various utility connections.
Over his career, Greg has developed significant experience in project planning, documentation and delivery of in-ground and above ground infrastructure services working across all sectors including mining, commercial buildings, correctional centres, healthcare and residential markets. During his 40-year career, he has worked for companies such as Connell Wagner/Aurecon, Rio Tinto, Jacobs, Axis Consulting and Henry & Hymas. Greg currently leads the Advice Design Engineering and Delivery - Procurement and Construction Management teams of architects, quantity surveyors and engineering advisors for MMC's refinery project.
