Prineas to chair BMG as hunt for new MD kicks off

Non-executive director of BMG Resources John Prineas will replace Gregory Hancock as the non-executive chairman of the company as it kicks off a search for a new MD to develop its 500,000-ounce gold Abercromby gold project near Wiluna. The move follows the resignation of Managing Director Bruce McCracken and will see Mr Hancock remain on the board as an independent non-exec director. 

Mr Hancock is also the Chairman of Triangle Energy Global, a director of multiple other listed companies and he was the founding shareholder of oil and gas producer Cooper Energy. 

Prineas’ day job is to run lithium and nickel explorer St George Mining where he has been hyper-successful in attracting the attention of some of the world’s biggest lithium battery makers as investors and partners. 

Prineas, who has been a director of BMG since 2020, will now also oversee the company in his non-executive chair capacity until a new Managing Director can be appointed. Notably he speaks for about 10 per cent of BMG’s stock and sits at the top of its register. 

Prineas is also the founder and a director of American West Metals whose share price went on a tear between June and August last year after it made a solid copper discovery. Its share price hiked from 5.5c to 37.5c in that period. Prineas, who has a background in banking and project finance is also a lawyer and currently holds about 6 per cent of the $78m market capped American West. 

BMG Resources Non-Executive Chairman John Prineas​ said: “The Company’s achievements in the past two years have been significant, with the standout being the delivery of a maiden JORC-compliant resource of more than 500,000 oz Au for the Abercromby Gold Project – a resource that exceeded all expectations. Bruce McCracken steered the Company through this successful period of exploration. The Board thanks Bruce for his service to the Company and wishes him well in his future endeavours. I am honoured to accept the role of Non-executive Chairman of the Company and excited about leading the Board as we maintain a focus on potential opportunities that will create substantial shareholder value.” 

BMG’s 100 per cent owned Abercromby project near Wiluna raised eyebrows across the market in April last year when the company announced a maiden mineral resource for its Capital deposit of 11.12 million tonnes grading 1.45 grams per tonne (g/t) gold giving 518,000-ounces in the inferred and indicated categories.  About 33.4 per cent of the gold is in shallow oxide and transitional rock, while the remaining 66.66 per cent sits in fresh rock.  

BMG says it has commissioned several preliminary development studies, while also planning resource expansion drilling at Capital to unlock the exploration upside in large regional gold anomalies to the south ‑ which may have the potential to deliver further ounces ahead of a future prefeasibility study. 

The company is also on the hunt for gold as well as lithium at the Bullabuling gold mine just east of Coolgardie.  It is in good company too with Mineral Resources’ Mt Marion lithium project and Future Battery Minerals Kangaroo Hills lithium project just a stone’s throw away.

Mt Marion has a resource of 71.3 million tonnes grading 1.37 per cent lithium oxide. Last year Future Battery Metals quickened a few pulses when Kangaroo Hills project threw up a 29m drill hit going 1.36 per cent from just 38m downhole. Another 27m hit came in at 1.32% lithium oxide from 64m.

Late last year BMG released assays from its Bullabulling drilling efforts which extended the strike of its pegmatite field to more than 250m and suggested there are stacked pegmatites at depth in addition to the quite shallow gold.  The best gold hits went 2m at 18.1 g/t gold from 34m and 1m at 10.6 g/t gold from 58m.  The best lithium hit was 4m at 0.56 per cent lithium oxide. 

Investors put their support behind BMG today with the company’s share price touching 1.7c, about 30 per cent up from its 1.3c close yesterday.

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