Graeme Johnston

Graeme Johnston has over 30 years of experience in geology and mineral exploration in Australia, including 17 years directly involved in iron ore projects. He operated in Australia, the Middle East, Romania, Malaysia and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Qualifying with a BSc in Geology from Glasgow University and an MSc in Structural Geology from the Royal School of Mines in London, Mr Johnston emigrated to Western Australia in 1986 and worked on various gold projects before joining Rio Tinto (Hamersley Iron) at their Tom Price iron mine as the site geotechnical engineer. He then became part of the Rio Tino mine development team that opened up the Yandicoogina fines iron ore mine before leaving Rio Tinto after 5 years of service to diversify his experience.

Working mainly in orebody development and near mine-site investigations, Mr Johnston's technical experience is focused on the transition between orebody delineation and mine opening. He has worked on over five projects that resulted in new mines being commissioned.

Mr Johnston was the principal geologist of Midwest Corporation in 2005 during its sale to Sinosteel Corporation for US$1.4 billion, and was their first local chief geologist. In mid-2006, he assisted in founding ASX-listed Ferrowest where he was the technical director for 9 years and contributed to the successful completion of the Feasibility Study for the Yalgoo Pig Iron Project east of Geraldton.