Bennett leaves Independence to focus on S2

Mark Bennett has left the board of Independence Group to focus his attention on his gold exploration company S2 Resources.

Mr Bennett joined Independence as a non-executive director in October last year after the Perth-based company acquired Sirius Resources.

S2 was carved out of that acquisition as a new exploration company with whole ownership in the Polar Bear gold project near Norseman, with Mr Bennett at the helm as managing director.

“Mark played an integral part in the Nova project, leading Sirius from concept to discovery of Nova all the way through feasibility, financing, permitting and construction,” Independence chairman Peter Bilbe said in a statement.

“Mark also helped ensure a smooth transition of the Nova project into the Independence portfolio.

“The board is grateful for all of Mark’s hard work during this period and we wish him all the best in his future endeavours.”

In April, former Hartleys head of corporate finance Grey Egerton-Warburton joined the board as an independent non-executive director.

Mr Egerton-Warburton, a Business News 40under40 First Amongst Equals winner, worked closely with Sirius as its corporate adviser from 2012 until the completion of its merger with Independence last year.

S2 is also backed by prominent prospected Mark Creasy, who is the company’s largest stakeholder with a 34 per cent interest.

Independence shares were 1.7 per cent lower to $2.82 each at 10:15am, while S2 shares were unchanged at 25 cents each.