Burston retires aged 83

Resources veteran Ian Burston has called time on his career at the age of 83, after retiring as chairman of iron ore-focused Kogi Iron.

Mr Burston, who has chaired Kogi since 2011, said the time was right to step down, with the company moving to progress a definitive feasibility study at its Agbaja project in Nigeria.

“Agbaja is a project with outstanding potential to become a world-scale player in iron ore and steel products,” Mr Burston said.

“Kogi now needs a board that can see the development of the Agbaja project through financing, construction and into production.

“That will require a team that can make a long-term commitment to the company and its loyal shareholders, so this is an appropriate time to hand over the reins.”

The mining veteran will be replaced by non-executive director Don Carroll, effective immeadiately. 

Mr Burston has had a distinguished career within the local mining industry, having led Rio Tinto’s Hamersley Iron operation for seven years as well as serving as managing director of iron ore miners Portman and Aztec Resources.

He has also served on the board of Fortescue Metals Group and chaired African Iron and mining contractor NRW Holdings.

Mr Burston won the industry and commerce category in the Western Australian of the Year awards in 1992 and was named a member of the order of Australia in 1993.

Mr Burston told Business News the mining industry had undergone a significant transformation during his career.

“The process of improvement has been fairly consistent, and if anything it has been accelerating over the years,” he said.

“One only has to look at how we manned our trucks and how we moved the stuff around then as to how we’re doing it now.”

He said he would remain available to the company to provide support and consultation.

Shares in Kogi were down 3.3 per cent at 8.9 cents each at 2pm AEDT.