Poseidon Nickel boss resigns, more cost cuts

Poseidon Nickel’s boss has resigned a day after announcing a deal to sell off its nickel concentrator plant to Mineral Resources, amid more cost cuts for the business.

The nickel focused explorer said its chief executive Craig Jones had decided to “seek other opportunities” following the announcement of the $15 million divestment of its Lake Johnston nickel concentrator plant in the Goldfields to MinRes yesterday.

Mr Jones’ resignation also follows the Black Swan nickel project remaining on care and maintenance, alongside the company’s shift back to exploration to further reduce costs, Poseidon said in its ASX statement.

After two years with the company and five months as chief executive, Mr Jones will step down on April 1 and will be succeeded by current chief financial officer Brendan Shalders, former FTI Consulting managing director prior to joining Poseidon in 2019.

The CFO role, however, will not be replaced in what Poseidon is describing as another cost cutting measure.

It comes amid a tumultuous period for the nickel industry, to which Poseidon is no stranger making a range of cost cuts across the business in recent months.

The junior miner has also been reducing its headcount across the company since September, when it announced it was downsizing its board and executive team. At that time, Mr Jones was promoted from general manager mining to CEO. 

Its also moved to defer the restart, and final investment decision, of its long paused Black Swan nickel project last year, instead shifting its focus back to exploration activities.

“With the divestment of Lake Johnston, Black Swan remaining on care and maintenance, the shift back to exploration and the continued focus on cost reduction, Craig Jones who has a strong operational background has decided to seek other opportunities,” Poseidon chairman Peter Harold said.

“On behalf of the board, we would like to thank Craig for his leadership in delivering the Black Swan bankable feasibility study and in recent times as CEO, the instigation and concluding of the planned sale of Lake Johnston and the implementation of significant cost savings providing a strong foundation as a re-focused exploration company.

“Going forward Brendan brings significant experience and continuity to the CEO role having been the Company’s CFO since 2019 and has also been instrumental in the implementation of the Company’s strategy, Black Swan bankable feasibility study, the proposed sale of Lake Johnston and in particular restructuring the cost base of the company.”

On Monday, Poseidon and MinRes told the market the pair had inked a $15 million for the miner to acquire the nickel concentrator plant and tenure.

MinRes plans to develop the site into a lithium processing hub in the southern Goldfields region. It would process feed from its nearby lithium assets Bald Hill and Mt Marion.