MINES and Petroleum Minister Norman Moore has appointed 35-year resources industry veteran Mark Woffenden as chief executive officer at the state government’s new Western Australian Minerals Research Institute.
Mr Woffenden is the outgoing head of Curtin University’s Resources and Chemistry Precinct, and has previously worked with major resources players including Rio Tinto, Hamersley Iron, Comalco Aluminium, and KPMG Consulting.
WAMRI will develop new mineral discovery, extraction and recovery technologies, helping previously uneconomic deposits become attractive to industry.
The institute’s board is made up of: BHP Billiton senior research and development manager Peter Lilly; Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association chief operating officer for western region Stedman Ellis; Rio Tinto innovation general manager Andrew Shook; Resource Capital Funds managing partner James McClements; and Phil Lockyer and Associates director Phil Lockyer.
