Appointment Of Strategic Members To The Lithium Dream Team

Lithium Universe Limited (“Lithium Universe”, the “Company” or ASX: “LU7”) wishes to announce the appointment of the following key lithium industry professionals as part of the management team that will drive the aggressive development of the Québec Lithium Processing Hub (QLPH) in Canada.

Highlights

• Appointment of the following personnel to the Lithium Universe management team:
  • Head of Mining - Terry Stark
  • Head of Processing - Roger Pover
  • Engineering Manager - Huy Nguyen
  • Head of Lithium Carbonate Refinery – John Loxton
• Appointments are considered crucial to the formation of the Québec Lithium Processing Hub strategy

Mr Terry Stark, a veteran mining engineer, has been appointed as Head of Mining and will spearhead the mining strategy for the Apollo First to Market program. Terry was previously Managing Director of the Resources Division for Galaxy Resources Limited (GXY). Terry was responsible for all of Galaxy Resources’ mineral resources assets including exploration and mine operations. Terry oversaw the Mt Cattlin construction and subsequent successful start-up. During his time at Galaxy, he established strong relationships with the Cree First Nation people for the James Bay project. The Cree is also the same First Nation group at the Apollo Lithium Project.

Head of Processing - Roger Pover

Mr Roger Pover has been appointed as Head of Processing and will lead the processing and concentrating strategy for the Apollo First to Market program. Roger was previously Mt Cattlin Plant Manager who operated the Mt Cattlin operation for Galaxy Resources Limited (GXY). Roger was not only part of the commissioning and start up team but also operated the plant for many years. Roger also directed many of the optimisation modifications that were made at Mt Cattlin. Roger is also a veteran in the lithium industry, having commenced his career at Greenbushes Lithium mine in the early 1990’s.

Engineering Manager - Huy Nguyen

Mr Huy Nguyen has been seconded from Mintrex to act as Lithium Universe’s engineering client representative. Mintrex was the lead engineering company that designed and constructed (together with DRA Global) the Mt Cattlin Spodumene Plant.

Huy was part of the construction supervision when Mt Cattlin was built so he is experienced with not only the design but also the construction process that delivered a project that was on time and on budget. Huy is a qualified Mechanical Engineer with over 15 years’ of engineering and project experience in mining, mineral processing, and construction. Huy also holds an MBA – Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT University) and is a member of Engineer Australia (MIEAust).

Head of Lithium Carbonate Refinery – John Loxton

Mr John Loxton's lithium experience commenced in 2010 with work on the Jiangsu Lithium Carbonate Plant EPCM for Galaxy Resources in China where his responsibilities initially were at a Sponsor level, and further into the project he was Project Manager, managing the final stages of construction and commissioning. In 2019, John was engaged by Tianqi Lithium as Head of Projects for the execution of their investment in a lithium hydroxide processing plant in Kwinana, Western Australia. John managed the commissioning of the first train achieving first product in 2021 and undertook execution planning and establishing a project team for an identical second train in 2022. Mr. John Loxton is a project manager with over 45 years of experience across a diverse range of energy, industrial, process, civil, and major infrastructure projects.

Commenting on the changes, Chairman, Mr. Iggy Tan said that the appointments conclude the establishment of the pedigree of lithium professionals he dubs the "Lithium Dream Team”, “The Company previously appointed lithium veteran and global lithium expert, Pat Scallan, and Dr Jingyuan Liu to the Board. Patrick Scallan is an experienced lithium veteran who successfully managed the world-class Greenbushes Mine for over 25 years. Dr. Liu, ex-Galaxy Head of Technology, played a key role in the development of the Jiangsu Lithium Carbonate Project and is a leading international expert in lithium downstream processing. We now have one of the most experienced operating lithium teams that can drive our “Québec Lithium Processing Hub” strategy.

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