Senior Management

BSc(Geo), DipBs (Front Line Management),  MAusIMM

Mr Watts is a Geologist with over 25 years experience in exploration, mining and project development. He has extensive gold, iron ore and phosphate mining experience as well as a successful history of mineral discovery and development. The technical expertise gained at the Phosphate Hill mine provided significant exposure to the fertiliser market to complement Centrex’s development of the Ardmore Phosphate Rock Project. A broad technical knowledge of exploration has been gained from base metal and gold projects in the Lachlan Fold Belt of New South Wales, the eastern goldfields of Western Australia, the Drummond Basin in north Queensland and nickel laterite deposits in Indonesia. He has held previous positions in both major resources houses, and mid-tier and junior operators. His roles have spanned mining, quality control and project management.

Dr Santich is a lawyer and engineer with decades of experience in mining, geoscience and corporate law. He has been a director and secretary of listed exploration, mining and technology companies and is a principal of a specialist resources and technology legal firm. Dr Santich had an academic career in Australia, France and the USA, working in several capacities in engineering and law, including researcher and lecturer. In Australia as a lawyer he has worked with government and the private sector, establishing and directing a number of listed exploration, mining and technology companies. With a lifetime of application in the resources industry, he has broad experience in the formulation of policy and in corporate and legal matters and in the formation and establishment of businesses.

Gavin has had 35 years senior and executive resource industry experience in Africa, Asia, USA, and Australia, and holds tertiary qualifications in Extractive Metallurgy, Business Management and Project Management. Gavin has a successful track record in mining, engineering, projects and operations management roles. Significant projects and operations include the Namakwa Sands Mine (Exxaro, South Africa), the KZN Sands Mine (Tronox, $250M, South Africa), Ginkgo and Snapper Mines (Tronox, $200M, NSW), the WRP Mine (Iluka Resources, $100M, Vic), the Cataby Mine (Iluka Resources, $275M, WA), the Balranald Mine (Iluka Resources, $140M, NSW) and Puttalam Mine (Iluka, Sri Lanka $25M). His most recent role was as Operations Manager for Iluka Resources at their Jacinth Ambrosia Operation. Gavin’s key Centrex area of responsibility is the management of the Agriflex Phase 1.5 ramp-up and subsequent 800,000 tpa phosphate processing plant at Ardmore. The role of Engineering and Project Manager is responsible for company growth, options assessment, feasibility studies, engineering standards, business establishment and project execution.

Hiti Taluja has over 20 years’ global experience in fertiliser industry. She holds an Executive MBA from Melbourne Business School, a Bachelor’s Degree in Commerce from Delhi University and a Diploma in Software Engineering from the National Institute of Information and Technology, India and is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers. Hiti has extensive experience in commodity trading, supply chain, strategic sourcing, compliance management and contract negotiation. She has held positions at prominent organisations in the fertiliser industry including Trammo Inc, Incitec Pivot Limited and Mosaic Fertilisers.

“Our experienced agronomist is here to help.

Walter van Leeuwen is Agriflex’s agronomist, responsible for managing the entire sales cycle of direct application phosphate rock (DAPR) to organic fertiliser producers and the horticulture and pasture agricultural industries in Australia and New Zealand.

Walter has more than 25 years of Agri sector experience in Australia and across the world. His experience covers a very broad range of crops and agricultural sectors and he works with farmers and growers to develop solutions to improve crop value and sustainability. Walter understands that each farm is different and indeed each season can be different and he has a proven track record of partnering with farmers and industry to build better agricultural businesses.

Walter is a family man, with a wife and two sons, and hold a bachelor’s degree in plant production with the Pretoria University of Technology in South Africa.

Walter is always happy to hear from you.”

General Manager Centrex/ Agriflex Ardmore phosphate operations.
Brian has been in mining for over 35 years, coming from a dual trade background, having worked in Iron Ore, Gold, Laterite Nickel, Tin and Phosphate mining in Australia and Nauru. Brian has worked in all levels of the mining structure, from trades to Dept Manager to General Manager roles. He was the Registered Manager and Maintenance Manager for Mt Gibson Mining, Maintenance Manager for Bluestone Tin, Maintenance Manager for RONphos Phosphate Corporation, Registered Manager and Maintenance and Engineering Manager for Litcho Bald Hill Lithium operations.
Brian holds diplomas in Surface Operations Management, Management and Front line Management.

William (Bill) Mihail is a senior executive procurement and supply manager with over 40 years of experience working in multi billion dollar industries across petrochemicals, fertilisers and raw material commodities having held senior executive roles. He is considered in the industry as a subject matter expert in fertiliser commodity trading, supply chain practices and contract management.
His most recent role was a senior supply manager for the industrial chemical fertiliser manufacturer, Incitec Pivot Limited.