Board of Directors
Mr. Smith gained his mining and industrial experience at Ochta Diamonds, Gencor and Genmin. He then joined Iscor Limited and was appointed chief executive and managing director, subsequently becoming the executive chairman. Mr. Smith served as non-executive chairman of Kumba Resources. He has served on the board of Western Areas. He also served as Chairman of Business South Africa, Immediate Past Chairman of Business South Africa, trustee of Business South Africa, trustee and council member of the South Africa Foundation, director and member of the executive committee of the International Iron and Steel Institute, and chairman of the South African Iron and Steel Institute. Mr Smith graduated with a BSc. (Eng Metallurgy) from the University of Pretoria and a BSc. (Mining Engineering) from the University of Witwatesrand. He has also obtained a Post-Graduate Diploma in Market Research and Advertising from the University of South Africa. In addition, he has also attended the Senior Management Programme at Harvard University.
Mr. Kruger has 30 years' experience in the South African diamond industry, predominantly in rough and polished trading. He began his career in the diamond industry at Ochta Diamonds. He was one of the first South African diamantaires to implement the 'mine to mistress' philosophy, as early as the late 1970s. He is a founding member of the South African Rough Dealers Association, a long standing member of the South African Diamond Dealers' Club and the Jewellery Council of South Africa, and has key relationships with major diamantaires worldwide and has established an extensive industry network. Mr. Kruger graduated with a B.Comm. in accounting from Stellenbosch University.
Mr Kruger is the father of Nico Kruger and Heno Kruger.
Mr. Haslam worked for the primary platinum group metals producer, Lonmin Plc between 1981 and 2004 rising to Managing Director of the South African mines; appointed to the board of directors in 1999 and chief executive officer in 2000, until his retirement. Prior to that he held various positions with Falconbridge Nickel and the British Steel Corporation where he studied metallurgy. Mr. Haslam is non-executive chairman of Talvivaara Mining Co. which develops and exploits polymetallic deposits in Finland and a non-executive Director of Aquarius Platinum Ltd, a southern African platinum group metal producer, where he serves as chairman of the Remuneration and Succession Planning committee and is also a member of its Audit, Risk and Nominations Committee. He is also a Fellow of the Institute of Directors.
Mr. Davidson has over 30 years' experience in the field of international exploration and mergers and acquisitions for major base metal and gold companies. He was responsible for international exploration programmes and corporate development at Barrick Gold Corporation as executive vice president. Prior to joining Barrick Gold Corporation, Mr. Davidson worked at Metall Mining Corporation as vice president for Exploration. He has also won awards for his achievement and contributions to mining exploration in Canada. He is currently non-executive director of QGX Ltd., Highland Gold Mining Ltd. and Diamondex Resources Ltd. which are involved in mineral exploration and mining projects. He obtained his BSc. in Geology in 1972 and MSc. in Economic Geology in 1977 from McGill University in Canada.
Dr. Fauconnier has 38 years’ experience in the mining industry. He was the Chief Executive Officer of Exxaro Resources Limited and was also responsible for the overall strategy and financial and operating results of the Exxaro Group. Dr. Fauconnier was also the Chief Executive of Kumba Resources Limited for five years, and he served on the Board of Iscor Limited between 1997 and 2001. He is currently a non-executive director of Xstrata Plc, a Fellow of the Gordon Institute of Business Science and an Honorary Professor in the Department of Mining Engineering at the University of Pretoria. Dr. Fauconnier is a Registered Professional Engineer and is a Fellow of the South African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, the Mine Ventilation Society of South Africa, the Institute of Directors and the South African Academy of Engineering.
Mr van Staden has been involved in the mining industry in Southern Africa for some 12 years. He joined Iscor in 1997 as general manager, corporate treasury. Prior to that, he was employed by the IDC as general manager responsible for international and project finance, treasury operations and legal services. Until his retirement in February 2009, he was the Chief Financial Officer of Exxaro Resources (formerly Kumba Resources), a South African-based diversified mining group, listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, from its IPO in 2001. Mr van Staden has a BJuris and an LLB from the Universties of Pretoria and South Africa and completed Insead's Advanced Management Programme.
Mr. Kruger has ten years' experience in corporate finance, private equity and investment banking, specifically in diamond-related projects. He has been engaged in African diamond mining and beneficiation projects for Namakwa Diamonds for some six years in countries such as South Africa, Angola, the DRC, Namibia and Sierra Leone. His duties over this period ranged from the identification of potential projects to the conclusion of agreements with African governments, the raising of finance to develop the projects, as well as the sourcing of the appropriate skills to facilitate project development. Before joining Namakwa Diamonds, Mr. Kruger was employed by two financial services groups, namely Genesis Capital and Corporate and Merchant Advisers. Mr. Kruger served as a director of the latter, where his focus was to build the corporate finance business, which led to transactions in South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, the DRC and Tanzania. He is qualified as a chartered accountant (South Africa) and holds an MBA.
Mr. Conradie has c.20 years experience in finance. Before his appointment to the Board as an Executive Director and Chief Financial Officer, Mr. Conradie had been with Namakwa Diamonds for two years as Group Financial Manager, having previously acted as Financial Director for a large logistics firm.
Having assisted in the business since 1995, Mr. Kruger formally joined the family business in 1999 as an apprentice rough diamond buyer. In 2001, he became a buyer for the Namakwa Group, with a focus on securing high value rough diamonds, which predominantly could be polished. He has been the Namakwa Group's Head Buyer since 2005. During the last six years Mr. Kruger has established a strong proprietary client base and has gained an understanding of the type of product for which there is strong international demand. He obtained his B.Comm and B.Acc degrees from the University of Stellenbosch before qualifying as a Certified Financial Accountant in 1995, having completed articles in 1994.