Our Leadership
Board of Directors
Robert Besley
Qualifications
B.Econ (Hons)
Experience
Appointed as Director and Chair on 8 June 2016, Robert Besley has more than 40 years’ experience in the mining industry.
Mr Besley has served in a number of Government and industry advisory roles including several years as Deputy Chairman of the NSW Minerals Council. He holds a BSc (Hons) in Economic Geology from the University of Adelaide and is a Member of the Australian Institute of Geoscientists. He managed the creation, listing and operation of two successful mining companies; CBH Resources Limited which he led as Managing Director from a small exploration company to Australia’s 4th largest zinc producer; and Australmin Holdings Limited (acquired by Newcrest) which brought into production a gold mine in WA and mineral sands mine in NSW.
More recently he was a founding Director of KBL Mining Limited which operated the Mineral Hill copper-gold mine in NSW and was Chairman of Silver City Minerals Limited, which explored for silver-lead-zinc in the Broken Hill District. He was a Non-Executive and independent Director of Murray Zircon from commencement of development and production of the Mindarie Mineral Sands Project until June 2016. He also serves on the Company’s audit & risk, remuneration & nomination and hedge committees.
Mr Besley has not been a director of any other listed public companies in the past 3 years.
Patrick Mutz
Qualifications
BSc (Hons), MBA, AusIMM
Experience
Mr Mutz was appointed Managing Director and CEO on 8 June 2016 and has more than 40 years of international mining industry experience in technical (metallurgist), managerial, consulting and executive roles in all aspects of the industry from exploration through project development, mining and mine rehabilitation.
Patrick has operational experience in open cut, underground, and in-situ mining and related processing, on projects in the USA, Germany, Africa and Australia. Since his arrival in Australia from the USA in 1998, he has served as CEO / Managing Director of a number of publicly listed and private mining companies based in South Australia, Victoria and Western Australia, primarily involved with project development and company transitioning from exploration to production.
Mr Mutz is a Fellow of the AusIMM. He holds a Bachelor of Science (Honours) and an MBA from the University of Phoenix in the US.
Mr Mutz serves on the Company’s hedge committee.
During the past 3 years he has served as a director of the following other listed companies:
- Aura Energy Limited – appointed 18 May 2022, continuing.
Chong Veoy (Aaron) Soo
Qualifications
B.Econ (Hons)
Experience
Mr Soo has been a long-term supporter and shareholder in Image Resources. Mr Soo is an advocate & solicitor practising in West Malaysia with 22 years of experience in legal practice and currently a partner in Stanley Ponniah, Ng & Soo, Advocates & Solicitors. He also serves on the Company’s audit and investment committees. Mr Soo has not been a director of any other listed public companies in the past 3 years.
Peter Thomas
Qualifications
BSc (Hons), MBA, AusIMM
Experience
Peter Thomas, having served on ASX listed company boards for over 30 years, has been a non-executive director of Image Resources NL since 10 April 2002. For over 30 years until June 2011, he ran a legal practise on his own account specialising in the delivery of wide ranging legal, corporate and commercial advice to listed explorers and miners.
Peter serves on the Company’s audit, remuneration and investment committees.
During the past 3 years he has served as a director of the following other listed companies:
- Emu NL – appointed August 2007, continuing
- Middle Island Resources Limited – appointed March 2010, continuing.
Ran Xu
Qualifications
BSc (Hons), MBA, AusIMM
Experience
Ms Ran Xu has a masters degree in HR Management and Industrial Relations. She started working in LB Group in 2014 as a Procurement and Strategy VP and is now the Associate President of Strategy. Ms Xu has extensive experience and market intelligence in the ilmenite and pigment industry. She serves on the Company’s investment committee (appointed 22 July 2022). Ms Xu has not been a director of any other listed companies in the past 3 years.
Winston Lee
Qualifications
BSc (Hons), MBA, AusIMM
Experience
Winston Lee is the CEO of Vestpro International Limited, a commodity holding company, with assets under management including major stakes in private and publicly listed mining companies.
Mr Lee is establishing a position in the global mining industry through investments, operations, and explorations in North America, Asia and Africa. He has 7 years of experience in developing international cooperation with resource companies as well as investments in heavy metal, healthcare and other natural resources. He led the Research and Development department of Zipro Technology Corporation, collaborating with professors and the Dean of Engineering at National Taiwan University. Mr Lee serves as Head of Finance of an AI driven simulation platform company and plays a central role covering a wide range of capital and legal structures as well as asset sales. The company owns patents involving Virtual Matter and Virtual Environments.
Mr Lee is a passionate patron of the arts supporting emerging contemporary artists. He serves on the Company’s remuneration and nomination commitee. Mr Lee has not been a director of any other listed public companies in the past 3 years.
Senior Executive Team
Patrick Mutz
QUALIFICATIONS
BSc (Hons), MBA, AusIMM
EXPERIENCE
Mr Mutz was appointed Managing Director and CEO on 8 June 2016 and has more than 40 years of international mining industry experience in technical (metallurgist), managerial, consulting and executive roles in all aspects of the industry from exploration through project development, mining and mine rehabilitation.
Patrick has operational experience in open cut, underground, and in-situ mining and related processing, on projects in the USA, Germany, Africa and Australia. Since his arrival in Australia from the USA in 1998, he has served as CEO / Managing Director of a number of publicly listed and private mining companies based in South Australia, Victoria and Western Australia, primarily involved with project development and company transitioning from exploration to production.
Mr Mutz is a Fellow of the AusIMM. He holds a Bachelor of Science (Honours) and an MBA from the University of Phoenix in the US.
Mr Mutz serves on the Company’s hedge committee.
During the past 3 years he has served as a director of the following other listed companies:
- Aura Energy Limited – appointed 18 May 2022, continuing.
John McEvoy
Qualifications
BSc (Hons), MBA, AusIMM
Experience
John McEvoy joined Image Resources NL in July 2014 and is Chief Financial Officer and Joint Company Secretary. Mr McEvoy has an honours degree in Mathematics from Southampton University and has 30 years of experience in senior mining finance roles incorporating the whole mining company life-cycle from initial discovery to mine closure. Mr McEvoy is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales (ICAEW) and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD).
Todd Colton
Qualifications
B.Econ (Hons)
Experience
Todd Colton is a mining professional with over 30 years’ experience in the mining industry, predominately in the mineral sands industry with a number of publicly listed and private mining companies based in Western Australia, South Australia and overseas providing operational, technical and management support for project development and mining operations. Todd has held operational and senior management roles through feasibility studies, operations planning and design, construction and commercial production.
Dennis Wilkins
Qualifications
BSc (Hons), MBA, AusIMM
Experience
Dennis Wilkins is the founder and Principal of DWCorporate Pty Ltd, a corporate advisory firm servicing the resources industry. He is a highly experienced company secretary with a strong background in mining and exploration. As Principal, Mr Wilkins has been providing commercial, strategic, and corporate governance services to international exchange listed entities for 21 years.