Jindalee’s McDermitt asset, located in southeast Oregon, contains a unique type of lithium mineralisation. Most lithium projects in North America are lithium brine or pegmatite deposits; however, the McDermitt project is an unconventional sediment-hosted lithium asset.
Sediment-hosted lithium deposits such as McDermitt are long-life assets with low strip ratios and low mining costs. Jindalee can leverage this advantage over other lithium assets, both in terms of reaching production faster and reducing operating expenses.
There is currently no commercially operating sediment-hosted lithium project in North America. Two recently announced projects, however, are under development and demonstrate McDermitt’s future trajectory as both companies move toward production.
The 2023 mineral resources estimate (MRE) for McDermitt contains a combined indicated and inferred mineral resource inventory of 3 billion tons at 1,340 parts per million (ppm) lithium for a total of 21.5 million tons (Mt) lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) at 1,000 ppm cut-off grade. At 21.5 Mt LCE, McDermitt is the largest lithium deposit in the US by contained lithium in mineral resource, and a globally significant resource, with the deposit remaining open to the west and south.
Management Team
Ian Rodger - Chief Executive Officer
Ian Rodger is a qualified mining business executive with almost 15 years of experience in various roles including as a mining engineer for Rio Tinto across two large greenfield mine developments, before successfully transitioning into mining corporate finance where he held Executive and Director positions at RFC Ambrian overseeing origination and management of numerous mandates across a range of corporate advisory roles. Rodger was the project director for Oz Minerals (ASX:OZL) where he made significant contributions to successfully define the value potential of the West Musgrave nickel/copper province through the delivery of a portfolio of growth studies. Most notably, he led technical, market and partnership development workstreams, successfully confirming value potential for producing an intermediate Nickel product for the battery value chain.
Rodger holds a Bachelor of Mining Engineering from the University of Queensland, a Masters of Mineral Economics from Curtin University and is also a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and member of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy.
Lindsay Dudfield - Executive Director
Lindsay Dudfield is a geologist with over 40 years of experience in multi-commodity exploration, primarily within Australia. He held senior positions with the mineral divisions of Amoco and Exxon. In 1987, he became a founding director of Dalrymple Resources NL and spent the following eight years helping acquire and explore Dalrymple’s properties, leading to several greenfield discoveries. In late 1994, Lindsay joined the board of Horizon Mining NL (Jindalee Lithium’s predecessor) and has been responsible for managing Jindalee Lithium since inception. Lindsay is a member of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, the Australian Institute of Geoscientists, the Geological Society of Australia and the Society of Economic Geologists. He is also a non-executive director of Jindalee spin-out companies Energy Metals (ASX:EME), Dynamic Metals (ASX:DYM) and Alchemy Resources (ASX:ALY).
Wayne Zekulich - Non-executive Chair
Wayne Zekulich was appointed to the board as Chair on 1 February 2024. He holds a Bachelor of Business and is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants. Zekulich is a consultant and non-executive director who has substantial experience in advising, structuring and financing transactions in the infrastructure and resources sectors. He was previously the head of Rothschild in Perth, chief financial officer of Gindalbie Metals Limited, chief development officer of Oakajee Port and Rail and a consultant to a global investment bank. Currently, he is chair of Pantoro Limited (ASX:PNR) and non-executive director of the Western Australian Treasury Corporation. In the not-for-profit sector, he is the past chair of the Lester Prize and is a mentor in the Kilfinan program.
Darren Wates - Non-executive Director
Darren Wates is a corporate lawyer with over 23 years of experience in equity capital markets, mergers and acquisitions, resources, project acquisitions/divestments and corporate governance gained through private practice and in-house roles in Western Australia. Wates is the founder and principal of Corpex Legal, a Perth-based legal practice providing corporate, commercial and resources related legal services, primarily to small and mid-cap ASX listed companies. In this role, he has provided consulting general counsel services to ASX listed company Neometals (ASX:NMT) since 2016, having previously been employed as legal counsel of Neometals. Wates holds Bachelor's degrees in Law and Commerce and a Graduate Diploma in Applied Finance and Investment.
Paul Brown - Non-executive Director
Paul Brown has over 23 years of experience in the mining industry, most recently with Mineral Resources (ASX:MIN) where he was chief executive – lithium, and chief executive – commodities. Brown has held senior operating roles with Leighton, HWE and Fortescue (ASX:FMG) and has a strong track record in technical leadership, project/studies management, and mine planning and management. Brown is currently CEO of Hastings Technology Metals (ASX:HAS). He holds a Master in Mine Engineering.
Brett Marsh - VP Geology and Development (US)
Brett Marsh is an AIPG certified professional geologist and a registered member of the Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration (SME) with over 25 years of diverse mining and geological experience. He has worked for and held senior leadership roles for Kastan Mining, Luna Gold, Kiska Metals, Newmont, Freeport-McMoRan, Phelps Dodge, ASARCO and consulted to deliver numerous NI 43-101 technical reports. Marsh has demonstrated the ability to deliver results in culturally diverse and geographically difficult environments, such as Brazil, Peru, Chile, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Tanzania, Indonesia, Australia, and has also worked in remote areas of Alaska. He has managed all phases of the mining lifecycle including greenfield and brownfield exploration, project development (including preliminary economic assessments, pre-feasibility and feasibility), project construction, mine operations, and environmental. He successfully led multi-cultural teams to develop business processes and implementation plans for many mine development and operational projects.
Carly Terzanidis - Company Secretary
Carly Terzanidis has 20 years of prior experience in the financial services industry, having been employed by Euroz Hartleys, DJ Carmichael and Shaw and Partners. Terzanidis’ recent experience has been in corporate services and in the role of company secretary for resources-focused entities. Terzanidis acts as company secretary for Alchemy Resources (ASX:ALY), Kalamazoo Resources (ASX:KZR) and Viridis Mining and Minerals (ASX:VMM). Terzanidis holds a Bachelor of Commerce with majors in Accounting and Corporate Administration and a Graduate Diploma in Applied Corporate Governance.