Alderon Appoints Former BHP Billiton Iron Ore PresidentVANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - May 29, 2014) -
Alderon Iron Ore Corp. (ADV.TO)(NYSE MKT:AXX) ("Alderon" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has appointed Mr. Ian R. Ashby, former President, Iron Ore of BHP Billiton Limited ("BHP Billiton") and Mr. W. Adrian Loader, former President and CEO of Shell Canada to the Board of Directors effective immediately.
"We are thrilled to be adding the expertise of both Ian and Adrian to our board at such a crucial time in the Company's development," says Mark Morabito, Executive Chairman of Alderon. "As we continue to gear up to commence construction later this year, the experience of both these new board members will be invaluable."
Mr. Ashby worked 25 years for BHP Billiton, the world's largest diversified resource company. During his time with BHP Billiton, Mr. Ashby held many senior roles including Chief Operating Officer, Base Metals, Chief Operating Officer, Western Australia Iron Ore and lastly President, Iron Ore from 2006 to 2012. As President, Iron Ore, Mr. Ashby was responsible for global strategy development and execution, and operations and project development for the Iron Ore business. He was accountable for the largest and most profitable business within BHP Billiton and was instrumental in expanding the business to almost twice its capacity during his tenure. Mr. Ashby holds a Bachelor of Engineering in Mining from the University of Melbourne, Australia.
Mr. Loader spent 20 years working for Shell, including most recently as President and CEO of Shell Canada. Prior to this role, he was Director of Strategy and Business Development and Director of Strategic Planning, External Affairs, HSE and Sustainable Development for the Royal Dutch Shell Group ("Shell"). During his time with Shell, Mr. Loader led the merger and acquisition activity and was responsible for strategic direction, scenarios, competitive intelligence and planning. Mr. Loader graduated from the University of Cambridge with a MA and sits on the board of several other resource companies.
Stepping aside from the Board at this time will be Mr. Matt Simpson. Mr. Simpson has been involved with Alderon for almost 4 years and has made many valuable contributions to Alderon's development. The Board would like to acknowledge and thank Mr. Simpson for his exemplary service.
Alderon AGM
Alderon is also pleased to announce that it has received Toronto Stock Exchange ("TSX") approval to hold its annual general meeting ("AGM") on July 29, 2014, outside of the TSX requirement that a company hold an AGM within six months of its year end. Alderon is evaluating several transactions that may require shareholder approval and chose to delay the holding of its AGM rather than holding multiple shareholder meetings in short succession.