Our team: Strategic vision. Technical excellence. Execution at scale.
Board
Tim Lindley
Non-Executive Chairman
MCom, BA, RMC-D, GAICD, FGIA
Tim is an experienced ASX director and former senior investment banker with a 25-year career in equity raising, project finance, debt and M&A. He has held senior roles at Barclays Bank (Country Head, Australia) and Morgan Stanley (Managing Director, Australia).
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Tim is currently a Non-Executive Director of Deep Yellow Ltd (ASX: DYL), Chair of Cleanway Group, and a board member of Serendis Pty Ltd, and the Wayside Chapel. He holds a Master’s in Economics and Finance and a Bachelor’s in History and Economics from UNSW, is a GAICD and FGIA, and is a graduate of the Royal Military College Duntroon.
Nick Cernotta
Non-Executive Director
B.Eng (Mining)
Nick has more than 40 years of experience in the mining industry, spanning various commodities including but not limited to Gold, Iron, Nickel, Zinc, Copper, Coal and Lithium, providing executive oversight and direct management of operations and projects in Australia, Africa, South-East and Central Asia, Saudi Arabia and Papua New Guinea.
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Qualified with a Bachelor of Mining Engineering, Mr Cernotta has held senior executive roles with extensive operational experience in both the public and private sectors of the mineral resources and mining services industry.
Nick’s notable executive roles included Director of Operations at Fortescue Metals Group, CEO of GBF Underground Mining Services, COO at MacMahon Contracting and Director of Operations at Barrick Gold APRBU.
Nick has chaired two junior ASX Listed Companies and currently is the Chairman of two People and Culture Committees, is a member of the Sustainability Committee and was a member of a Technical Advisory Committee, Exploration and Growth Committee and of various Audit and Risk Committees.
Current ASX Directorships include Northern Star Resources Limited (since July 2019) and PLS Limited (since Feb 2017). Former ASX Directorships in the past three years include New Century Resources Limited (March 2019 to November 2022), Panoramic Resources Limited (May 2018 – December 2024).
Jamie Byrde
Executive Director, CFO & Company Secretary
BCom, CA, GradDipACGRM
Jamie has over 20 years’ experience in corporate governance, audit and company secretarial roles. He has held senior financial positions with several ASX-listed, and is an experienced CFO and Company Secretary with experience in management, Board governance, ASX/ASIC compliance and reporting for resource-focused businesses.
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Jamie is currently a Non-Executive Director and Company Secretary of Codrus Minerals Limited and has previously served as Company Secretary for Blackstone Minerals Limited.
Management
Jacob Deysel
Chief Executive Officer
B.Eng (Mining), MBA
Jacob Deysel is a mining engineer with close to 30 years of international leadership in the resources sector. He has served as CEO and Managing Director of Mineral Commodities (ASX: MRC), Operations Director at Kenmare Resources (LSE: KMR) and General Manager at Rio Tinto’s Richards Bay Minerals.
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He has also held senior roles with Newmont (NYSE: NEM) and most recently as Vice President – South America for Uranium Energy Corp (NYSE: UEC). Jacob holds an MBA with executive training from Wits and London Business School and is recognised for scaling production and delivering value across critical minerals projects spanning rare earths, graphite and mineral sands.
DR Stuart Owen
Chief Geologist & Exploration Manager
BSc (Geology), PhD (Geology)
Stuart is a geologist with over 30 years’ experience in mineral exploration across four continents. He has been instrumental in several significant discoveries including the Paulsens gold deposit in Australia, Adamus Resources’ Southern Ashanti gold deposits in West Africa, the Mt Lindsay tin-tungsten-magnetite deposits in Tasmania, and the Ta Khoa nickel sulphide deposits in Vietnam.
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Most recently, Stuart led the greenfields discovery of Critica’s Jupiter Rare Earths Project. He holds a PhD in Geology from the University of Otago and has broad expertise across gold, base metals, uranium, iron ore and rare earths.
DR Natalee Bonnici
Senior Exploration Geologist
BSc Hon (Geology), PhD (Geometallurgy)
Natalee is a geologist and geometallurgist with over 15 years’ experience in mineral exploration and geometallurgy. She completed her PhD on linking mineralogical attributes to metallurgical performance in 2012 as part of the AMIRA P843 project.
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Natalee spent seven years with Northern Star Resources as Senior Exploration Geologist for the Carbine project in Kalgoorlie, where she increased and developed resources across multiple deposits. She previously spent five years with Independence Group at the Stockman and Jaguar projects, contributing to the Triumph VHMS discovery.
Natalee joined Venture Minerals in 2025 as Senior Exploration Geologist.
DR Hien Dinh
Senior Metallurgist
BSc (Mineral Processing), PhD (Metallurgy)
Dr. Thi Thu Hien Dinh is a metallurgist with more than 23 years of experience in mineral processing, hydrometallurgy, process optimisation, and project management. She obtained her PhD in Metallurgy from Albert-Ludwig University Freiburg, Germany, in 2015.
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Her expertise covers a broad range of commodities, including iron, copper, lithium, rare earths, and nickel. Prior to joining Venture Minerals in 2024, she led the Mined and Processed Materials team at VinFast (Vingroup), managed metallurgical programs for Vietnam’s largest nickel mine, and held research positions at leading geological and metallurgical institutes. At Critica, she focuses on advancing metallurgical testing programs and translating research outcomes into scalable industrial applications.
