Minmetals Resources Limited (MMR) and MMG today announced the appointment of its CEO Andrew Michelmore as the Chairman of the International Zinc Association (IZA).
Mr Michelmore said he was honoured to be elected to the position and looked forward to supporting the IZA’s aim to sustain the long-term global demand for zinc and its markets.
“I am delighted to be appointed to this important role to continue to raise awareness of the zinc industry and to address the challenges concerning zinc producers globally,” he said.
“The IZA has a crucial role to play in sustaining long-term global demand for zinc and promoting its criticality to human health, crop nutrition and sustainable development.”
“I hope that as Chairman I can make significant progress in all these areas,” he said.
At yesterday’s Executive Committee Meeting, the IZA set a revised mission to support and advance zinc products and markets through research, development, technology transfer and communication of the unique attributes that make zinc sustainable and ‘essential for life’.
Mr Michelmore said he was proud to be working with IZA members and stakeholders to deliver upon this mission.
He acknowledged the success of existing IZA programs such as ‘Zinc Saves Kids’ which aims to improve the survival, growth and development of undernourished children by funding UNICEF-supported zinc programs around the world.
“MMG has been a key supporter of the Zinc Saves Kids program, and I hope to add value to the IZA by building upon the Zinc Saves Kids and other IZA programs including the Zinc Nutrient Initiative and Zinc for Life,” said Mr Michelmore.
Mr Michelmore added that an important area of focus for the IZA would be to further its relationship with China.
“As we know, China plays a critical and growing role in the global zinc industry, due to its rapid urbanisation and consumption of raw materials, as well as its contribution to crop production and nutritional health,” he said.
“We have already made progress through the recent signing of a joint fertiliser program between the IZA and China’s Ministry of Agriculture, to study and promote zinc fertiliser use in Chinese agriculture.”
“There is certainly more that we can do in this space, and working for MMR, I have had the privilege of working closely with representatives from China particularly as China Minmetals Corporation is our major shareholder.”
“I believe there is a great opportunity to further engage with China on global matters facing the zinc industry, especially in the areas of sustainability and environment. I have certainly seen a desire from China Minmetals Corporation to increase their involvement,” said Mr Michelmore.
Mr Michelmore was inaugurated into the role of Chairman of the IZA at an Executive Committee Meeting held 5 October in London.
Mr Michelmore is the CEO of Minmetals Resources Limited (HKSE 1208), an international upstream base metals company that acquired MMG on 31 December 2010. It is one of the world’s largest producers of zinc as well as a substantial producer of copper, lead, gold and silver. The company has mining operations located in Australia and Asia and a large portfolio of exploration and development projects in Australia, Asia and North America. MMR is managed by an international management team, headquartered in Australia, is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and is supported by its majority shareholder, China Minmetals Nonferrous Co., Ltd.
The IZA is a global industry association dedicated to sustaining the long-term global demand for zinc and its markets by promoting key end uses as corrosion protection for steel and the essentiality of zinc in human health and crop nutrition.