Ora Banda welcomes new CEO

Ora Banda Mining has announced the appointment of Doug Warden as the company’s new chief executive officer (CEO) and joint company secretary.

Warden will start at the company on August 28, bringing with him over 30 years of experience in leading ASX listed companies in finance functions.

He will fill in the position made vacant by Gareth Jones who has decided to step down immediately to pursue different opportunities and will take part in the handover period until September 6.

Ora Banda managing director Luke Creagh thanked Jones for his contribution and dedication over the last 18 months.

“Gareth has been with Ora Banda since February 2023 and has played an important role in leading the financial management of the business through a significant period of growth and transformation,” he said.

“During his time at Ora Banda, Gareth has supported the business through completion of the WesCEFF JV deal as well as overseeing improvements across the whole finance function.”

Doug Warden’s recent experience was as Core Lithium’s CEO, where he oversaw a $110 equity raise to position Core with a strong balance sheet to navigate the soft lithium price environment.

Warden was also the chief financial officer (CFO) at Resolute Mining and spent 13 years in various roles at Iluka Resources, which included executive roles like CFO and head of resource development.

He also holds a Masters of Business Administration from the Australian Graduate School of Management and is a chartered accountant.

“We are delighted to welcome Doug to the team and I look forward to working with him to achieve our vision for Ora Banda to become a quality mid-tier mining company,” Creagh said.

The company’s largest project is Davyhurst, which is located 120km northwest of Kalgoorie and is within the Tier 1 gold mining province of the eastern goldfields in WA.

It has an initial mine life of five years and produces 81 thousand ounces per annum.