LithiumBank Resources has revealed the appointment of Paul Matysek as the Executive Chairman of the Company.
Matysek’s unique qualifications, experience and unprecedented string of successful endeavours in the mining sector will create value for LithiumBank as it now transitions from an exploration to a development company of district-scale direct brine lithium projects in North America.
Matysek is a geoscientist by training, a successful alpha entrepreneur and a consistent creator of shareholder value with over 40 years of experience in the mining industry. Since 2007, as either CEO or Executive Chairman, he has sold six publicly listed mineral exploration and development companies, in aggregate, worth over $2.5bn. Most notably, two of six sales were lithium brine assets advancing toward production.
In June 2021, as Chief Executive Officer, he sold Gold X Mining Corp. to Gran Colombia Gold Corp. for over $300m in an all-share transaction. In March 2018, as Executive Chairman, he sold Lithium X Energy Corp. to Nextview New Energy Lion Hong Kong Limited for $265m in cash. Earlier, in July 2016, Matysek, as President and CEO, sold Goldrock Mines Corp. to Fortuna Silver Mines Inc.
He was also previously CEO of Lithium One Inc., which merged with Galaxy Resources Limited of Australia (now Allkem) to create a multi-billion-dollar integrated lithium company. He served as CEO of Potash One Inc., which was acquired by K+S AG for $434m in cash in a friendly takeover in 2011. He was also the co-founder and CEO of Energy Metals Corp., a uranium company that grew from a market capitalization of $10m in 2004 to approximately $1.8bn when sold in 2007.
Matysek said: “I am very pleased to join LithiumBank as its Executive Chairman. The location, scale, and clear development roadmap of the Company’s strategic development assets create a unique and timely opportunity to transform them into enhanced shareholder value, address lithium supply challenges and support local community development. I look forward to working with the talented board and management of the Company. I firmly believe that together we can unlock significant value by re-purposing key infrastructure, advancing permitting, and demonstrating economic direct lithium extraction technology at scale in North America.”
Rob Shewchuk, the CEO of LithiumBank, added: “LithiumBank is very excited that Paul has agreed to move from his position as a Director to the role of Executive Chairman of our Board. I view this as a testament to the enormity of the opportunity in front of us as well as the exceptional job done by our team to set the table for valuable next steps. I am confident that investors in LithiumBank will benefit greatly from Paul’s stewardship, energy, experience and expertise as we transition to the development of our extraordinary portfolio of district scale lithium opportunities towards near term production potential.”
The Company also announced that Ann Fehr, Founder of Fehr & Associates, was appointed as Chief Financial Officer effective January 27, 2023. Ann received her accounting designation in 1996 and founded Fehr & Associates in 2010. She has been consulting and preparing public company financial reports in the mining industry since 2007. As a consultant and senior manager, she has supported and coordinated numerous complex transactions. As a director of QuestEx Gold & Copper Ltd. in 2022, she was part of the team that completed a transaction to sell the Company. The new appointment follows the resignation of Andre Mbeng who resigned as Chief Financial Officer of the Company effective January 27, 2023.
