In an announcement released by Northparkes, Mr Lehman has taken over from Jim Fowler who led Northparkes for 16 months, before departing in August, 2018.

Mr Fowler has been appointed as the CEO for the CMOC Operation in Tenke Fungurume, located in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Northparkes said Mr Lehman has been acting in the role of Managing Director following Mr Fowler’s departure in August.

“Mr Lehman has been responsible for leading the business, continuing to foster the zero harm culture and supporting all employees and contractors to successfully deliver on business commitments,” the announcement read.

Mr Lehman joined Northparkes as Manager – Asset Management in January 2011.

His portfolio included maintenance, infrastructure, engineering, capital portfolio management, project management and reliability engineering.

As a member of the Northparkes Leadership Team, Mr Lehman was also responsible for planning and executing key elements associated with the Northparkes strategic plan, including the approval of a new block cave mining project called E26 Lift 1 North.

Mr Lehman previously worked for Hydro Aluminium in Australia for 13 years and held a number of senior positions, including General Manager Engineering and Maintenance and General Manager Metal Products.

“As the Managing Director of Northparkes, Mr Lehman will lead the mine in maintaining the highest standard of safety and environment, improving operational efficiency and constructing and delivering major projects,” the announcement read.

Last month, CMOC and Sumitomo announced the approval of a $200M project at Northparkes called E26 Lift 1 North, where it will produce about 40Mt of ore over 10 years.

Mr Lehman said the project is a major investment in the future of the business and a very exciting time for Northparkes.

“I look forward to leading the team into the future – Northparkes has been operating for 24 years and has a vision of ‘A century of mining together’,” he said.

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