[Ferro-Alloys.com]  Vanadium Resources (VR8) has appointed highly experienced executive Alex Oehmen as its new General Manager Operations. The 40-year industry veteran joined the company on Monday and will be responsible for driving the development and operations of VR8’s Steelpoortdrift vanadium project in South Africa.

Mr Oehmen’s decades of experience span the resources, mineral processing and engineering sectors, with a “demonstrated track record” in the management of vanadium and steel-making operations within the Bushveld region of South Africa. Mr Oehmen received his Bachelor of Engineering (Metallurgical) at Pretoria University before completing a Master of Business Leadership at UNISA in 2000.

He’s held a range of roles, including General Manager Operations, General Manager Vanadium Products, Operations Manager, Assistant Manager Steel Making, Manager Continuous Casting, Production Engineer, and other related roles within the vanadium, steel and alloys industrial sector.

Most recently, Mr Oehmen was Operations Manager at Bushveld Minerals’ Vanchem operations and General Manager Operations at Vanchem Vanadium Products prior to its acquisition by Bushveld. These companies had operations in the same geological and mineralogical terrain as the Steelpoortdrift project. During his tenure at Bushveld and Vanchem, Mr Oehmen was responsible for the operation and production of various vanadium products including vanadium pentoxide flake, ferrovanadium and various vanadium chemicals.

He also held roles in the marketing of vanadium products to domestic and international markets.

“We are very pleased to have obtained the services of someone with substantial experience in operations, production and marketing of vanadium within the Bushveld,” VR8 Executive Chair Jurie Wessels said.

“Mr Oehmen’s wealth of experience across a range of vanadium operations and products places the company in an ideal position to advance Steelpoortdrift through the upcoming stages of preparation for FID, construction, commissioning, production and marketing.

“Mr Oehmen will be a leading component of the team that is to form the backbone of VR8’s planned operations to produce Vanadium products at Steelpoortdrift.”

• [Editor:tianyawei]