Board of Directors
Edward Nealon, Non-Executive Chairman
Mr Nealon is a geologist with 33 years’ experience in the mining and exploration industry. After graduating in 1974, he commenced his career in South Africa with Anglo American Corporation, before moving to Australia in 1980 where he spent two years in exploration with Rio Tinto. He founded his own consulting company in 1983 and has practiced in most of the world's major mining centres. Mr Nealon was responsible for Aquarius' introduction into the platinum industry and served on its board for a number of years. He holds a Masters degree in Geology and is a member of the Australian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy.
Ami Mpungwe, Non-Executive Deputy Chairman
Mr Mpungwe has been Chairman of the Group's Tanzanian subsidiary since March 2000 and has been integral to its establishment and development. He assumed Chairmanship of the Group on 24 October 2008 after serving as Deputy Chairman at its inception in August 2004. Mr Mpungwe has an Honours degree in International Relations and Political Science, a diploma in International Law and has spent 25 years in the diplomatic service, including six years as Tanzanian Ambassador to South Africa. He holds directorships in ILLOVO Sugar Ltd, National Bank of Commerce Ltd, Tanzania Breweries Ltd, Kilombero Sugar Co Ltd, MultiChoice Tanzania Ltd, Niko Insurance Co (Tanzania) Ltd and has also been the Chairman of the Tanzania Chamber of Minerals and Energy since 2007.
Bernard Olivier, Chief Executive Officer
Dr Olivier was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Richland Resources Limited on 5 March 2010. Dr Olivier is a geologist and has a PhD in Economic Geology. He is also a Member of the Australian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy. His dissertation covered all aspects of the Merelani Tanzanite deposit and formed the foundations of the development of the current mining operations. He has been closely associated with the gemstone tanzanite since 1999 and prior to joining the board he acted as a consultant to Richland Resources. Dr Olivier has been working as a geologist since 1998 and has worked throughout several sub-Saharan African countries and parts of Asia, among them Tanzania, South Africa, Zambia, Burundi, Malawi, Namibia, Cambodia and the Philippines. He is also technical director of Bezant Resources Plc (AIM: BZT) and non-executive director of LP Hill Plc (AIM: LPH).
Nicholas Sibley, Non-Executive Director
Mr Sibley is a Chartered Accountant. He was formerly Chairman of Wheelock Capital from 1994 to 1997 and Executive Chairman of Barclays de Zoete Wedd (Asia Pacific) Limited from 1989 to 1993. He is a former managing director of Jardine Fleming Holdings and director of Robert Fleming Holdings and Barclays de Zoete Wedd Holdings. He is presently chairman of Aquarius Platinum Limited and a director Asia Pacific Fund Inc.
TanzaniteOne Mining Limited - Management
(a fully owned subsidiary of Richland Resources Limited)
Farai Manyemba – Managing Director, Tanzania
Farai is currently the Country Managing Director of all Tanzanian operations. A Chartered Accountant, Farai joined the Group in 2007 as Financial Manager and has been instrumental in the Groups systems and controls, cost and cash management , reporting and the implementation of various Group business plans. He is also currently a director in various subsidiaries of the Group. Farai has been involved with the Southern Africa Mining Industry for over 10 years, and has previously held positions at Deloitte & Touché, chrome mining giant Zimasco (Pty) Ltd (Group Accountant and later as Group Audit Manager) and Aquarius Platinum’s ‘Mimosa Platinum Mine’ (Finance Executive).
Mervyn Dettmer - General Manager Sales, Tanzania
Mervyn is responsible for our sales and trading operation in Tanzania. Having joined the company in 2001, Mervyn was responsible for the development of our sort house facility and the introduction/ commissioning of our microsort facility. His hard work has seen our sort house become the most technologically-advanced coloured gemstone sorting facility in the world.
Gavin Pearce - Business Development & Research
Gavin’s areas of focus are Sightholder Development and Management. He brings 18 years of experience to TanzaniteOne and has previously managed mine-to-market value-add supply chain operations in the Diamond and Jewellery industries.
Louis Swart - Group Chief Financial Officer
Louis holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Pretoria and a Honors degree in Commerce (Accounting) from the University of South Africa.He is a Chartered Accountant and a member of the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants and Institute of Chartered Accountants Australia. Louis qualified as a chartered accountant in South Africa, completing his articles in 2001 at Kotze and Abbott. He has over 14 years of accounting, finance and senior management experience including over 9 years of working in diverse financial roles in the mining industry. Louis previously joined the TanzaniteOne group as Financial Manager in 2003, working at our operations in Tanzania until 2008.
Godfrey Temba – Finance Director
Godfrey is a B.COM graduate from University of Dar-es-salaam. Mr Temba first joined TanzaniteOne in 2011 as a ACCA- and CPA-qualified Finance Manager , and was promoted to Financial Director of Tanzanian Operations in 2013. His key strengths include providing financial expertise to guide high-level investment and business decision making; and implementing the necessary financial frameworks that govern subsidiaries. Godfrey previously worked in KPMG and Alliance One Tobacco.
Linda Kennedy - Marketing & Online Sales Manager
Linda is responsible for the groups marketing and the online jewellery boutique - TanzaniteOne Online. Linda holds a degree in Marketing Communications and has completed post graduate studies in Advertising. Linda was previously employed in Thailand, working in fine jewellery manufacturing and gem trading. She is also a Graduate Gemmologist of the Gemmological Institute of America and NCJV Registered Jewellery Valuer.
Amos Chakupewa Ntagarugwa - Chief Geologist
Amos oversees a company's geological surveying, mine exploration and industrial production activities. He holds a BSc in Geology from the University of Dar es Salaam. Prior to his position with TanzaniteOne he has held Exploration Geologist and Project Geologist positions with Iamgold Corporation . Amos is the author of numerous papers and reports, including the geology of Tsavo West (Kenya), Geology of Longido ruby deposit, Geology of the Magara alexandrite/emerald deposit, geology of the Lemshuku tsavorite deposit and several on the Merelani tanzanite deposits.
Khalfani Mbwambo- Finance and Administration Manager
Khalfani is a Bachelor of Accounting & Finance (BAF) graduate from Mzumbe University, Tanzania. He is a Chartered Accountant and a member of Association of Certified Chartered Accountants (ACCA). He has over 6 years’ experience working in audit, accounting and finance. Before joining TanzaniteOne, Khalfani worked with PwC and Shelys Pharmaceuticals Ltd.
Damian Masalla - Mine Manager
Damian is a professional Mine Engineer and is registered with the Engineers Registration Board of Tanzania. After graduating from the University of Zambia with B.Sc. Engineering (Mining engineering), Damian worked with Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines before completing a post-graduate course in ground vibration and rock mechanics in Sweden. He has been with TanzaniteOne since 2000.
Jean Harris - Sort House Manager
Jean is a registered gemmologist with the International School of Gemmology (ISG). He joined TanzaniteOne in 2006 and has been largely involved in implementing systems that add value to our processing procedure inside the sort house.
Johnson Mwani - Human Resources Manager
Johnson was appointed Human Resources Manager at TanzaniteOne in April 2011, having worked in the HR department since 2006. He has held various managerial positions at Tanzania Wood Industries Corporation; Sao Hill Sawmills Limited, Tembo Chipboards Limited and TWICO’s head office where he worked for 20 years. He has post-graduate qualifications in Management and Accounting from the University of Agricultural Sciences Uppsala, Sweden and the Institute of Finance Management Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
Wenseslaus Obilla W - Engineering Manager
Holding a Graduate Bachelor Degree in Mechanical Engineering from Mbeya Institute of Science and Technology (MIST), Mr Wenseslaus joined TanznaiteOne after a successful term as Project Engineer with Taningra Ltd , East Africa’s leading mechanical engineering company for the petroleum and gas industry and Engineer with Scania AB, Tanzania . Mr Wenseslaus is also registered with Engineering Registration Board (ERB) as Graduate Engineer in Mechanical Engineering.
Wolfgang R. Gumbo - Security Manager
Wolfgang R. Gumbo is a graduate of Makerere University Kampala with a BA (hons) Degree. Mr Gumbo previously worked with the Tanzania Police Force for 32 years, 17 of them in senior positions.
Douglas Swartz - HSE and Training Manager
Douglas has over 25 years operational and management experience in the mining industry, including nine years with De Beers Consolidated Mines as a Senior Training Officer - Mining. He currently manages the Health, Safety, Environmental and Training Department at TanzaniteOne Mining Limited. Since joining the company in 2008, Douglas has been instrumental in developing our Training and Certification Program.
Adam Said – IT Manager
Adam is responsible for implementing and maintaining the organization's technology infrastructure. He is a graduate of the University of Dar-Es-Salaam as a Telecommunications Engineer. He has over ten years experience in his field, including three years as IT Manager with the Association of Tanzania Tobacco Traders .
Ernest Mtawali - Civils and Construction Manager
Ernest has completed his Diploma in Mining through the Heilebury School of Mines, Canada and also has a Post Graduate Diploma in Production Management. Over a 12 year period, Ernest served in various roles at Williams Diamonds Limited. Positions included Heavy Media Operator, Pits Superintendent and Plant Foreman. He joined AFGEM (now TanzaniteOne Mining Limited) in July 1999 to oversee civil engineering and construction.
Baraka Kawiche - House Keeping Manager
Prior to joining TanzaniteOne Mining Limited in March 2007, Baraka was employed as an Operation and Declaration Officer at Multechnical Investments Ltd, a leading logistics services firm in Arusha. He holds a degree in Business Administration from the Tumaini University.