Gabrielle Iwanow also credits a learning mindset and a willingness to embrace challenges for her rise to the West Perth-based company, which she joined as managing director and CEO in mid-November.
Raised on a farm in rural Queensland and the graduate of a commerce and psychology degree, Ms Iwanow has since gone on to hold a number of operational and executive roles at other ASX-listed miners.
She most recently worked at OZ Minerals — set to be acquired by BHP following a $9.6 billion takeover play — where she was responsible for running the Prominent Hill copper and gold mine in South Australia during the pandemic. She also spent several years at Rio Tinto as general manager of its Paraburdoo iron ore operations.
Ms Iwanow is the recipient of a prestigious Telstra Businesswomen’s award — for “Medium and Large Business” in South Australia in 2020 — and included among the Top 100 Global Inspirational Women in Mining.
“My Mum was a teacher and then she retrained when she was in her fifties and went and sold work boots, so we’re probably an entrepreneurial family and one that was certainly always focused on learning,” Ms Iwanow, who hails from the rural Queensland town of Sarina, said.
The move to Mincor made sense for Ms Iwanow given her interest in future facing metals and the shift to a low carbon future. She started the top job on November 14, taking over from interim executive chairman Brett Lambert who filled the position following the resignation of David Southam — now the managing director of Cygnus Gold.
“I think that it’s (future facing commodities) a real link into the broader societal issues that we face around the world’s transition to a low carbon future,” Ms Iwanow said.
“It is such a pivotal time in society to be making these changes . . . it actually engages young people, it engages new talent in a different way where they want to be part of something that’s really important to society.
“What motivates me is people and how can you work with people to achieve more than what you thought was possible.”
Nickel is playing an increasingly important role in the clean energy transition due to its use in lithium-ion batteries and renewable energy technologies.
In the near-term, Ms Iwanow remains focused on ramping up Mincor’s Kambala nickel operations. The company has provided guidance of 8000-10,000 tonnes of nickel concentrate from Kambalda for fiscal 2023.
“We’ve got a plan that’s heavily weighted towards the second half of this financial year so we’ve certainly got a job ahead of us,” Ms Iwanow said.
Mincor in December completed a $60 million raising to accelerate two aspects of Kambalda — the development of the Golden Mile ore reserve and diamond drilling at Cassini. The raising comprised a $55m placement at $1.39 a share, and a $5m share purchase plan.
De-risking operations is also important, Ms Iwanow said, particularly against a backdrop of rising inflation and labour costs. Mincor late last year re-signed a contract with its underground mining partner Pit N Portal to reflect current market conditions.
“Who knows what will happen on the inflationary side? We’ve just got to make sure we’re agile and adaptive to whatever that environment is,” Ms Iwanow said.
