Board & Leadership
john welborn
chairman
Mr Welborn is a dynamic industry leader with extensive experience in the resources sector and is the Executive Chairman of Fenix Resources Limited. Mr Welborn’s experience includes the successful exploration, development and operation of numerous mining projects in Africa and Australia and more than twenty years as a senior executive in corporate management, finance and investment banking.
alannah mactiernan
non-executive director
Ms MacTiernan was a West Australian state parliamentarian from 1993 to 2010 and again from 2017 to 2023. She was the Federal Member for Perth from 2014 to 2017. During her time in State Government, Ms MacTiernan served in a number of senior roles including being appointed Minister for Regional Development in 2017, Minister for Ports between 2018 and 2021, and was appointed the State’s first Hydrogen Industry Minister in 2021.
Ms MacTiernan has been a strong advocate for regional economic development in WA’s Mid-West and the opportunity for Western Australia to be a global leader in the development of green iron projects. As WA Minister for the Hydrogen Industry, Alannah instigated the re-envisioning of the proposed Oakajee Port as a hydrogen hub and more recently has championed the Mid-West as an ideal location for the development of a magnetite concentrate based green iron plant. Ms MacTiernan brings a wealth of relevant experience in government, infrastructure, green iron, ports and the development of major regional infrastructure to the board of Athena.
garry plowright
non-executive director
Mr Plowright is an experienced Executive with over 25 years experience in commercial and technical development within the mining and exploration industry, working for some of Australia’s leading resource companies. He has been involved in gold, base metals and iron ore exploration and mining development projects both in Australia and overseas.
Previous experience with the supply and logistics of services to the mining and exploration industry including capital raising, corporate governance and compliance, project management, mining environmental approvals and regulations, contract negotiations, tenure management, land access, stakeholder and community engagement. He has extensive experience in mining law and has provided services to the industry in property acquisitions, project generation and joint venture negotiations.
Garry has held global operational and corporate roles with companies including Gindalbie Metals Ltd, Mt Edon Gold Ltd, Pacmin Mining, Atlas Iron Ltd, Tigris Gold (South Korea) and Westland Titanium (New Zealand), as well as Board position with Hexagon Energy Materials Ltd, Tigris Gold Ltd and Eagle Eye Metals Ltd.
Garry has a strong background in strategic and a practical approach in running a project development through the land access and environmental regulatory approval processes, and managing environmental obligations and compliance requirements during mine construction and operational phases. This includes tenure acquisition, due diligence (for asset acquisitions, disposals or IPOs), tenure compliance, Native Title and heritage matters, and Land Access strategies.
peter jones
managing director & ceo
Prior to joining Athena, Mr Jones has worked for more than a decade with Sinosteel Midwest Corporation (Sinosteel) in a range of management roles. Sinosteel are a major iron ore tenement holder in the Mid-West region of Western Australia focused on the development of iron ore projects including the Jack Hills Magnetite Project, the Weld Range Iron Ore Project, the Blue Hills Iron Ore Mine, and the Oakajee Port and Rail Project.
Mr Jones brings to Athena significant relevant experience in managing successful regional exploration programs, advancing and completing feasibility studies on Mid-West hematite and magnetite iron ore projects, and the execution of complex joint venture projects including managing native title and pastoral stakeholder negotiations and liaison with traditional owner groups.
During his time with Sinosteel, Mr Jones was responsible for managing and supporting exploration programs and the completion of feasibility studies with the budgets for these programs exceeding $100 million. These Mid-West projects included the Koolanooka Magnetite Project, the Blue Hills Iron Ore Project, the Jack Hills Magnetite Project, the Weld Range Iron Ore Project, and the Oakajee Port and Rail Infrastructure Project. Most recently, Mr Jones has been responsible for the evaluation and execution of commercial arrangements for several Sinosteel projects in the Mid-West.
chris hunt
company secretary
Mr. Hunt is a finance executive with over 30 years of experience in the resources and construction industries, specialising in feasibility studies, corporate financing, and mining operations. He has held senior CFO roles at Rox Resources, BC Iron, Crosslands Resources, FerrAus, and Cliffs Natural Resources, leading major financial transactions and corporate restructures.
Mr. Hunt holds a Bachelor of Business, is a Fellow of CPA Australia, a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, and has a Graduate Diploma of Applied Finance.