The Team

Mr Locke has 30 years’ experience in business management, mining and financial services. From 1984 to 1993, Mr Locke worked in the mining industry processing base and precious metals. During this time, he traded resource stocks and international futures contracts.

In 1993, Mr Locke joined an Australian commodity broking firm as an Investment Advisor and became a Director in 1994. In 1998 Mr Locke founded the boutique Australian Financial Services firm, CK Locke & Partners where he held the role of Managing Director from 1999 until 2010.

In 2007 Mr Locke acted as Corporate Advisor during the acquisition process for the Mayoko iron ore project in the Republic of Congo that was subsequently taken over in 2010 for ~ AUD 50mi and later on sold for over 300mi.

From 2008 to 2015, Mr Locke focused on natural resources exploration thought the Indonesian archipelago and founded Western Mining Network Ltd, (now European Cobalt, EUC) where he held the role of Executive Director from 2010 until 2012.

In 2015, Mr Locke became Executive Chairman of Krakatoa Resources Limited, a position he currently holds.

During his career, Mr Locke has been directly involved in capital raisings, and/or mineral exploration expeditions in Indonesia, Russia, Republic of Congo, Garbon, Namibia, Malawi, Madagascar, Uganda and Zimbabwe.

Accordingly, Mr Locke brings to stake holders a mining related background with business management, capital markets and international exploration success spanning over 30 years.

Mr Hogan has approximately 25 years’ experience in the stockbroking industry in Australia, initially as a founding private client advisor at Hogan and Partners. Mr Hogan has provided corporate and execution services for a wide variety of corporate and private clients.

Mr Hogan is currently a Director of Barclay Wells Limited, a boutique advisory firm that specialises in Australian resource stocks, and has assisted many companies from their initial raising and flotation on the ASX through to production. Mr Hogan brings extensive experience and a wide range of contacts that benefits the company.

Mr Palumbo is a Chartered Accountant and graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors with over fourteen years’ experience across company secretarial, corporate advisory and financial management and reporting of ASX listed companies.

Mr Palumbo is Head of Corporate Compliance at Mining Corporate Pty Ltd, where he has been actively involved in numerous corporate transactions. Mr Palumbo has recently become Krakatoa's principal corporate advisor, leading the identification and acquisition of both the Mt Clere Rare Earth Project and Belgravia Porphyry Project.

Mr Palumbo is currently company secretary for several ASX listed companies and a non-executive director of Kaiser Reef Limited.

Mr Locke has 30 years’ experience in business management, mining and financial services. From 1984 to 1993, Mr Locke worked in the mining industry processing base and precious metals. During this time, he traded resource stocks and international futures contracts.

In 1993, Mr Locke joined an Australian commodity broking firm as an Investment Advisor and became a Director in 1994. In 1998 Mr Locke founded the boutique Australian Financial Services firm, CK Locke & Partners where he held the role of Managing Director from 1999 until 2010.

In 2007 Mr Locke acted as Corporate Advisor during the acquisition process for the Mayoko iron ore project in the Republic of Congo that was subsequently taken over in 2010 for ~ AUD 50mi and later on sold for over 300mi.

From 2008 to 2015, Mr Locke focused on natural resources exploration thought the Indonesian archipelago and founded Western Mining Network Ltd, (now European Cobalt, EUC) where he held the role of Executive Director from 2010 until 2012.

In 2015, Mr Locke became Executive Chairman of Krakatoa Resources Limited, a position he currently holds.

During his career, Mr Locke has been directly involved in capital raisings, and/or mineral exploration expeditions in Indonesia, Russia, Republic of Congo, Garbon, Namibia, Malawi, Madagascar, Uganda and Zimbabwe.

Accordingly, Mr Locke brings to stake holders a mining related background with business management, capital markets and international exploration success spanning over 30 years.

Mr Major has more than 25 years of international mineral exploration and development experience ranging from grassroots programs to mine development and has extensive experience working with corporate transactions, project acquisitions and project generation. He has previous held Managing Director, Country Manager, senior operational management roles and been a technical consultant for various private and listed companies throughout his professional career.

Mr Major has been involved with a many major and junior level companies having worked for Barrick, BHP, Glencore, Rio Tinto, WMC and various successful junior and mid-level resource companies.

He has extensive experience within Australia and internationally, worked in various countries though out South America, Asia and Africa. Mr. Major holds a degree in geology from Ballarat University and an MBA from La Trobe University. He is a Member of the AUSIMM.

Erik is a hard rock exploration geologist with over 2 decades' international experience across energy commodities, base and precious metals and battery minerals. He has been engaged by several ASX- and TSX-listed mining houses and has a strong discovery track record. Erik has explored for an array of deposit types including, but not limited to SEDEX (silver-lead-zinc), porphyry and skarn-related copper-gold, Broken Hill Hill-type Pb-Zn-Ag (BHT), sediment-hosted copper, iron-oxide copper-gold-uranium-REE (IOCGU), orogenic gold, nickel-copper sulfides, intrusive-related gold (IRGS), epithermal gold and VHMS.

Erik completed a Bachelor of Science Degree with Honours in Earth Sciences from the University of Queensland in 1997. The following year he commenced his professional career as a graduate for Mount Isa Mines Exploration (MIMEX, later Xstrata Copper) and spent seven years exploring for copper and gold across northern Queensland and Argentina.

Subsequently Erik spent over two years working in Canada as a project geologist under Dr Mark O’Dea and Dr Rick Valenta’s leadership, where he explored IOCGU projects in the Yukon and Central Labrador. Prior to Fronteer Gold being acquired by Newmont for C$2.3B in 2011, Erik was a key member of the exploration team and developed many exploration targets then managed associated work programs. For Aurora Energy Resources, Erik was a key driver of the group’s exploration success, where in 2007-08 the team increased the resource base from 18 Mlbs U3O8 to 140 Mlbs U3O8, driving the company’s market capitalisation to over CAD$1 billion. Erik later worked in southern Tanzania for Continental Nickel where in addition to delineating new nickel-copper deposits he accidentally discovered a significant graphite deposit, then was Exploration Manager for Geopacific Resources, where he managed the exploration of a portfolio of epithermal gold, porphyry and skarn copper deposits across Fiji.

After returning to Australia, he has spent most of the last decade Australia working as senior geologist and exploration manager on projects in the Lachlan Fold Belt in NSW and northern Victoria. Prior to being acquired by Heron Resources, Erik was Acting Exploration Manager for TriAusMin Ltd. where he managed an extensive LFB tenement portfolio and was instrumental in the discovery of the Kate (VHMS) Lens at Woodlawn Mine in 2012-2013.

Erik is an enthusiastic, field-oriented geologist with a keen eye for detail and sound technical acumen; he is a member of the AIG and is a qualified (QP) and competent Person (CP) for the reporting of exploration results under JORC 2012 and NI 43-101.

Ian leads the company’s exploration team. Ian graduated from Sydney University in 1987 with a BSc (Hons) and a BE(Mining). He then worked at Broken Hill for North Broken Hill and Pasminco as a development miner, ventilation engineer, pillar recovery and planning engineer. Subsequent to a bout of travel he completed an MSc in geology whilst working at Browns Creek. Following the closure of the Browns Creek Mine Ian worked on Cadia Hill, Cadia Quarry, Cadia East and Ridgeway deposits before becoming a founder of YTC Resources.

Between 2004 and 2015 Ian was involved with most facets of exploration and mine development as Principal Geologist for YTC Resources / Aurelia Metals. Including collection of a package of exploration projects and prospectus compilation, area selection, design and implementation of exploration programmes, project assessment and selection, scoping and feasibility studies, establishment of site logging and sampling procedures, resource definition programmes, site water exploration and sterilisation programmes, government reporting and environmental compliance, Hera Mine rescue team establishment and training.

During 2018 and 2019 Ian helped list and establish Kingwest Resources with a series of projects in the Leonora – Leinster – Darlot area. This included prospectus compilation, area selection, design and implementation of exploration programmes, project assessment and selection, establishment of site logging and sampling procedures, establishment of field office in Leonora, and training of graduate geologists.

Twenty-nine years’ experience in exploration geochemistry and geology. Responsible for several major mapping, technical evaluation and geochemistry reinterpretation projects for greenfields and near-mine target generation and exploration programs in Korea, Fiji, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, Brazil, China, Africa, Indonesia, USA, and Australia. Extensive field work in regolith geology and geochemistry at active mining centres has led Mr King to important new ways of understanding regolith evolution, the distribution of metals in the regolith profile, and its application for exploration success. Instrumental in the discovery of a gold deposit at the Wallbrook prospect, Edjudina, and extensions to existing resources at the Sunrise Deposit, Granny Smith Mine, Laverton. Responsible for the development of the maiden Iron Ore Resources at Red Hill (Aquilla) and Beyondie (Emergent Resources). Experienced in all aspects of exploration geology and management.

Past Directorships: three listed ASX companies: Dragon Energy/Riva Resources (Managing Director), Conto Resources (Technical Director) and Founding Director (Technical) Paringa Resources. Founding Director of Andes Resources, a private company developing the Andes Gold and Copper Project in Colombia. Chief geologist for Emergent Resources from October 2008 to October 2012.

Managing Director of VV Mining Mexico, a private Mexican company developing the Tango Gold and Molybdenum-Copper Project in Sinaloa, Mexico.

Director of Collective Prosperity in Perth, Australia. A boutique mineral exploration and management consultancy specialising in exploration, logistics and discovery excellence. The company provides strategic advice and services in regolith geology/geochemistry and has provided exploration advice to companies such as Placer Dome, Barrick Gold, Rio Tinto, Robe River Mining and Associates, Gold Fields Australasia, St Ives Gold Mining Company, BC Iron, Aurion Gold, Gondwana Resources, Harmony Gold, Troy Resources, Teck Australia, Ashburton Minerals, Jackson Gold, Resource Mining Corporation, Emergent Resources, Padbury Mining, Yellow Rock Resources, Aurium Resources, Stonehenge Metals, Dampier Gold, Segue Resources, Triton Minerals, Atom Energy, Cauldron Energy, Great Central Mines, and Redbank Copper.

Capacity to sign-off in accordance with JORC (2012 Edition) Guidelines on most commodities and their associated deposit types.