Neometals Appoints Jennifer Purdie as COO, Cathal Smith as General Counsel

West Perth-based Neometals has appointed Jennifer Purdie as its Chief Operating Officer. Purdie, an existing non-executive director, will support the company three days a week until December 31. Her primary focus will be on Neometals' joint venture, Primobius, with SMS Group in Germany.

Primobius, located in Nordrhein-Westfalen, specializes in recycling scrap lithium-ion cells and end-of-life batteries. The facility recently secured a significant purchase order from German automotive giant Mercedes Benz.

In addition, Cathal Smith has been appointed as Neometals' Company General Counsel.

Neometals Managing Director Chris Reed expressed enthusiasm about the new appointments: "We welcome Jenny and Cathal to our senior management team and look forward to building our platform to deliver lithium battery recycling plant packages to the global EV supply chain. Primobius is maturing into an autonomous business and will benefit immensely from Jenny's impressive background in operational excellence and asset optimization. Cathal brings extensive experience and capability across technology, construction, and corporate law for top-tier local and international ventures. These appointments will afford me more time to focus on executing our corporate and business development strategies and stakeholder relations."

This news follows Neometals' recent market update, announcing it had secured an option to acquire an 80% stake in US-based Precious Metals Recovery (PMR) for $10 million USD, or $15.1 million AUD. PMR operates a pilot plant in Colorado, using a hydrometallurgical method to recover precious metals from industrial waste streams.