Atlas Iron Limited (ASX:AGO) Atlas Board and Executive appointments

Sydney, Australia (ABN Newswire) - Atlas Iron Limited (ASX:AGO) prepares for the next chapter of growth with the appointment of David Flanagan as Executive Chairman and Ken Brinsden as Managing Director. In addition, former Fremantle Ports chief Kerry Sanderson joins the Board.

Atlas is pleased to advise it has appointed David Flanagan as Executive Chairman and Ken Brinsden as Managing Director.

Atlas is also pleased to advise that Kerry Sanderson AO has also joined the Board as an independent Non-Executive Director.

The changes are part of Atlas' preparations for exponential growth, with iron ore production forecast to increase from 6Mtpa currently to 46Mtpa by 2017.

The restructure will initially see Mr. Flanagan retain a day-to-day role overseeing Atlas growth (assisting Mr. Brinsden) with a particular emphasis on strategic planning and corporate issues.

It will also see the Board bolster its capabilities with the appointment of Ms Sanderson, a successful and highly experienced leader in the management of port and transport infrastructure in Western Australia as an independent Non-Executive Director.

Mr. Flanagan said the restructure reflected the evolving and maturing nature of Atlas' business as it continued its rapid growth from its share market float in 2004 to what is now approaching a world class operation.

'Atlas' success has always been the result of a team effort,' Mr. Flanagan said. 'The talented and committed Atlas management team is perfectly placed to capitalise on the Company's strengths and deliver the strategy they developed.'

Mr. Flanagan thanked David Hannon for his contribution as Atlas Chairman. Mr. Hannon will continue as an independent Non-executive Director of Atlas.

Mr. Flanagan will remain as Executive Chairman until 31 August 2012 as part of the hand-over of Managing Director's duties to Mr. Brinsden. Mr. Flanagan will then become Non-Executive Chairman. He will continue to be closely involved in Atlas' growth and activities and will retain his office at Atlas' Perth headquarters. The promotion of Mr. Brinsden, who is currently Chief Development Officer at Atlas, to the role of Managing Director, reflects the Board's strong confidence in his capability to lead the Company and deliver the immense growth and rapid transition underway in Atlas' business.

This will see Atlas build new mines, operate several production sources and also play a key role in supporting the construction of a new Pilbara railway network.

Mr Brinsden, a Mining Engineer, has been at the centre of Atlas' operations and growth strategies since its inception. He has overseen development of Atlas' current operating mines at Wodgina and Pardoo and has played a key role in the Company's successful strategy to secure highly valuable port capacity at Port Hedland.

One of the architects of Atlas' acquisition strategy, Mr. Brinsden has also been instrumental in developing the plan to grow production to 12Mtpa by 2013 and then 46Mtpa by 2017.

Ken Brinsden, Managing Director, Atlas Iron Limited

Ken Brinsden graduated from the WA School of Mines as a Mining Engineer in 1993. Between graduation and May 2006 he worked for WMC Resources, Normandy, GoldFields and Iluka Resources in production, management, brown-fields and green-fields mine development roles.

Ken joined Atlas in May 2006 as Operations Manager. In January 2010 he accepted the role of Chief Operating Officer and subsequently from July 2011 Chief Development Officer, further contributing to the growth of the Company from a junior explorer to an iron ore producer with two Pilbara operating mine sites, a significant project development pipeline, a market capitalisation of circa AUD$3.0bn and admission to the ASX 100.

Ken is also a non executive director of Shaw River Manganese (ASX:SRR) owned 45.4% by Atlas. Since joining the board of Shaw River he played an important role in developing and executing a global manganese development strategy with highly advanced projects in Namibia, the Pilbara of Western Australia and Ghana.

Appointment of Ms Kerry Sanderson AO as an independent non-executive director

Atlas is also pleased to announce that Kerry Sanderson, the former Chief Executive of the Fremantle Port Authority, has joined the Atlas Board as a Non-executive Director.

Mr. Flanagan said Ms. Sanderson would bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to the Board, including a thorough understanding of the ports business, which was an integral part of Atlas' operations.

Kerry Sanderson AO, Independent Non-Executive Director, Atlas Iron Limited

Ms Kerry Sanderson AO was Agent General for the Government of Western Australia from November 2008 until December 2011. Based in London, the Agent General represents the Government of Western Australia in Europe and Russia and promotes investment in Western Australia and Western Australian exports to Europe.

Ms Sanderson was Chief Executive Officer of Fremantle Port Authority from 1991 to 2008, a period during which container trade quadrupled. She previously worked for the Western Australian Department of Treasury for 17 years and the Western Australian Department of Transport for four years, ultimately as Deputy Director General.

Ms Sanderson has Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Economics degrees from the University of Western Australia and in 2005 she received an Honorary Doctorate of Letters from the University of Western Australia.

She is a Member of the Advisory Council, Curtin University Business School; a former Member of the Ambassadorial Council, University of Western Australia Business School in the UK; and a former Member of the Advisory Board, Menzies Centre for Australian Studies, Kings College London. She has previously served as a Director of Austrade, the Australian Wheat Board, Rio Tinto WA Future Fund and the Western Australian Lands Authority (Landcorp).

In 2004, Ms Sanderson was named an Officer of the Order of Australia for service to the development and management of the port and maritime industries in Australia, and to public sector governance in the areas of finance and transport. Ms Sanderson is currently a non-executive director of Downer EDI Limited.

About Atlas Iron Limited:

Atlas Iron Limited (ASX:AGO) is mining and exporting from its 100%-owned Pardoo and Wodgina Iron Ore projects, located 75 kilometres and 110km by road from Port Hedland in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. In the 2009/10 financial year Atlas shipped over 1.2 million tonnes of Pardoo Direct Shipping Ore (DSO). Atlas is expanding its production from its Wodgina and Pardoo DSO mines following the commissioning of the Utah Point port facility and is targeting exports at an annualised rate of 6 million tonnes by the end of 2010. When combined with additional export tonnages from its Abydos & Mt Webber DSO Projects, the Company is targeting exports at an annualised rate of 12 million tonnes during 2012.

Source:

Atlas Iron Limited

Contact:

Atlas Iron Limited
T: +61-8-9476-7900
F: +61-8-9476-7988 
WWW: www.atlasiron.com.au