Metals recovery company Descycle has appointed mining and metals industry veteran Ian Cockerill as nonexecutive chairperson.

He succeeds Geoff McNamara, who will remain on the board as a nonexecutive director.

Cockerill has over four decades of experience in the metals industry, beginning his career as a geologist before converting to engineering. During his career, he has held senior roles covering operational, project and executive positions around the world, adds Descycle. 

Cockerill is an independent nonexecutive director of BHP Group (since April 2019) and a senior independent director of Endeavour Mining Corporation (since May 2022).

In addition, he has served as the chairperson of Cornish Lithium (since April 2022) and a nonexecutive director of I-Pulse (since September 2010) – two privately held companies which are focused on sustainable technology in the metals sector and supporting the transition to net zero.

He was formerly chairperson of UK-listed companies BlackRock World Mining Trust and Polymetal International, as well as lead independent director of Ivanhoe Mines, and nonexecutive director of mining solutions provider Orica.

Cockerill has also held several senior executive positions at Anglo American and was the CEO at Gold Fields from 2002 to 2008. 

He is a keen conservationist and is a founding board member of African wildlife charity The Leadership for Conservation in Africa.

“We are delighted to welcome all our new board members, who between them hold a diverse range of skills across a range of different sectors which will benefit Descycle both in the immediate and long-term as we continue to grow the company towards commerciality,” states Descycle MD Leo Howden.

“We particularly welcome Cockerill into his role as chairperson. He brings a wealth of corporate governance experience from his current and past roles in global businesses, many of whom are household names.

“His acute understanding of the metals industry, interest in sustainability and experience in scaling technology businesses will be of huge value to Descycle. We look forward to Cockerill’s contributions and working with him,” he adds.

Cockerill, meanwhile, comments that the potential applications for deep eutectic solvents (DES) in the metals industry are significant and wide-ranging.

“Reducing the environmental impact of metals recovery is of paramount importance as we transition to net zero and Descycle can help lead the charge on this. The company’s sustainability ambitions align with my own and I am looking forward to supporting the management team to commercialise what is an incredibly disruptive and exciting technology,” he adds.

Other members joining the Descycle board are climate change impact fund TSP Ventures CEO and founder Chris Smith, who is a shareholder in Descycle and has been appointed nonexecutive director.

Smith is an experienced finance, merger and acquisition and strategy professional, having held senior positions in a range of companies.

This includes MD of emerging markets derivatives at Cantor Fitzgerald in New York, and executive MD, and global head of strategy and corporate development at BGC partners. Prior to his business career, Smith was an officer in the British army, the Duke of Wellingtons regiment, and served in Northern Ireland, Borneo, Belize and Gibraltar.

Descycle chief technology officer Dr Rob Harris and COO Fred White have also been appointed to the board.

“The board appointments strengthen and support Descycle’s ongoing commercialisation efforts for its novel chemistry – DES – within the metals industry. DES has the capability to replace current carbon-intensive metals recovery methods, with a process that is low-carbon, organic and can be integrated cost-effectively into existing operations.

“Descycle is currently running a bench-scale pilot programme, UK-based the Centre for Process Innovation (CPI), that will provide technical data to support the design of a large-scale pilot plant, which will be constructed next year,” the company states.