REG - Savannah Resources - CFO, CCO and Commercialisation Appointments

Savannah ResourcesAnnouncement

14/04/2025 07:00

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RNS Number : 8620E  Savannah Resources PLC  14 April 2025

14 April
2025

Savannah Resources Plc

(AIM: SAV) ('Savannah', or the 'Company')

 

New Chief Finance Officer Appointment and Commercial Team Additions

 

Savannah Resources plc, the developer of the Barroso Lithium Project (the
'Project') in Portugal, one of the European Commission's 'Strategic Projects'
under the Critical Raw Materials Act and Europe's largest spodumene lithium
deposit, is excited to announce the appointment of Mr. Henrique Freire as the
Company's new Chief Finance Officer (CFO). Henrique, the first Portuguese CFO
for Savannah, will be based in Lisbon and will start his role with immediate
effect. He brings significant experience from his previous role as CFO of a
public listed company and of industrial operations in the energy sector.

 

As the Barroso Lithium Project advances towards development, we continue to
strategically position key roles closer to our operation in Portugal to
provide optimal support to the Project team and for engagement with the
Government.

 

Current CFO, Michael McGarty, whose 14 years of distinguished service to
Savannah has been pivotal in its growth from a £5m company at IPO to the
£100m+ market capitalisation which it now commands, takes up the new role of
Chief Corporate Officer and remains on the Company's leadership team.

 

We also announce the further expansion of our finance and commercial teams
with the appointments of a Project Finance Manager and Offtake Adviser.

 

Highlights:

·    CFO: Henrique brings extensive Portuguese and international business
and leadership experience across various industries, including energy,
finance, M&A, and investor relations. His experience includes:

o  EDP: Henrique joins Savannah from EDP, the largest energy producer,
distributor, and retailer in Portugal. At EDP, Henrique's responsibilities
included serving for nine years as CFO of the stock exchange listed USD2Bn EDP
Brazil, and Executive Director of Global Business Services at the headquarters
in Portugal.

o  KPMG: Henrique also brings a solid background in M&A and Corporate
Finance advisory, having served as a Partner in Financial Advisory Services at
KPMG.

·    As Savannah's first Portuguese CFO, Henrique will provide the Company
with a constant high-level presence in the Portuguese business, political, and
media ecosystems.

·    Project Finance Manager: Egídio Ribeiro, an experienced investment
banker with project finance expertise, has joined Savannah from Aurora Lithium
in Portugal, where he played a pivotal role as Funding Manager for a lithium
chemical refinery.

·    Offtake Adviser: Mike Tamlin brings over 20 years of expertise in the
lithium industry, having worked extensively in commercial roles and as a
consultant.

 

Savannah's Chief Executive Officer, Emanuel Proença said, "I am thrilled to
announce the appointment of Henrique Freire as Group Chief Finance Officer of
Savannah Resources. Henrique joins us from the largest energy company in
Portugal, with a presence in Europe, North America, South America, and
Asia-Pacific. I welcome Henrique and look forward to benefiting from his
significant experience gained over more than 25 years in leadership roles in
corporate finance."

 

"To complement Savannah's sole focus and commitment to Portugal, Henrique will
provide the Company with a constant high-level presence in the country's
business landscape. The Board and I look forward to working with him.

 

"We also look forward to the valuable contributions Egídio and Mike will
bring to Savannah across Project Finance and lithium offtake. The expanded
team will be well placed to meet the challenges ahead as we move to
commercialise the Barroso Lithium Project on our journey into production.

 

"My great appreciation goes to Michael McGarty, who has successfully led us
through the past years as Group CFO. His support to me has been tireless and
it is a privilege to work with him on Savannah's leadership team. His passion,
knowledge, and dedication have been key to the Company's achievements to date,
and I am confident that he will continue to be a driver of our future success
in the new role of Chief Corporate Officer. Naturally, Michael will be
providing an orderly handover of responsibilities to Henrique. Michael will
lead Savannah's legal and governance activities and help Henrique with new
initiatives within the Company as its level of activity rapidly expands."

 

Henrique Freire, Savannah's new CFO, said: "I am honoured to assume the CFO
role at Savannah. This is a pivotal moment for me, and I am excited to embark
on this journey.

 

"Firstly, I would like to express my gratitude to Emanuel Proença, the Board
of Directors, and the executive team for entrusting me with this significant
responsibility. I am committed to upholding the values and vision of Savannah
and driving our financial strategy forward.

 

"Over the past 25 years, I have acquired extensive leadership and team
management skills, with a particular focus on optimizing financial processes
and implementing sustainable growth strategies. I believe these skills will be
instrumental in navigating the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.

 

"My primary goal as CFO is to ensure the financial health and sustainability
of our Company and I am dedicated to working closely with each department to
align our financial objectives with our overall business strategy.

 

"As we move forward, I am confident that our collective efforts will lead to
continued growth and success. Together, we will build on our strengths and
seize new opportunities. I look forward to collaborating with the entire
Savannah team to achieve our shared goals.

 

"Thank you for your warm welcome. I am eager to get started and contribute to
the bright future of Savannah."

 

Further Information

 

Henrique Freire (Chief Financial Officer) Biography

Henrique Freire is a seasoned professional with a robust background in finance
and management. Henrique has accumulated nine years of international
experience in a listed company and a solid 13-year background in M&A,
having served as a Partner in one of the 'Big Four' accountancy firms.
Henrique's expertise spans various industries, including Energy and Private
Equity.

 

Between 2015 and 2024, Henrique led the financial function of EDP Brazil as
CFO, responsible for Corporate Finance, M&A, FPA, Accounting and Tax, as
well as Investor Relations, in co-leadership with the CEO. Henrique's teams
totalled around 120 employees, and between 2017 and 2020, Henrique also took
on management responsibility for the areas of IT and Shared Services of EDP
Brazil. EDP Brazil, a company in the electric sector, employed around 3,500
employees and achieved a net profit of about 1.5 billion reais in 2023. In
2024, Henrique was also an executive member of the Global Business Services
board of the EDP Group, based in Lisbon.

 

As CFO at EDP Brazil, Henrique led several impactful projects that
significantly enhanced the company's profitability and market valuation. Under
his leadership, EDP Brazil's net profit grew from 370 million reais to 1.5
billion reais between 2014 and 2023. He also introduced a Zero-Based Budgeting
programme, which contributed to a real reduction of more than 30% in operating
costs. Additionally, capital allocation was improved. He managed financial
debt optimisation and also played a pivotal role in enhancing investor
relations, participating in international conferences and roadshows. In
M&A, he led investments and acquisitions totalling more than 10 billion
reais, and asset disposals amounting to over 5 billion reais. Furthermore, he
received the "Finance Professional of the Year" award from ANEFAC in 2020.

 

Henrique holds a degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Instituto Superior
Técnico of the Technical University of Lisbon and completed an MBA at the
Nova University of Lisbon in 1997. Henrique's career includes positions at
Deloitte, Change Partners, and KPMG, where Henrique was a partner from 2006 to
2010 in the Financial Advisory Services area. As an entrepreneur, Henrique was
a founding partner of Change Partners Corporate Finance in Portugal and later
expanded the Portuguese fast-food chain H3 to Brazil.

 

Egídio Ribeiro (Project Finance Manager) Biography

Egídio Ribeiro has a strong expertise in finance, accumulating more than 18
years of accumulated experience having served as a project finance investment
professional as well as funding manager in the lithium space.

 

Between May 2023 and February 2025, Egídio worked as Funding Manager at
Aurora Lithium, being responsible for its funding activities, namely managing
the relationship with different stakeholders, identifying alternative sources
of funding and representing the company in several events.

 

Before joining Aurora Lithium, Egídio worked for more than 12 years in the
investment banking sector (advisor and lender roles in Portugal and Brazil),
leading teams and being involved in mandates across different regions and
several areas, from project to acquisitions finance, in sectors including
industrial, mining, airports, roads, energy (generation and transmission),
water & sanitation, health, real estate, tech, among others.

 

Egídio holds a master's degree in economics from the Nova University of
Economics of Lisbon.

 

Michael Tamlin (Offtake Adviser) Biography

Michael has extensive experience in the global mineral and chemical sectors,
especially in the lithium industry, spanning spodumene, brines and chemicals
and associated industrial minerals.

 

He developed the spodumene supply chain between Australia and China from the
Greenbushes Mine and was instrumental in bringing the Mt Marion lithium
project into operation. Michael was also responsible for developing the
concept for and co-managing a new Li Ion battery recycling company and, in the
critical materials sector, he led the development of a patented process to
directly convert lithium brines into lithium chemicals at lower cost.

 

During his career, Michael has negotiated and managed significant material
offtake agreements and identified and developed major international corporate
joint venture partnerships in the lithium mining and converting sectors in
Australia and internationally.

 

He has a technical background in Metallurgy that is combined with 30 years'
commercial and management experience in critical materials.

 

Regulatory Information

This Announcement contains inside information for the purposes of the UK
version of the market abuse regulation (EU No. 596/2014) as it forms part of
United Kingdom domestic law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act
2018 ("UK MAR").

 

Savannah - Enabling Europe's energy transition.

**ENDS**

Follow @SavannahRes on X (Formerly known as Twitter)

Follow Savannah Resources on LinkedIn

 

For further information please visit www.savannahresources
(http://www.savannahresources) .com or contact:

 

 Savannah Resources PLC                                            Tel: +44 20 7117 2489

 Emanuel Proença, CEO
 SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP (Nominated Advisor & Broker)       Tel: +44 20 3470 0470

 David Hignell/ Charlie Bouverat (Corporate Finance)

 Grant Barker/Abigail Wayne (Sales & Broking)

 Canaccord Genuity Limited (Joint Broker)                          Tel: +44 20 7523 8000

 James Asensio / Charlie Hammond (Corporate Broking)

 Ben Knott (Sales)
 Camarco (UK Financial PR)                                         Tel: +44 20 3757 4980

 Gordon Poole/ Emily Hall / Nuthara Bandara
 Portugal Media Relations

 Savannah Resources: Antonio Neves Costa, Communications Manager   Tel: +351 962 678 912

 

About Savannah

Savannah Resources is a mineral resource development company and the sole
owner of the Barroso Lithium Project (the 'Project') in northern Portugal. The
Project is the largest battery grade spodumene lithium resource outlined to
date in Europe and was classified as a 'Strategic Project' by the European
Commission under the Critical Raw Materials Act in March 2025.

 

Through the Project, Savannah will help Portugal to play an important role in
providing a long-term, locally sourced, lithium raw material supply for
Europe's lithium battery value chain. Once in operation the Project will
produce enough lithium (contained in c.190,000tpa of spodumene concentrate)
for approximately half a million vehicle battery packs per year and hence make
a significant contribution towards the European Commission's Critical Raw
Material Act goal of a minimum 10% of European endogenous lithium production
from 2030.

 

Savannah is focused on the responsible development and operation of the
Barroso Lithium Project so that its impact on the environment is minimised and
the socio-economic benefits that it can bring to all its stakeholders are
maximised.

 

The Company is listed and regulated on the London Stock Exchange's Alternative
Investment Market (AIM) and trades under the ticker "SAV".

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