DENVER--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Evergreen Energy Inc. (NYSE Arca:EEE) and WPG Resources Limited (ASX:WPG) appointed Wayne Rossiter as the Chief Executive Officer of Southern Coal Holdings (SCH), the joint venture established to produce K-Fuel® in Australia using Evergreen’s coal upgrading technology.
Ilyas Khan, Executive Chairman of Evergreen Energy, stated: “We are very pleased to have an executive with Wayne’s experience and capabilities to lead this exciting venture. His mining engineering background, coupled with his extensive accounting and finance skills, offers a valuable understanding of both operational and boardroom risks. We look forward to working with Wayne and developing the overall resources within Southern Coal Holdings.”
Bob Duffin, Chairman of WPG Resources, stated: “Wayne’s broad management skills and his understanding of the coal sector will be an asset to SCH. His appointment is an important milestone in the realization of our vision of converting vast untapped coal resources into viable energy to service the growing energy demands of the Asian marketplace.”
Wayne Rossiter stated, “I am excited about the opportunity to lead SCH in this phase of its development. The strategic combination of coal assets and upgrading technology is entering the market at an opportune time and I intend to leverage my 20 years’ experience leading natural resources companies to guide SCH as we build the first K-Fuel® plant in Australia and create a company that will be of significance to both WPG and Evergreen.”
Wayne Rossiter, 42, is both a mining engineer and a chartered accountant. Most recently, Rossiter served as CFO and remains a Director of Clean Global Energy Limited, an international energy company that can produce Syngas for use in heating, power generation and the production of chemicals, fertilizers, ultra clean diesel and aviation fuels. Prior to that position, he held senior finance and management roles in significant resource companies including Core Mining, Sino Gold Mining, Cockatoo Coal and Roc Oil. Rossiter has knowledge and experience in transitioning companies from the exploration stage through to development and into production. His global range of experience includes coal seam gas operations with Planet Gas in the Powder River Basin in Wyoming, USA. Conventional oil and gas experiences were gained through his time with Novus Petroleum, operating in Australia, Indonesia, the USA, and the Middle East, and with Roc Oil Company Ltd, with projects in the UK, China, Australia and Africa.
Wayne Rossiter's academic qualifications include a Bachelor of Mining Engineering with honors from the University of New South Wales, a second Major in Accounting at Sydney's University of Technology, and a Masters in Accounting through the Australian Institute of Chartered Accountants. His Masters of Finance was completed at Macquarie University. Rossiter is a Member of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, a Member of the Australian Institute of Chartered Accountants and a Graduate Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Southern Coal Holding (SCH), based in Sydney, is a joint venture between equal partners, WPG Resources Limited (ASX: WPG) whose core business is iron ore, and Evergreen Energy Inc. (NYSE Arca: EEE), which developed the K-Fuel® technology.
SCH holds substantial coal assets in South Australia including the sub-bituminous and lignite coals located at the Penrhyn and Lochiel project areas. Using the K-Fuel® process, the calorific value of such coals can be substantially upgraded creating an enhanced value product with reduced greenhouse gas emissions and other environmental benefits. Under the terms of the joint venture agreements SCH holds the exclusive license for the first 15 million tonnes per annum of K-Fuel® produced anywhere in Australia and has the first right of refusal to participate in production of K-Fuel® in excess of this amount.
A maiden JORC compliant estimate of resources for the Penrhyn deposit is expected to be completed by SCH in the coming weeks.
Evergreen Energy Inc.
Evergreen Energy Inc. (NYSE Arca: EEE) offers environmental solutions for energy production and generation industries, primarily through its patented clean coal technology, K-Fuel. K-Fuel significantly improves the performance of low-rank sub-bituminous and brown coals and lignite. The process yields higher efficiency levels, which are variable depending on the type of coal processed, by applying heat and pressure to low-rank coals to reduce moisture. For more information, please visit the company’s website at www.evgenergy.com.
Safe Harbor Statement
Statements in this release that relate to future plans or projected results of Evergreen Energy Inc. are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the "PSLRA"), and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended by the PSLRA, and all such statements fall under the "safe harbor" provisions of the PSLRA. Our actual results may vary materially from those described in any "forward-looking statement" due to, among other possible reasons, the realization of any one or more of the risk factors described in our annual or quarterly reports, or in any of our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Readers of this release are encouraged to study all of our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Our ability to execute our business plan and develop the K-Fuel® or GreenCert™ technologies and the successful development and operation of our Southern Coal Holdings venture with WPG Resources (“SCH”) may be adversely impacted by unfavorable decisions in pending litigation, the inability of Green Bridge Holdings to make future payments under the terms of the sale of the Landrica Development Company assets and our Ft. Union Plant, the inability of MR&E Ltd. to make its scheduled payments under the terms of the sale of the Boiler Island, the inability to raise sufficient additional capital in a timely manner to pursue the development of the technology or the development and operation of SCH, unsuccessful exploratory activities with respect to the identified SCH coal deposits, the inability to successfully apply the K-Fuel technology to SCH’s coal deposits, the inability of SCH to obtain regulatory approval for its activities, and/or adverse conditions for the marketing and sale of upgraded coal. Readers of this release are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements.