Meet the Team

Board of Directors &
Senior Management

Ferrox has experienced international executive and management teams. They comprise investment, technical and other professionals who are familiar with the South African mining environment.

The operations office is based in Johannesburg while the regulatory and legal teams work from
Johannesburg as well as from offices in Canada, the UK, Luxembourg and BVI.

Terrence P. Duffy

    • Terrence Duffy serves as the Chairman and Director of the Board of Ferrox Holdings. He is also the Chief Investment Officer of Lionhart Group, a hedge fund and a private equity fund based in Canada.

    • Mr. Duffy has many years of experience in mining operations and development in South Africa, including Eastern Platinum and Petra Diamonds.

    • He is a founder of Lionhart Group and has successfully invested in a number of mining and resources companies. Founded in 1993 by Terry with less than $10 million, the firm evolved into a truly global organization that allocates capital across different strategies in various industry sectors and asset classes, including a focus and core competence in mining and natural resources investments.

    • Terry’s investment strategies and in-depth risk management have allowed Lionhart to produce above-average returns in seventeen out of nineteen years.

    • Under his leadership, Lionhart has had a successful track record in private equity natural resource investments. From 2002 –2012, Lionhart achieved an average total return of 173%, with 22 investments and an average investment horizon of 3.7 years.

    • Lionhart has received many industry awards for its hedge funds, private equity funds, and for natural resources investing, including 9 awards from Barclay Hedge (#1 ranking five times), 3 awards from Hedge Fund Review, 2 from EuroHedge and 4 others.

    • Terry has held several key roles prior to forming Lionhart. As Head Trader of Global Equity Derivatives at First Interstate Capital Markets, he was instrumental in producing significant profits for the bank’s proprietary accounts.

    • Terry holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics and Computer Science from Purdue University.

Chairman and Director

David Sims

    • David Sims is currently a Managing Director of Sentinel International Management SA in the Cayman Islands.

      • For the past 25 years he has provided offshore Financial Services to companies in USA, Canada, UK, Switzerland, Brazil, Hong Kong, Japan and South Africa and is currently director of several International Hedge Funds.

      • David has abundant expertise in structuring, administering, and managing Hedge Funds and other alternative investment vehicles domiciled primarily in the British Virgin Islands and Cayman Islands.

      • Sentinel International Management SA was founded by Mr. Sims in 1997 as part of the Beacon Group of Companies and was renamed at the end of 2014 and is now again, privately owned Sentinel International Management SA specialises in the provision of director services to Alternative Investment Funds and Managers.

      • Prior to Sentinel / Beacon Fund Advisors, Mr. Sims was a Director of Citco Fund Services and Citco (BVI) Ltd.

      • A resident of the British Virgin Islands, Mr. Sims is originally from South Africa and speaks Afrikaans.

      • David graduated from the University of Cape Town in 1981.

Director of the Board

Allen J. Palmiere

    • Allen Palmiere has had a long career in the mining industry internationally, specializing in a variety of mining operations having served in C-suite mining executive positions for over the past 25 years.

    • Allen has previously held CEO positions at Barplats, Hudbay Minerals and Adriana Resources Inc.

    • From 2009-2015, he served as President and CEO of Adriana Resources, raised $180 million for the company, expanded its iron ore resource base, completed the feasibility study for the company and negotiated a JV with a large Chinese company.

    • From 2004 to 2009, Allen served both in the position of CEO and Chairman of the Board for Hudbay Minerals, a publicly listed mining company on the TSX (C$ 3 billion).

    • He restructured the company’s board, revised the governance structure and established a new operations team.

    • From 2004 to 2006, Allen was instrumental in the turnaround of Barplats, engaged in the rebuilding of the management team and accelerated the mining production. Barplats was sold to Eastplats in 2006 which resulted in 1,000% return and created Canada’s largest platinum producer.

    • From 2003 to 2009, he served as the President and CEO of another Canadian listed mining company, Silk Road Resources.

    • Prior to this, for 10 years he was the CFO and VP of Zemex, a Canadian listed mining company. During his tenure, he closed 12 acquisitions in the first 8 years and raised $1.2 billion in debt and equity to fund growth and acquisitions. He grew the company’s EBITDA at 20% per annum while tripling the size.

    • Allen holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from University of British Columbia in 1979 and has been a Chartered Accountant (British Columbia Institute of Chartered Accountants) since 1981.

Chief Executive Officer

Saad Hussain

  • • Mr. Hussain has over 10 years of experience in mining operations and corporate development. He has a keen eye on natural resources in Sub-Saharan Africa. He specializes in bulk and critical mineral commodities including: magnetite, ilmenite (ores & their concentrates), vanadium pentoxide, phosphates and also ferro-alloys including: ferro-titanium, ferro-vanadium and ferro-chromium.

    • Mr. Hussain has played a critical role in Ferrox by helping secure its railway terminal and transportation allocation of ore and mineral concentrates with South Africa’s largest State owned enterprises.

    • Mr. Hussain has a very diverse finance background and plays an important role in Ferrox’s financing and marketing needs. His transactions include; structuring and closing financing from an American, Special Purpose Acquisition Company (“SPAC”) listed on Nasdaq.

    • Prior to joining Ferrox and Lionhart, Mr. Hussain was involved in retail banking at Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce.

    • Mr. Hussain has a Master of Finance from Smith School of Business, Queen’s University, Canada. He is also a CFA level 3 candidate.

    • He is also serves as the Senior Analyst of Lionhart Group, a hedge fund and a private equity fund based in Toronto, Canada.

Corporate Development, Executive

South African
Technical Team 

The company's integrity and reputation for ethical practices are among its most valued assets, and are essential elements in its continued quest for sustained profitability.
The management team enacts this strategy, and is achieving targeted and measurable results.

Marc Veitch

Commercial, Legal & Marketing (Project Lead)
LLB, MBA

  • Marc has more than three decades business experience in international mergers and acquisitions, commodity funding and trading, mine development and funding, and high value metal processing and engineering projects. Marc has recently returned to the legal profession to offer expert consultancy services to Faros Attorneys.

Riaan van der Merwe

Plant & Process Engineer. Professional Engineer
MEng, Extractive Metallurgy

  • With global experience in mining, mineral processing, and metallurgy. His expertise  spans plant operations, process consulting, testwork, and study management across commodities including iron, gold, PGM, copper, nickel, cobalt, and titanium. He has held senior technical and leadership roles with companies such as Outotec (Australia), Chambishi Metals (Zambia) and Oriel Resources (UK) and currently serves as Chief Metallurgical Advisor for MM Metals USA and Paladar Resources. 

    Riaan is skilled in both pyrometallurgy and hydrometallurgy, process design, plant commissioning, and metallurgical testwork. 

Mining & Operations. Geologist
B.Sc. BSc. Hons. Bus Admin. Hons. Prof. Scientist. MGSSA

Dennis Human

  • Dennis Human is a mining, resource, and industrial project specialist with over three decades of experience across Southern Africa. He has held leadership roles including General Manager of a London-listed junior minor, Senior Manager at the IDC, and MD of several mining ventures. 

    He is a competent person with expertise in mine management, feasibility studies, operational readiness, due diligence, and strategic advisory. Dennis holds BSc and Honours degrees in Geology, Mineral Economics, and Business Administration, and has received national recognition for business turnaround success. 

Petrus Matumba

  • Petrus is an experienced mining and occupational health specialist with a strong background in mine environmental control, occupational hygience, and SHEQ (Safety, Health, Environment, and Quality) management. With over two decades of experience in both government and private sectors, he has held senior roles at the Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) and Glencore.

    He holds multiple industry qualifications and certifications i.w. Radiation Control, Mine Environmental Control, Occupational Hygiene, and Health & Safety, Gelogy, Mining Law and is proficient in regulatory data systems and project management tools. 

    Petrus is a member of the Mine Ventilation society and is known for his methodical approach to health risk assessment, compliance audits, incident investigations, and environmental safety in mining. 

Community & License/Permit/Municipal Liason

Lerato Legoete

Project Management & Logistics
B.Sc. BSc. Hons. MComm

  • Lerato is a logistics and project management professional with over 20 years’ experience across energy, infrastructure, and manufacturing. She holds a Master’s in Strategic Project Leadership & Management and has a proven track record in operational efficiency, stakeholder engagement, and global project delivery.

Gina Grobler

  • Gina obtained her B.Com. degree in Financial Management at the University of Pretoria in 2001. She qualified as a Professional Accountant registered with SAIPA in 2012 and has 25 years of experience in accounting practice.

    Mainly focusing on transactional support, Gina provides typical financial accounting services, and her field of experience includes all accounting functions, statutory compliance and management reporting.

    Gina has gained extensive experience on various accounting and consulting engagements and has been involved in the mining sector for 20 years.

    Gina is a senior associate at FJD & Associates, a boutique accounting firm that is based in Pretoria, South Africa.

Director of Tivani (Pty) Ltd