OUR TEAM
MICK MCMULLEN
CHAIRMAN
Michael (Mick) McMullen brings more than 29 years of senior leadership experience in the exploration, financing, development, and operations of mining companies globally. Mr. McMullen most recently served as the CEO and President at Detour Gold Corporation (“Detour”), a 600,000 ounce per annum gold producer in Canada from May 2019 to January 2020. During his tenure, Mr. McMullen took the market capitalization from C$2.1 billion to C$4.9 billion over 7 months (date of deal announcement), which represented an internal rate of return of 208%, leading to the acquisition by Kirkland Lake Gold Ltd. in 2020.
Through his strong technical background and commercial acumen, Mr. McMullen established and led a team that reduced all-in-sustaining costs (“AISC”, a mining metric that estimates all direct and recurring costs required to mine a unit of ore) by approximately US$250/oz over that period in a business that had historically been viewed as an underperforming asset. Mr. McMullen also improved safety performance and repaired relations with its First Nations partners, enabling a large increase in operations to be permitted, which was fundamental to the increase in market value of the company.
Prior to Detour, Mr. McMullen served as CEO at Stillwater Mining Company (“Stillwater”) from December 2013 to May 2017 and as Technical Advisor from May 2017 to December 2018, where he was instrumental to the increase in market capitalization from US$1.3 billion to US$2.2 billion against a 10% fall in platinum group metals (“PGM”) prices over the same time. Mr. McMullen also served as a Nonexecutive Director at Stillwater from May 2013 to December2013. Stillwater was sold to Sibanye Gold Ltd. (“Sibanye”) in April 2017 in an all cash deal valued at US$2.7 billion, which represented an internal rate of return of 16% during his 41-month tenure. During his time as CEO at Stillwater, the company reduced AISC by approximately US$300/oz, increased production to approximately 600,000 ounces per annum of PGM’s, developed a new mine, and built its PGM recycling business to be the largest in the world. The Stillwater business had been operating for 27 years prior to Mr. McMullen’s arrival as CEO and was viewed as a difficult operation with poor labor relations and safety track record. Leading up to its eventual sale, the company favorably renegotiated its labor agreements and reduced by half its safety incidence rate to be best-in-class in US underground mining.
Mr. McMullen’s time before Stillwater involved the identification, acquisition, development, and operation of a variety of mining assets across North and South America, Europe, Australia and Africa. These ranged from gold to base metals and bulk commodities. In addition, he has provided technical and financial advisory services to many of the larger PE funds, activist funds, and banks providing mining finance.
Mr. McMullen has a strong technical background and track record of identifying undervalued opportunities in the mining space, assuming a management position, optimizing the assets, and ultimately realizing shareholder value, ranging from exploration assets (one of two founders at GT Gold Corporation (“GT Gold”), which sold to Newmont Mining Corporation for C$393 million) to large integrated downstream and upstream businesses like Stillwater.
Mr. McMullen is a qualified Geologist and received his B.Sc. from Newcastle University in 1992 and is currently a Non-Executive Director at Develop Global Limited (“Develop”), an ASX listed base metal developer since February 2021. He is also a former non-executive director at OceanaGold Corporation, a dual listed ASX-TSX gold miner with operations in the Philippines, US and New Zealand.
JUSTIN FRONEMAN
COO & DIRECTOR
Justin Froneman is a metals, mining, and circular economy expert with a career defined by large-scale value creation across capital markets and industrial operations. A chartered accountant (South Africa) and former top-rated global mining analyst, he brings a rare combination of C-suite operating experience and deep capital markets expertise to his role at REEcycle.
Mr. Froneman's operational track record includes architecting $4 billion in transformational acquisitions at JSE and NYSE-listed Sibanye-Stillwater, where he served as Regional CFO across the Americas and Platinum divisions. In that capacity, he played a central role in the company's transformation into the world's largest PGM producer, turning loss-making operations into billion-dollar profit generators, crystallizing synergies, and implementing precious metals balance sheet hedging programs. As Global Head of Recycling at Sibanye-Stillwater, he developed and executed a multi-continent circular economy strategy that increased recycling EBITDA by 50% and securing material working capital benefits through strategic customer contracts.
Subsequent to his roles at Sibanye-Stillwater, he was the CEO Designate of Techemet, the world's largest private precious metals recycler. While at Techemet, Mr. Froneman unlocked working capital efficiencies and streamlined global operations.
Before transitioning to operating roles, Mr. Froneman was a top-rated precious metals analyst at Macquarie, Credit Suisse, and Standard Bank, where he completed over $1 billion in IPOs and capital raises, advised boards on strategy and M&A, primarily in the PGM space. His market credibility earned consistent #1 rankings in Financial Mail surveys and a 2013 nomination for Global Mining Analyst of the Year.
Today, through his investment holding company (Sumsare Resources LLC), Mr. Froneman invests in and advises companies across primary and secondary metals, urban mining, and critical minerals. In addition to his role as President and equity owner of PGM Processing, he serves as an executive board member of REEcycle (a rare-earth oxide manufacturer), portfolio manager at Visio (South Africa), and strategic advisor to Lifezone-Glencore's critical mineral recycling project. He is also a Lenfest Center for Sustainable Energy advisory board member at Columbia University.
JON CHRISTIAN EVENSEN
DIRECTOR
Jon Christian "JC" Evensen is President of Eucalyptus Resources which provides advisory services to both select global institutional investors and companies involved in the natural resources industry.
He previously served as member of the Board of Directors for Patriot Battery Metals and is currently a Member of the Board of Directors for Pallas Resources and REEcycle.
While at Luminus Management, he built the metals & mining vertical to invest over $1 billion across the capital structure along with physical commodities and commodity futures. In addition to his time at Luminus, JC has also worked at Millennium and in Morgan Stanley's investment banking division.
ERIC CARNELL
FRACTIONAL GENERAL COUNSEL
Eric Carnell has served as fractional General Counsel of REEcycle Holdings, Inc. since August 2025 and as a legal advisor since March 2025.
Mr. Carnell also currently serves as fractional general counsel for: Compass Regulatory Inc., a compliance software and service firm for the agricultural industry, since October 2023; Wrench Inc., an automative repair and inspection marketplace, since September 2023; and CFi Solutions, Inc., an agricultural finance platform, since October 2025.
Mr. Carnell was a legal advisor to Stardust Power Inc. (Nasdaq: SDST), a battery-grade lithium refining operation from June through November 2023. Mr. Carnell served in various roles at Farmer’s Business Network, Inc., an agricultural-technology company operating in the agricultural inputs, financial services, insurance and sustainability services businesses, including Chief Legal Officer and Secretary from August 2019 through March 2023, and General Counsel, Vice President Corporate & Human Resources and Secretary from September 2014 until July 2019. Mr. Carnell served as Chief Legal Officer, Vice President Corporate Development, and Secretary of Axia Vegetable Seeds Group (f/k/a VoloAgri Group, Inc., acquired by Denso Corporation in July 2025), an agricultural-technology company operating in the vegetable seed industry, from April 2012 until August 2014. From December 2006 until January 2012, Mr. Carnell served as General Counsel and Secretary of Next Autoworks Company (f/k/a V-Vehicle Company), an automotive start-up developing a low-cost, high-efficiency small passenger vehicle for the U.S. market. From August 2004 until January 2007, Mr. Carnell served as General Counsel, Vice President Legal and Business Affairs, and Secretary of Loudeye Corp. (formerly Nasdaq: LOUD), a provider of digital media distribution services. Between 1997 and 2004, Mr. Carnell was in the private practice of law, including at Orrick LLP and Cooley LLP.
Mr. Carnell received a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies from the University of Washington, a certificate of political studies from l’Institut d’Études Politiques de Paris, and a Juris Doctor from Cornell Law School. Since 2017, Mr. Carnell has served as an affiliate instructor of law at the University of Washington School of Law. Mr. Carnell is admitted to practice in Washington and California.
TAWNYA ERICKSON
CHIEF OF STAFF
Tawnya Erickson is a strategic engineer and business leader with 15 years of experience across mining, energy, and critical materials sectors. She bridges the technical and business sides of complex projects and currently serves as Chief of Staff at REEcycle.
Tawnya's career spans both technical and financial disciplines — from developing asset management programs and leading reliability engineering at Newmont Mining, to driving financial planning and analysis for U.S. operations at Sibanye Stillwater. Across these roles she has consistently delivered results at the intersection of engineering and business — standing up maintenance programs, executing capital projects, and translating operational complexity into clear strategy and financial outcomes.
She holds a Bachelor of Science in Engineering from Montana Tech.
MORNE ENGELBRECHT
SENIOR ADVISOR (FINANCIAL) - CORPORATE TRANSACTIONS
Morne Engelbrecht is a senior executive with over 26 years of international experience across the mining and resources, professional services, and oil & gas sectors. He is known for leading successful business turnarounds, executing growth strategies, delivering major capital projects, and driving cost reduction and integration initiatives. He also brings deep expertise in debt and equity markets. He has held leadership roles in both corporate and operational settings across Australia, the United Kingdom, the United States, South Africa, Singapore, West Africa, Chile, Papua New Guinea and China.
Prior, Mr. Engelbrecht served as the Chief Financial Officer of MAC Copper Limited (formerly Metals Acquisition Corp.) where he was a central member of the executive leadership team and played a key role in corporate strategy. Mr. Engelbrecht led the balance sheet restructuring and the simplification initiatives and was responsible for building and scaling the company’s finance function, systems and controls to meet the requirements of a dual-listed company on the NYSE and ASX.
Prior, Mr. Engelbrecht served as the CEO and previously CFO of Beach Energy Limited (ASX: BPT), a multi-billion dollar oil and gas company overseeing multi-jurisdiction operations and major capital and corporate programs. His prior roles also include CEO and CFO of an ASX-listed gasification technology firm, Chief Financial Controller (LNG) at InterOil Corporation (acquired by Exxon-Mobil), and senior finance roles at Lihir Gold (acquired by Newcrest) and Harmony Gold.
He holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting) (Honours) and is a member of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand.
CHRIS ROSARIO
SENIOR ADVISOR (LEGAL) - CORPORATE TRANSACTIONS
Chris Rosario is a senior corporate lawyer and mining executive with nearly 20 years’ experience advising on complex, cross-border mergers and acquisitions, capital markets transactions, structured financings and project developments, with a particular focus on the natural resources sector.
Prior, Mr. Rosario was appointed as General Counsel of MAC Copper Limited (formerly Metals Acquisition Corp.) immediately following its de-SPAC. At MAC Copper Limited Mr. Rosario was a central member of the executive leadership team, playing a key role in corporate strategy, and led all legal, governance and regulatory matters across the group globally, including the U.S. and Australian capital markets workstreams and ASX listing process.
Mr. Rosario was a Senior Partner at Squire Patton Boggs (AU) LLP and was intimately involved (as lead outside counsel) in MAC Copper Limited’s acquisition of the CSA Copper Mine, including the preparation and execution of all of MAC Copper Limited’s Senior Lending, Mezzanine Lending, Royalty and Streaming agreements, the purchase agreements for the CSA Copper Mine and assisting with the preparation of the U.S. listing documents.
Mr. Rosario was formerly based in Japan for more than three years where he focused on providing extensive advice to a major Japanese trading company on outbound investments. His experience covers transactions across Australia, Japan, the Middle East, Europe and North America in the natural resources, renewable energy and technology sectors.
Mr. Rosario holds a Bachelor of Laws with First Class Honours from the University of Notre Dame, Australia and has been admitted to legal practice in New South Wales and Western Australia.
LUKE WAIER
HEAD OF SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT
Luke Waier brings a unique creative and analytical skillset well-suited for the task of creating new manufacturing (or de-manufacturing) processes and managing those projects from start to finish.
Mr. Waier started his career as a junior mechanical engineer at Oceaneering International, Inc. where he assisted in the development of specialized tools used aboard deep-sea robotic vehicles.
He then worked as a full-time design engineer for 3 years at National K Works, Inc. and 2 years at Priority Energy, LLC, where he developed unique equipment and industrial machinery deployed internally to improve the efficiency, safety, and quality within the companies’ manufacturing processes.
Prior to entering the workforce, Mr. Waier participated in several national and international collegiate competitive robotics events. He and his teams won 1st place in the ATMAE Autonomous Robotics competition in 2006 and 2007, the “Rookie of the Year” award at the MATE Underwater Robotics competition in 2006, and 3rd place at IEEE Battlebots IQ in 2008.
Mr. Waier joined REEcycle, Inc. in 2017, where he developed the solutions and industrial machinery necessary to disassemble computer hard disk drives (HDDs) at a rate of thousands per day. Currently, Waier serves as a General Manager at Vendera Mobile, where he manages the design and manufacturing of unique electro-mechanical products in the mobile device management space. Mr. Waier also continues to be instrumental in commercializing REEcycle’s unique HDD Disassembly Machine, or DDM. Mr. Waier received a B.S. in Organizational Leadership with a concentration in Manufacturing Systems from University of Houston in 2017 and an M.S. in Lean Manufacturing from Kettering University in 2020.
DR. PRADEEP SAMARASEKERE
CHIEF CHEMIST & INVENTOR
Dr. Pradeep (Sam) Samarasekere carries more than 10 years of working experience both in the US and in Sri Lanka as an academic and R&D scientist. He is an expert in in the fields of Rare Earth Metallurgy and advanced materials. His research and inventions span across a variety of areas including, rare earth metals extraction from earth resources, selective extraction and recycling of precious metals from e-waste, sustainable chemistry focusing on affordable and clean energy technologies, low-dimensional solid-state materials and porous functional materials for electronic, photonic, and magnetic applications.
He holds several patents for novel technologies developed in these interdisciplinary areas. He has named Most Outstanding Inventor in all the categories in Sri Lanka by The Committee of Vice Chancellors and Directors of Sri Lanka (CVCD) in 2020, and also awarded with the Vice Chancellors Excellence Award for the Best Inventor of the University of Kelaniya in 2018, and the Inventor Patent Award by the University of Houston in 2017 for his seminal contributions to materials engineering. Dr. Samarasekere has also served on the Senate of the University of Kelaniya, reviewer panels of the Sri Lanka Inventors Commission, and Board of Chief Examiners in Department of Examinations in Sri Lanka.
Dr. Samarasekere received his B.Sc. degree in Computational Chemistry from University of Colombo, Sri Lanka in 2008, and his Ph. D in Chemistry from the University of Houston, Texas, USA in 2014. Successively, he was offered a Postdoctoral research Fellowship from the University of Houston. During his time at the University of Houston, Dr. Samarasekere co-invented, alongside his Ph. D. supervisor Dr. Allan J. Jacobson, the core rare earth element (REE) recycling technology used by REEcycle.