About Us
Owners and Operator
An independent project jointly owned by Evolution Mining and ICA Partners.
OWNERS AND OPERATOR
An independent project jointly owned by Evolution Mining and ICA Partners.
Evolution Mining are the current owners and operator of the Mt Rawdon operation based near Mt Perry in Queensland. Evolution Mining are committed to stakeholder engagement and deliver the best outcomes for all. For further information on our commitment and our Mt Rawdon operation, head to our website www.evolutionmining.com.au.
ICA Partners are specialists in energy markets and infrastructure advisory. For further information on the services they provide, go to www.icapartners.com.au.
Our Team
Project executives
Andrew Horvat
Evolution Mining
Mr Horvat was appointed as Project Executive for Evolution Mining in September 2022, leading the development of the Mount Rawdon Pumped Hydro Project on their behalf. He has more than 30 years’ experience in the energy and resources sectors across a diverse range of corporate, operational and commercial roles within Australia, Indonesia and Canada. His position immediately prior to joining Evolution was that of Executive General Manager – Energy and Joint Ventures with Rio Tinto Aluminium (Pacific) where he was responsible for developing and executing energy and a decarbonisation strategies for their operating assets in the Pacific and managing the associated joint ventures relationships with their international partners.
Mr Horvat has also served as a director and chair of Boyne Smelters Ltd (BSL), New Zealand Aluminium Smelters Ltd (NZAS) and Gladstone Power Station (GPS) until his retirement effective 31 May 2021. He holds a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering (honours) from the University of Melbourne.
Dean Thomson
ICA Partners
Mr Thomson has over 15 years of experience in the Australian power, utilities, and infrastructure market, with a solid track record encompassing mergers and acquisitions, brownfield expansions and greenfield developments. A long-time owner’s team representative across key projects, he provides expert guidance and leadership in complex transaction scenarios.
Having spent over 12 years in the equity sponsor roles, Mr Thomson has consistently demonstrated senior accountability for the execution and delivery of major transactions and projects . During his ten years at Snowy Hydro, he spent half that time in commercial and project director roles, overseeing the early implementation of major renewable and gas-fired energy projects in Australia.
Educational background includes a Master of Commerce (Honours) degree from the University of New South Wales.
Committee members
Jake Klein
Mr Klein was appointed as Executive Chair in October 2011, following the merger of Conquest Mining Limited and Catalpa Resources Limited.
Prior to that, he was President and CEO of Sino Gold Mining Limited, where he managed the development of that company into the largest foreign participant in the Chinese gold industry. Sino Gold was listed on the ASX in 2002 with a market capitalisation of A$100 million and was purchased by Eldorado Gold Corporation in late 2009 for over A$2 billion. Prior to joining Sino Gold (and its predecessor) in 1995, Mr Klein was employed at Macquarie Bank and PwC.
Fiona Murfitt
Ms Murfitt is the Vice President of Sustainability at Evolution Mining overseeing the Safety, Health, Environment, Risk and Social Responsibility portfolio. She has extensive operational and technical experience working within high-risk operations in Hydrocarbons and Mining, leading transformations and connecting strategy with delivery to help unlock potential and improve business outcomes. Ms Murfitt has previously worked for Shell, DuPont and Viva Energy.
Kirron Schmidt
Mr Schmidt joined Evolution in 2015 and is the General Manager of Business Development with responsibility for optimising Evolution’s portfolio of assets through mergers, acquisitions, partnerships and divestments. Since joining Evolution, he has played a key role in the numerous transactions the company has completed to continuously improve the quality of its portfolio. Prior to that Mr Schmidt was in the corporate development team at ASX listed Lynas Corporation, and has experience in investment banking and corporate advisory.
Michael Siede
ICA Partners
Mr Siede is a founder and director of ICA Partners with experience in energy and infrastructure. He specialises in capital strategy, primary and secondary equity, hybrids, corporate debt and project finance. Mr Siede was previously Head of Energy and Resources at RBS and Co-head of Utilities and Infrastructure at Goldman Sachs. He has a Bachelor of Economics, University of Sydney and is a Chartered Accountant.
Aaron Simcock
ICA Partners
Aaron Simcock is a founder and Director of ICA Partners with experience in infrastructure, transport and power. He was previously Head of Infrastructure and Transport at the Royal Bank of Scotland.
He has a Bachelor of Commerce / Bachelor of Laws (Honours), University of Auckland, Master of Commerce (Honours) University of Auckland
Alistair Craib
ICA Partners
Alistair Craib is a Director of ICA Partners with extensive experience across renewable energy including development, construction, operations, project financing and M&A. He was previously CEO of Collgar Wind Farm, Chair of ALTRAC Light Rail Pty Ltd (Sydney light rail) and Executive Director at UBS. He has a Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Electrical Engineering (1st Class Hons), University of Western Australia
Local Stakeholders
Evolution Mining has a long history of supporting local communities around our operations. This includes maintaining a residential workforce, investing in local infrastructure, committing business to local businesses and supporting local community groups. We are proud of this history and particularly our strong relationships with our First Nation Partners..
In the specific case of the Mt Rawdon Pumped Hydro Project, we are determined to ensure that the local community benefits from the project through extended employment opportunities (construction and operations), ongoing services contracts, the rehabilitation of the balance of the mining affected areas and ongoing investment in the region.
The Project is aware that the route for the powerline and the first fill water are important issues for local people. We have held open community townhall information and Q&A sessions to make sure our local community is well informed. We will continue to hold these events and provide accurate information to the community as is possible. Through these sessions, and more direct engagement where appropriate, we will consult with impacted people and use that feedback to optimise the project for all stakeholders.
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