Appian appoints former Newmont EVP, COO Atkinson as senior partner

[Ben Graham]

Appian Capital Advisory LLP, the investment advisor to private capital funds investing in the mining sector, announced on Tuesday the appointment of Rob Atkinson as a senior operating partner.

The appointment of Atkinson complements and strengthens Appian’s senior team, the firm said, citing his 30 years of experience across multiple commodities with major mining companies including Newmont and Rio Tinto.

As senior operating partner, Atkinson will be responsible for providing operational oversight to Appian’s portfolio companies, notably its producing assets. He will also join Appian’s investment committee to support the analysis and evaluation of potential investments.

Atkinson has held a variety of executive roles in operations and business improvement functions in Australia, the UK and the US. For the last five years, he served as executive vice president and chief operating officer of Newmont, where he oversaw operations and project delivery for a portfolio of 12 producing assets and one significant joint venture.

Before that, Atkinson was the head of productivity and technical support for Rio Tinto, responsible for the company’s $5 billion productivity improvement strategy. He also served as chief operating officer for Rio Tinto’s portfolio of copper interests in Asia, North America and South America, and oversaw the establishment of three technical Centers of Excellence for surface mining, underground mining and processing.

Previously, Atkinson was the chief executive of uranium miner Energy Resources of Australia and general manager of Weipa Bauxite, one of the world’s largest bauxite operations.

“With extensive experience managing and delivering major projects with leading diversified mining companies, Rob’s leadership and operations expertise will be an invaluable asset to our portfolio companies,” Michael Scherb, founder and CEO of Appian, stated in a press release.

“As we look to deploy Fund III across equity, royalties and credit, his insights will also help us to identify and prioritize high-quality investments. We look forward to working with Rob to help realize our strategic ambitions.”