# James Palmer Chief Executive Officer ## Career chronology - **Issuer 2025 annual report and selected V8 company roster dated 30 October 2026.: 29Metals Limited** — Chief Executive Officer. [2025 Annual Report and ESG Report]() (2025 Annual Report pp. 16–17, James Palmer biography) - **Past two decades before 29Metals: BHP** — Leadership roles, most recently Group Performance & Improvement Officer. [2025 Annual Report and ESG Report]() (2025 Annual Report pp. 16–17, James Palmer biography) - **2018–2021: BHP Mitsubishi Alliance (BMA)** — Asset President. [CEO Appointment, 5 March 2024]() (p. 2, career history) ## Education and qualifications ### Education and professional credentials [james_palmer_education_credentials] As reported in issuer biography or annual report · issuer reported · low materiality Chemical engineering degree, University of Queensland; postgraduate training in management, safety leadership and metals-market subjects, issuer-reported. **Attribution:** Responsibility not applicable. Issuer-reported qualification claims were not independently checked against awarding bodies or professional registries. **Relevance:** Relevant to role fit but not proof of work performance. [2025 Annual Report and ESG Report]() (2025 Annual Report pp. 16–17, James Palmer biography) ## Business failures and setbacks ### Half-year loss and operating performance [ex-james-palmer_hy2026_result] Half-years ended 30 June 2025 and 2026 · issuer reported · medium materiality The company reported a $34.84 million loss for the half-year to June 2026 compared with a $35.32 million profit in the prior-year half, despite revenue rising from $270.99 million to $304.85 million. The company reports lower EBITDA and lower other income, including a $54 million insurance payment in the prior period, as contributing factors. **Attribution:** Role overlaps event; causation unproven. The role overlaps company financial reporting or management during the period; the reported financial outcome is not attributed to individual causation. **Relevance:** Provides balanced financial context for assessing delivery during the team’s tenure. [Appendix 4D and Half-Year Financial Report 2026]() (pp. 1, 10–11, statutory results and operating and financial review) ## Industrial safety ### Saraji fatality during BMA leadership tenure [james_palmer_saraji_safety] 2018 incident; company court outcome in 2024; inquest scheduled for 2026 · documented · medium materiality BHP reported a fatal dozer incident at BMA’s Saraji mine on 31 December 2018 and said its investigation did not determine the direct cause. In 2024 BMA pleaded guilty to a health and safety obligations offence and was fined $78,000 without a recorded conviction; ABC reported no evidence was offered on a separate charge alleging failure causing death or grievous bodily harm. Palmer was BMA Asset President in 2018–2021. The Queensland Coroners Court proceedings list, accessed on 31 October 2026, states the inquest was adjourned with the date of findings to be confirmed. **Attribution:** Role overlaps event; causation unproven. Palmer held the BMA asset president role at the time. The sources do not establish his personal involvement or individual culpability in this incident; the plea and fine concern BMA. **Relevance:** Relevant prior-employer safety context for the current CEO; role overlap alone does not establish personal fault. [CEO Appointment, 5 March 2024]() (p. 2, career history); [BHP Annual Report 2019]() (p. 150, fatalities and environment section); [Inquest to probe death of Allan John Houston at Saraji mine in 2018]() (Company charges, plea and inquest scheduling); [Inquest proceedings list]() (Houston, Allan John row) ### Golden Grove contractor safety audit [ex-james-palmer_contractor_safety] 2025–September 2026 · issuer reported · medium materiality The 2025 annual report describes a spike in contractor incidents at Golden Grove and an external workplace safety audit that identified gaps in procurement integration, standardised assessments and system-level governance. It reports a site-wide action plan and a 2026 completion target. The 2026 half-year report says group total recordable injury frequency increased from 6.3 to 8.0 per million hours year-on-year; the September quarterly figure was 7.9. **Attribution:** Role overlaps event; causation unproven. The CEO or COO held company-wide or operations leadership responsibilities during the period; individual responsibility for particular events or audit findings is not established. **Relevance:** Relevant to operational risk and the documented implementation of safety controls. [2025 Annual Report and ESG Report]() (p. 38, Improving contractor safety management at Golden Grove); [Appendix 4D and Half-Year Financial Report 2026]() (p. 5, Key safety results); [September 2026 Quarterly Report]() (p. 1, Safety and Sustainability) ## Environmental record ### Capricorn Copper environment and regulatory status [james_palmer_capricorn_environment_2025] 2023–2026 · issuer reported · medium materiality The 2025 annual report says Capricorn Copper remained suspended after the March 2024 extreme-weather event and had reduced water inventory by more than 1.5 GL by end-2025. It reports one 2025 creek incident after an electrical fault stopped a sump pump, briefly elevating copper levels; water was contained within 24 hours. It says the March 2023-related prosecution was dismissed after DETSI accepted enforceable undertakings in March 2026. **Attribution:** Role overlaps event; causation unproven. For the CEO/COO, the corporate or site operations remit overlaps the event, but individual causation is not established. For other roles, the event is company context only. **Relevance:** Relevant to environmental controls, operating risk and restart readiness; no individual fault is inferred. [2025 Annual Report and ESG Report]() (2025 Annual Report, Capricorn Copper operations and environment reporting, pp. 42–49) ## Suitability for the current role ### Documented role scope and role fit [james_palmer_role_fit] Current role at cutoff · analyst inference · low materiality Analyst inference: the documented title places James Palmer in a function relevant to Australian producer and brownfield developer with the Golden Grove polymetallic mine, suspended Capricorn Copper operation and its exploration interests. The reviewed material does not establish individual delivery or causal contribution; suitability beyond title alignment remains unassessed. Issuer material documents relevant prior experience: Leadership roles, most recently Group Performance & Improvement Officer. This supports role relevance only and does not prove an outcome in this role. **Attribution:** Responsibility not applicable. This is a limited role-scope inference from the issuer-documented position; it is not an outcome or personal-performance claim. **Relevance:** The role is pertinent to oversight or execution of the company’s disclosed business; evidence on individual effectiveness is limited. [2025 Annual Report and ESG Report]() (2025 Annual Report pp. 16–17, James Palmer biography) ## Evidence gaps - Education, professional memberships and credentials require person-specific primary or independent verification where not detailed in the cited issuer source. - Individual attribution for company outcomes was not established; company results must not be read as personal achievements. - The previous report cited an environmental authority for a different mine; the independent current status of Capricorn Copper enforcement orders and compliance with the undertakings is unresolved. - Prior-employer outcomes, exact chronology and credentials have not been independently corroborated. - The Saraji inquest was adjourned; the court listed the findings date as unconfirmed on 31 October 2026. - The current-session audit did not conduct comprehensive person-specific court, regulatory, fraud and prior-employer searches; no clearance is implied.