# Francisco Bellón Chief Operations Officer ## Career chronology - **More than ten years before Berkeley; exact dates not stated: Rio Narcea Gold Mines** — Senior management; operations director and general manager at Aguablanca; roles on mine development/construction/commissioning/operations. [Annual Report 2026]() (Directors’ Report biography / current management page; see source locator) - **After Rio Narcea and before 2011 Berkeley appointment; exact dates not disclosed: Duro Felguera** — Mining Director, project management/construction/commissioning. [Annual Report 2026]() (Directors’ Report biography / current management page; see source locator) - **Joined 2011; promoted COO 2017; remained COO after stepping down as Berkeley board director in April 2024: Berkeley Energia Limited / Berkeley Minera España** — General Manager of Operations; Chief Operations Officer; Spanish subsidiary director. [Annual Report 2026]() (Directors’ Report biography / current management page; see source locator) ## Contributions and company outcomes ### Salamanca project advanced through DFS and FEED [bky_bellon_rolefit] 2011–2026 · issuer reported · medium materiality Berkeley’s FY2026 annual report says Bellón joined in 2011, became COO in 2017, was responsible for day-to-day Spanish operations, and oversaw Salamanca from Scoping Study through Definitive Feasibility Study and Front End Engineering Design. This documents project-stage work, not construction or operating production; required permits remain unresolved. **Attribution:** Individual involvement documented. The issuer expressly assigns day-to-day operations and project study/FEED oversight; no construction authorization or production outcome is shown. **Relevance:** Strongly relevant technical experience, offset by the company’s unresolved permit and project-delivery position. [Annual Report 2026]() (Directors’ Report, Francisco Bellón biography, printed p. 15) ## Litigation and enforcement ### Salamanca remains unpermitted for construction; arbitration unresolved [bky_bellon_permits] 2021–2027 (arbitration unresolved at cutoff) · documented · high materiality FY2026 company report states Spain rejected the NSC II application, court rulings nullified two construction-related authorisations, and the Salamanca project still requires grants or re-grants of NSC II, UL and AEUL. Berkeley’s subsidiary filed a US$1.25bn ICSID claim in February 2026; a bifurcated jurisdiction phase is set for mid-2027. Company assertions that Spanish conduct violated the ECT are contested legal claims, not findings. This is a serious project outcome during Bellón’s tenure as day-to-day Spanish operations lead; no source proves his personal role in the authorities’ decisions or that the CNMV share-dealing sanction caused the permit outcomes. **Attribution:** Role overlaps event; causation unproven. Annual report identifies his day-to-day role in Spain, creating direct operational oversight overlap; permit rulings are external adjudications and no personal causation is established. **Relevance:** Material to COO execution risk and project viability; claims remain unresolved. [Annual Report 2026]() (Directors’ Report, Salamanca permitting/legal risk, printed pp. 9–11); [Annual Report 2026]() (Directors’ Report, Bellón biography, printed p. 15) ## Governance and interests ### Final CNMV sanction for insider dealing [bky_francisco_bellon_cnmv_sanction] 2020 trade; sanction final 2024-09-17 · documented · high materiality CNMV imposed a €40,000 fine for a very serious securities-law infringement: Bellón acquired 75,000 Berkeley shares on 11 December 2020 while possessing inside information about renewal of the Spanish subsidiary’s prior installation authorisation, then sold them on 14 December after public disclosure for an economic benefit. BOE published the sanction in May 2024; CNMV’s 17 September 2024 notice confirms the National Court recorded Bellón’s withdrawal of his judicial appeal on 3 July 2024 and that the sanction is final for all purposes. This was a final administrative/regulatory infringement, not a criminal conviction. **Attribution:** Individual involvement documented. CNMV names Bellón and describes the trade; the official finality notice confirms appeal withdrawal and sanction finality. **Relevance:** Directly relevant to market conduct, inside-information controls and a senior executive’s listed-company compliance obligations. [CNMV sanction publication (BOE-A-2024-11534)]() (CNMV resolution, 21 May 2024, BOE paragraph; trade, conduct and €40,000 fine); [Register notice confirming Bellón sanction finality]() (CNMV notice, 17 September 2024, paragraphs 1–3; appeal withdrawn 3 July 2024 and sanction final) ## Suitability for the current role ### Role fit remains only partly evidenced [bky_francisco_bellon_rolefit] Current appointment through 2026-10-09 · analyst inference · low materiality FY2026 annual report and issuer page report a mining-engineering background, MSc, MAusIMM and membership in Spanish resources/reserves specialist group; Berkeley page describes a master’s in Occupational Health and Safety. No awarding-institution or professional-register check completed. Role-fit inference: relevant disclosed experience for Chief Operations Officer is supported; professional background does not negate separately documented governance findings or establish successful production. **Attribution:** Responsibility not applicable. This is an analytical role-fit assessment; it does not allege responsibility for outcomes. **Relevance:** Relevant to current Chief Operations Officer duties at Berkeley Energia Limited. [Annual Report 2026]() (Directors’ Report, individual biography and qualifications, printed p. 14–15) ## Evidence gaps - Exact dates and independent corroboration of several pre-Berkeley employer roles are not provided in the cited biographies. - Academic credentials and professional memberships are issuer-reported and were not independently verified with institutions or registers. - The open-web and regulatory/court queries logged here are scoped research, not exhaustive criminal, sanctions, litigation, credential or reference checks. - The Salamanca project’s permit status and arbitration remain unresolved at the 9 October 2026 cutoff; no arbitration award or final resolution of the permitting dispute was located. - Company outcomes and role overlap are not proof of individual causation; the sanctioned conduct is specifically limited to Bellón and the CNMV decision.