# Russell Middleton Executive Director – North America ## Career chronology - **Effective 19 December 2025; current as at cutoff: Bathurst Resources Limited** — Executive Director – North America. [Leadership Appointments]() (p. 1); [Our People]() (Our People, lines 88–92) - **Director since 2015; CFO/finance leadership before appointment to North America remit in December 2025: Bathurst Resources** — Non-Executive Director; Executive Director; CFO; interim CFO. [Annual Report 2017]() (directors’ report and leadership biography, pp. 17, 19–20); [Annual Report 2025]() (director disclosures, p. 72); [Leadership Appointments]() (p. 1) - **Earlier career; current profile cites BHP and Anglo American; older issuer materials also refer to Shell; employer-specific dates and role allocation are unresolved: BHP; Anglo American; Shell (as variously reported)** — Commercial, planning and mine development/operations roles. [Our People]() (Our People, lines 88–92); [Annual Report 2017]() (leadership biography, pp. 19–20) - **More than 35 years of sector experience reported in current issuer biography: Mining and construction sector** — Mine project evaluation and new-mine construction; executive roles. [Our People]() (Our People, lines 88–92) - **Most recent role before Bathurst board appointment in April 2015; exact start date not published: Hillgrove Resources Limited** — Chief Financial Officer; director and company secretary of subsidiary companies. [Annual Report 2015]() (leadership biography, p. 18, lines 1051–1058) - **Current in Bathurst’s official profile accessed 10 October 2026; start date not published: BT Mining Limited** — Director as Bathurst representative. [Our People]() (Our People, lines 88–92 and 158–162) - **Current in Bathurst’s official profile accessed 10 October 2026; start date not published: Telkwa Mining Limited** — Director as Bathurst representative. [Our People]() (Our People, lines 88–92 and 158–162) - **Current in Bathurst’s official profile accessed 10 October 2026; start date not published: NWP Coal Limited** — Director as Bathurst representative. [Our People]() (Our People, lines 88–92 and 158–162) ## Education and qualifications ### MBA and Bachelor of Business reported [middleton_education] Reported in FY2017 · issuer reported · low materiality Bathurst annual reports identify Russell Middleton as MBA, BBus. The 2015 report states his public-accounting start, CFO role at Hillgrove and subsequent BHP and Shell mining roles. Awarding institutions and dates were not specified, and the credentials were not independently verified. **Attribution:** Responsibility not applicable. Relevant business education for finance and executive-director roles; independent qualification check not completed. **Relevance:** Supports financial and commercial role fit, subject to verification. [Annual Report 2015]() (leadership biography, p. 18, lines 1048–1065); [Annual Report 2017]() (director biography and qualifications, pp. 19–20) ## Contributions and company outcomes ### Executive oversight during FY26 operating recovery and domestic earnings decline [middleton_fy26_outcomes] FY2026 · issuer reported · medium materiality Bathurst reported FY26 EBITDA of NZ$44.7m at the top of guidance, export production recovery to 1.036Mt from 0.956Mt, domestic EBITDA decline to NZ$17.3m from NZ$31.8m, and group net loss of NZ$4.6m. Middleton remained an executive director and moved to the North America remit in December 2025; outcomes span periods and operating areas and are not individually attributed. **Attribution:** Role overlaps event; causation unproven. Board/committee oversight and tenure overlap are documented; no personal causal contribution or fault is established. **Relevance:** Relevant to current North America growth, board oversight and finance-to-strategy transition. [30 June 2026 Results Announcement]() (pp. 1–3, group and segment results); [Leadership Appointments]() (p. 1, role transition) ## Industrial safety ### FY25 group safety indicators during board tenure [middleton_safety_fy25] FY2025 · issuer reported · low materiality Bathurst reported group TRIFR 8.99 and LTIFR 4.19 per million hours across BRL and 100% BT Mining operations in FY25, alongside long no-LTI intervals at Maramarua and Takitimu. Middleton was an executive director and served on Audit and Risk, not the HSEC committee per FY2025 governance disclosure. Metrics are issuer-reported and do not establish individual safety responsibility. **Attribution:** Role overlaps event; causation unproven. Board and risk-committee tenure overlaps aggregate performance, but operational accountability is not assigned to him by these data. **Relevance:** Relevant to governance and risk oversight but not a direct operational safety assessment. [Annual Report 2025]() (key statistics, page 16; governance/committee descriptions, pages 66-73) ## Litigation and enforcement ### Director named in Talley’s claims; company application dismissed and core case pending [middleton_talleys_litigation] December 2024–June 2026; core proceeding pending at cutoff · disputed · high materiality Talley’s Group proceedings filed in December 2024 named Bathurst, its directors and another party, and included alleged shareholder-prejudice and misleading-representation claims. Bathurst and all directors filed a defence/counterclaim. In June 2026 the High Court dismissed Talley’s application for leave to bring a derivative action, but the substantive proceedings remained pending under suppression orders; the FY26 results announcement listed trial for May 2028. The allegations remain contested, and no personal wrongdoing finding against Middleton was established. **Attribution:** Role overlaps event; causation unproven. Middleton was a director during the claims period and served on Audit and Risk; evidence does not establish his personal conduct or liability. **Relevance:** Material to board oversight and governance assessment while preserving the distinction between allegations and findings. [Equity Raise Presentation – Joint Venture Litigation Update]() (p. 46, litigation summary); [BRL update on Talley’s litigation]() (p. 1); [30 June 2026 Results Announcement]() (p. 7, litigation status) ## Suitability for the current role ### Mining project and commercial experience fits North America remit [russell_middleton_fit] Roster as of 2026-09-26 · analyst inference · medium materiality The current issuer biography reports more than 35 years in mining and construction, project evaluation/construction and senior commercial/planning roles at BHP and Anglo American; the 2015 issuer report adds Hillgrove CFO, BHP and Shell experience. He is a director of Bathurst’s BT Mining, Telkwa and NWP joint ventures. This experience is relevant to a North America project remit. Exact employer chronology and individual project outcomes remain unresolved. **Attribution:** Responsibility not applicable. The analyst infers role relevance from issuer-reported project and commercial experience; exact chronology and individual project outcomes remain unresolved. **Relevance:** Project evaluation, construction, commercial planning and joint-venture oversight experience are relevant to the North America remit; individual outcomes remain unresolved. [Our People]() (Our People, lines 88–92); [Annual Report 2015]() (leadership biography, p. 18, lines 1051–1065) ## Evidence gaps - Exact start/end dates, scope and outcomes at BHP, Anglo American and Shell, and earlier accounting career, remain unresolved; profile sources differ on which prior employers to name. - MBA and BBus are issuer-reported without awarding institutions or independent credential verification. - Group financial and governance matters overlap director service but do not identify individual decisions or responsibility; the substantive Talley’s case remains pending under suppression orders, with trial scheduled May 2028. - No exhaustive criminal, court, regulator, sanctions, safety/environment or professional-disciplinary record review was completed.