Richard Tacon

Career chronology

• CEO from March 2015; current in roster dated 26 September 2026: Bathurst Resources Limited — Executive Director; Chief Executive Officer. Our People (Our People, lines 82–87 and 152–157); Annual Report 2025 (directors as at 30 June 2025, p. 72)

• From 2012; appointed Chief Executive Officer in March 2015: Bathurst Resources — Chief Operating Officer. Our People (Our People, lines 82–87 and 152–157)

• Career began in the 1970s; 32 years working in Australia before returning to New Zealand in 2012: Coal mining operations in New Zealand and Australia — Mine operations roles across coal mining. Our People (Our People, lines 82–86); Annual Report 2017 (pp. 19–20, biography)

• Appointed September 2023; FY2025 annual report lists as a current other directorship: New Talisman Gold Mines Limited — Non-Executive Director. Annual Report 2025 (other current directorships, p. 72)

• Current in Bathurst’s official profile accessed 10 October 2026; start date not published: Coal Association of New Zealand — Chair. Our People (Our People, lines 86–87 and 156–157)

• Current in Bathurst’s official profile accessed 10 October 2026; start date not published: New Zealand Mines Rescue Trust — Board member. Our People (Our People, lines 86–87 and 156–157)

• Current in Bathurst’s official profile accessed 10 October 2026; start date not published: Straterra — Board member. Our People (Our People, lines 86–87 and 156–157)

• 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 86–87 and 156–157)

Education and qualifications

Mining qualifications and rescue experience

Reported in FY2017 · issuer reported · medium materiality

The FY2017 annual report states that Tacon spent 15 years on a mine rescue crew and held first-, second- and third-class coal mining qualifications. No separate education or qualification-register verification was located.

Attribution: Responsibility not applicable. Historical issuer biography documents practical mine-safety background; exact qualification issuing records were not reviewed.

Relevance: Relevant to operational and safety oversight across coal mines.

Annual Report 2017 (pages 19-20, Richard Tacon biography and HSEC committee)

Contributions and company outcomes

FY26 EBITDA at the top of guidance with ongoing domestic production

FY2026 · issuer reported · high materiality

For FY2026 Bathurst reported consolidated EBITDA of NZ$44.7m, at the top of NZ$35–45m guidance, consolidated cash including restricted deposits/bonds of NZ$144.8m, and a NZ$4.6m net loss. Export production rose to 1.036Mt from 0.956Mt; domestic EBITDA fell to NZ$17.3m from NZ$31.8m. Measures mix Bathurst and 65% BT Mining interests as disclosed. Tacon signed the results release as CEO, but these group outcomes are not individually attributable.

Attribution: Role overlaps event; causation unproven. Tacon was CEO and executive director; source does not isolate his personal contribution or control over market price, costs or JV outcomes.

Relevance: Directly relevant to operating delivery, project execution and leadership of a mature/transitioning coal portfolio.

30 June 2026 Results Announcement (pp. 1–3, consolidated results and segment performance)

Business failures and setbacks

FY25 guidance shortfall amid tunnel and market disruption

FY2025 · issuer reported · medium materiality

Bathurst reported FY25 consolidated EBITDA of NZ$44m against lower-end guidance of NZ$45m, a 2% miss. The CEO letter attributed pressure to six months of Stockton rail disruption after a tunnel failure, more costly road freight, lower export volumes and falling coking-coal prices. The company nevertheless completed a NZ$36m equity raise and retained NZ$178m consolidated cash. This is a company result during Tacon’s CEO tenure; no personal causation is established.

Attribution: Role overlaps event; causation unproven. CEO tenure overlapped operational disruption and guidance outcome; evidence does not show whether the rail failure or price conditions were within executive control.

Relevance: Material operating resilience and guidance record relevant to CEO evaluation.

Annual Report 2025 (CEO message and business results, pages 10-11; operating outcomes pages 15-23)

Fast-track continuation application returned as incomplete

September 2026 · documented · medium materiality

Bathurst announced on 24 September 2026 that the EPA found its Buller Plateaux Continuation Project substantive application incomplete because wildlife approval and reserve-manager consent issues required further work. The official Fast-track record says the application was returned on 23 September and a new application could be lodged. This was a project execution setback during Tacon’s CEO tenure; no source assigns the technical omissions to him personally, and resubmission remained possible at cutoff.

Attribution: Role overlaps event; causation unproven. Tacon was CEO, but no individual authorship or personal failure was established.

Relevance: BPCP is a material growth/continuation project; regulatory completeness affects timing and execution risk.

BPCP Fast Track Application Update (p. 1); Buller Plateaux Continuation (lines 90–127)

Industrial safety

FY25 safety metrics and long no-LTI streaks at two sites

FY2025 · issuer reported · medium materiality

Bathurst reported group TRIFR of 8.99 and LTIFR of 4.19 per million hours across Bathurst and 100% of BT Mining operations in FY25, down from 18.12 and 6.3 respectively in FY24. These are issuer-reported portfolio metrics, not an independent safety audit or individually attributable CEO outcomes.

Attribution: Role overlaps event; causation unproven. Tacon’s executive tenure overlapped the group safety outcomes; day-to-day accountability and incident-level responsibility are not assigned by the cited aggregate metrics.

Relevance: Relevant to executive safety oversight across a high-hazard mining business.

Annual Report 2025 (FY25 key statistics, p. 18); Annual Report 2025 (Health and safety, p. 44)

Environmental record

Canterbury sediment-control and mine-closure matters during CEO tenure

2017–2022; Canterbury mine · documented · medium materiality

Environment Canterbury reported that Bathurst Coal Limited received 14 infringement notices and a NZ$10,500 fine in 2017 for unconsented sediment runoff from the Canterbury mine. Bathurst’s FY2020 annual report says a separate January 2018 discharge matter led to a guilty plea to one representative charge and a NZ$18,000 conviction fine in November 2019. Joint councils refused closure and rehabilitation consents in June 2022; the current regulator record says the decision was appealed to the Environment Court. Tacon had been Bathurst CEO since 2015, but the reviewed records do not connect him personally to the incidents or establish his operational decisions.

Attribution: Role overlaps event; causation unproven. CEO tenure overlaps the company and subsidiary events; no personal act, direction, or causal responsibility was established.

Relevance: Environmental compliance and closure execution are material to a coal producer and to the CEO’s oversight remit.

Coal mine fined for consent breaches (lines 71–88); Annual Report 2020 (p. 35, lines 1624–1635); Bathurst Coal Limited — notified decision (lines 69–79); Bathurst Coal Limited — current consent status (lines 5–18)

Litigation and enforcement

Talley’s claims and counterclaims; derivative-action leave refused

December 2024–June 2026; substantive trial pending at cutoff · disputed · high materiality

Talley’s Group began proceedings in December 2024 naming Bathurst, its directors and another party, including alleged shareholder-prejudice and misleading-representation claims; Bathurst and its directors filed a defence and counterclaim. The High Court dismissed Talley’s application for leave to bring a derivative action in June 2026. As at the FY26 results announcement, substantive proceedings remained pending under non-publication/suppression orders and trial was listed for May 2028. These are contested company/director allegations, not a finding of misconduct by Tacon.

Attribution: Role overlaps event; causation unproven. Tacon was CEO/director and the issuer release authorised by him reports company litigation. The available sources do not establish his personal conduct or liability; substantive claims remain unresolved.

Relevance: Material governance and legal exposure during his leadership; the adverse claims and court outcome must be kept distinct.

Equity Raise Presentation – Joint Venture Litigation Update (p. 46, litigation summary); BRL update on Talley’s litigation (p. 1, June 2026 decision update); 30 June 2026 Results Announcement (p. 7, litigation status and trial date)

Suitability for the current role

Extensive coal-operating experience is relevant to CEO role

Roster as of 2026-09-26 · analyst inference · medium materiality

Bathurst’s current biography describes coal-mine work beginning in the 1970s, 32 years in Australia, COO service from 2012 and CEO appointment in March 2015. The mix of mine operations and long CEO tenure is relevant to a coal producer and developer. Prior employer-by-employer dates and independent verification remain limited.

Attribution: Responsibility not applicable. The analyst infers role relevance from Bathurst’s reported career history; exact prior-employer chronology and independent credential verification remain incomplete.

Relevance: Reported mine operations and executive experience are relevant preparation for the CEO remit, while outcome attribution and independent verification remain limited.

Our People (Our People, lines 82–87 and 152–157)

Evidence gaps

• Earlier mine employers, exact role dates and independent confirmation of mining qualifications were not verified.

• FY25/FY26 results are group/joint-venture outcomes; commodity, logistics and asset factors limit individual attribution.

• Talley’s substantive litigation remained unresolved under suppression orders at cutoff, although the derivative-leave application was dismissed; trial was scheduled for May 2028.

• Open-web and selected regulator/court records were reviewed, but no comprehensive criminal, sanctions, court, Companies Office, ASIC, WorkSafe, environment or professional-disciplinary check was completed.