Mr Purkiss is a metallurgical engineer with over 25 years’ experience in the base metals and platinum group metals industries in various operational and business development roles at Impala Platinum Ltd and BHP Billiton. He has specialised in developing new processing routes to treat deposits that have not been able to be treated by conventional processes and has brought a number of these companies to the market. Mr Purkiss was one of the founders of European Nickel plc, a UK registered company which has developed the heap leach process for application to nickel laterites, and has been Managing Director of that company since its formation.