Nicolaas Edward "Ted" Blom, President & Chief Executive
Mr. Blom has over 25 years of experience in mining and energy, with expertise in structured finance, commercial and legal transactions and business development. He holds Bachelors of Commerce and Bachelors of Jurisprudence degrees from the University of Port Elizabeth (n/k/a Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University), a Masters of Business Administration degree from Witwatersrand University, Johannesburg, and Republic of South Africa and is a Chartered Secretary of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators, London. Mr. Blom also completed the Harvard Business School Program for Management Development and a Diploma in Mineral Economics from Imperial College, London. Mr. Blom is a member of the Association of Mining Analysts in the United Kingdom.
Mr. Blom’s business experience includes strategic advisor and consultant to global hedge funds and private equity funds on investments in energy and mineral plays. His testimony at the relevant national regulator as an expert independent Expert in mining and energy resulted in numerous television, radio and press interviews. Mr. Blom is currently mandated to execute capital raising, structuring and implementation of projects in Africa exceeding $20 billion. Mr. Blom has consulted and explored projects and proposals involving most minerals found on the African Continent, including Gold, Nickel, Silver, Platinum, Manganese, Aluminum, Coal, Graphite, Diamonds, Titanium and Chromium. He has also been involved with assessments of industrial minerals.
In recent years, Mr. Blom assessed that Southern Africa would require more than 20 new coal mining projects in order to avoid another energy Blackout in the region. This number has since been confirmed by the regulators, with little progress. Mr. Blom also conducted initial feasibilities on Coal – Bed Methane (CBM) and Underground Coal Gasification (UCG) projects on a large scale to complement the current energy mix in Sothern Africa. This has the potential to generate an additional 20GW of electricity within a 24-30 month horizon, provided legislators approve. As a strategic advisor to Eskom, Mr. Blom identified and highlighted significant opportunities for savings in capital expenditures in the billions of dollars. He has conducted numerous successful global transactions as a strategic advisor to a South African merchant bank, capital raising for a new technology project in the commodities coal sector, and capital raising for mining and energy projects including Black Wattle Colliery, and a major new Platinum & Palladium project in Africa. In addition Mr. Blom often facilitates commercial transactions between Commodity buyers and sellers.
Mr. Blom was a co-founder of Kwezi Mining Company, a junior coal mining company which subsequently became Rio Tinto's development arm for major transactions in Southern Africa. Mr. Blom served on the Board of Directors of Kwezi Coal Ltd., as well as Kwezi Mining Ltd. Mr. Blom was also an independent advisor to Eurocoal, another junior coal miner. While at Eurocoal, Mr. Blom was instrumental in doubling pre-tax profits, with a resulting significant increase in market value. Previously, Mr. Blom conducted and participated in numerous global proposals, evaluations and exercises, including capital raising material and strategic communications to transform and propel General Mining Ltd into the world's largest listed mining house, BHP Billiton.
He also initiated, strategized and implemented a contractual clean-up which released millions of dollars to facilitate the turnaround of Tran-Natal Coal Corporation from loss making to a profitable division of General Mining Ltd.
Mr. Blom has been awarded numerous bursaries and awards for excellence that paved the way to continuing education, the most recent being an Eskom Award & Prize in 2008. He was appointed Judge for Africa Energy Awards 2009 and Chairman for African Mining Congress 2010. Mr. Blom has been invited to Judge the Africa Energy Awards in 2012. In his spare time Mr. Blom lectures globally on the accelerated “MBA in Mining” series and has been booked for 19 lectures all over the Globe for 2012.
Ronald Yadin Lowenthal, Executive Chairman Mr. Lowenthal is a specialist in Corporate Finance, in the structuring of IPO's and in fund raising for Mining Exploration Companies. From 1999, Mr. Lowenthal was a founding director of Incentive Holdings Ltd. and Incentive Securities Limited a South African based Financial Services Group. From 1982 to 1999, Mr. Lowenthal served as a financial consultant and as the compliance officer to family owned, Lowenthal & Co, a South African based Stock Broking, Corporate Finance and Fund Management company specializing in obtaining mining concessions for exploration, and obtaining and assisting a significant number of Mining and other companies with their obtaining quotations on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. In 1971, Mr. Lowenthal earned a Masters of Business Administration degree from the Wharton Graduate Division, University of Pennsylvania, USA and in 1969 earned a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) degree in International Relations from the University of Sussex, England.
From 1972 to 1979, Mr. Lowenthal served as an International Merchant Banker with Scandinavian Bank in both London and in Singapore, Amex Bank in both London and in Hong Kong, Rothschild Intercontinental Bank in both London and in Hong Kong and with European and American Bank in New York. From 1979 to 1981, Mr. Lowenthal was involved in Diamond Mining and in Diamond Trading on an International basis.
Mr. Lowenthal's experience in mining goes back to the early 1970's, when he was working in Sierra Leone, Guinea and Burkina Faso and obtained mining concessions in gold and diamonds in these countries. Mr. Lowenthal resumed his interest in West Africa in 2006, when he was requested by an international mining company to obtain a uranium concession. As a result of this activity, Mr. Lowenthal established an office in Dakar, Senegal and Nouakchott, Mauritania and has actively pursued concessions in Senegal, Mauritania and Guinea. These activities extend from gold to iron ore, chrome and uranium. The Lowenthal family has been involved in mining activity in South Africa, Guinea, Senegal, Mauritania, over many years and, when Mr. Lowenthal returned from Asia to South Africa in 1982 when his family and others gained control of Johannesburg Mining Finance Limited, which became Consolidated Mining Corporation. This group specialized in gold and diamonds.
Madison Stock Transfer, Inc. is registered under the Exchange Act and is an SEC approved Transfer Agent. The regulatory authority of the Transfer Agent is the SEC.