Christopher Chris Ellis

Mr Ellis has over 40 years experience in the exploration and mining industry in Australia and overseas. He was a founding member and Executive Director of coal mining company Excel Coal Limited, which became Australia's largest independent coal mining company before being acquired by Peabody Energy Inc. in October 2006. Chris commenced his career in the UK coal industry, followed by positions within Shell's exploration group in Southern Africa and CRAE in Western Australia. He has also held senior positions for BP Coal (London and USA), Agipcoal Australia and for the Stratford Joint Venture. Chris has core skills in geology, mining engineering and minerals processing, mainly in the coal industry with some experience in tungsten, gold, base metals and diamonds. He has had overall responsibility for the design and engineering of four new mines during his career with Excel.