Nicholas Curtis AM has over 30 years of experience in mining and finance, with a particular knowledge of the rare earths industry.
Mr Curtis' early career was in banking and finance. In 1990, he became executive director of Macquarie Bank, heading the commodities division. In 1994, Mr Curtis left Macquarie to set up Sino Mining International, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the state-owned China National Non Ferrous Metals Corporation. This company developed the first internationally operated mine in China, the Jianchaling Gold mine in Shaanxi Province
In 2000, Mr Curtis founded Sino Gold and was its executive chair. This company operated gold mines in China and listed on the Australian Stock Exchange in 2001. It was taken over by Eldorado Gold of Canada in 2006
after becoming a top 100 company on the Australian Stock Exchange. In 2001, he took control of ASX-listed Lynas Corporation and refocused it as a rare earths company developing the Mt Weld rare earth deposit in Western Australia and a large downstream rare earth processing plant in Kuantan, Malaysia. He retired from Lynas in 2015 after the plant in Malaysia was fully commissioned. In 2011, Mr Curtis founded Forge Resources, a junior ASX mining exploration company, which was later privatised by Nick and Todd Corporation in 2014, and is now BBI Group where he remains an executive director, with a focus on commercial and finance.
Mr Curtis was a governor of the Mining and Metals Industry Partnership Group and co-chair of the Global Growth Company community for the World Economic Forum, where he attended the Davos Summit.
He graduated from Sydney University with a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) and is a Fellow of the Australian institute of Company Directors.
In 2011, Mr Curtis received the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year award for the Australian Eastern Division and was awarded a Member of the Order of Australia for services to the community through executive roles supporting medical research and healthcare organisations and also for his work fostering Australia-China relations.
