Arafura Rare Earths (ARU) has appointed Darryl Cuzzubbo as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, following the departure of Gavin Lockyer. Mr. Cuzzubbo commences his role immediately and Mr. Lockyer will depart after a short handover to complete an effective transition. Mr. Cuzzubbo joined the Board of Arafura as a non-executive director in November 2021.

In September 2023 he was further engaged by the Board to provide management support services to the Company's executive leadership team, drawing on his extensive operational and project development expertise. As a result, Mr. Cuzzubbo has detailed knowledge of the Company's current financial and operational progress. Mr. Cuzzubbo's appointment is the result of an extended four-month executive search process led by consultants Korn Ferry.

The search was assisted by Mr. Lockyer and represented the Board's focus on leadership transition by identifying the individual who can best lead Arafura through its next phase of development, including construction and delivery of the Nolans Project and growth into a globally significant rare earths producer. Mr. Cuzzubbo has more than 30 years of experience across global senior executive and executive directorial roles in multi-commodity, services and manufacturing businesses. During this time, including 24 years with BHP, his scope of responsibilities included managing multiple complex operations such as Olympic Dam and large explosive manufacturing plants across more than 20 countries, delivering large greenfield and brownfield projects, as well as the financing of project development and acquisition activities.

He brings a wealth of knowledge and experience in both the resources and manufacturing sectors. Mr. Lockyer has been with Arafura for more than 17 years, the majority of those as Managing Director. During that period, he progressed the Company from being an explorer to a project ready organisation, achieving a number of critical financial and approvals goals.