Highlights

  • Brett Suann, former VP of manganese marketing at BHP and GM of marketing at Hancock Iron Ore, joins as marketing consultant.
  • Rathy Brandes De Roos, a mining engineer with 25 years at AngloGold, Rio Tinto and Newcrest, appointed principal of technical services.
  • Wandanya resource totals 23.6Mt at 25.8% manganese and 12.5Mt at 54.9% iron, with 66% of manganese in the Measured category.
  • Scoping study targeting completion in the December 2026 quarter; feasibility studies planned for 2027.

Black Canyon (ASX:BCA) has spent months drilling and testing its Wandanya manganese and iron project in Western Australia's Pilbara. Now it is building the team to turn those results into a development case. The company announced two specialist appointments on 29 October 2026, recruiting talent with direct experience in manganese marketing and open-pit operations.

Who Has Joined and Why

Brett Suann joins as marketing consultant with approximately 30 years in manganese and iron ore marketing, trading, business development and fundraising. His roles have included vice president of manganese marketing at BHP and, most recently, general manager of marketing at Hancock Iron Ore, with earlier positions at Mitsubishi Development, Anglo American, Consolidated Minerals and Gunvor. Suann's engagement is directly tied to Wandanya's dual-commodity structure.

Rathy Brandes De Roos has been appointed principal of technical services. An engineer with more than 25 years of open-pit operations experience across gold, iron ore, bauxite and other commodities, she has worked for AngloGold Ashanti, Rio Tinto, Newcrest and Leo Lithium. Her role spans project management, technical services and operational delivery from studies through to start-up. The company did not disclose fees or equity incentives for either appointment.

The Wandanya Resource

The project's maiden mineral resource, announced on 30 September 2026, totals 23.6 million tonnes at 25.8% manganese at a 12% cut-off, with 66% Measured, 26% Indicated and 8% Inferred. A separate iron resource of 12.5 million tonnes at 54.9% iron is entirely Measured. The estimate is based on 929 RC holes totalling 24,021 metres, with manganese mineralisation covering about 3.4 kilometres of strike and iron over about 1.5 kilometres.

Testwork and Product Quality

A direct shipping subset of 3.7 million tonnes at 38.9% manganese is identified in the quarterly report, with selected material potentially reaching 42–44% manganese. Pilot-scale dense media separation testwork upgraded feed grading 32.4% manganese to 41.0% at about 82% recovery, and a second blend from 29.4% to 38.5% at about 80% recovery. Iron testwork produced a lump product grading 59.7% iron. No offtake agreements have been disclosed. The mix of grades and impurities including silica, iron and alumina will determine which buyers a product suits and at what price — exactly the assessment Suann has been hired to conduct.

Financial Position and Timeline

Black Canyon reported cash of A$6.2 million and no debt at 30 September 2026, after A$1.81 million in quarterly exploration spending. Additional RC drilling of 4,800 metres tested ground around 1.4 kilometres south and 2.8 kilometres north of the existing resource, with assays expected in early November. A scoping study is targeted for completion during the December 2026 quarter, with feasibility studies to follow in 2027. The Western Australian Government's Exploration Incentive Scheme is co-funding up to A$264,800 of geophysics and deep drilling.