‘Not the right fit’: IGO chief financial officer Johan van Vuuren resigns just weeks into the job

IGO has sensationally parted ways with its chief financial officer after he was in the job for less than a month. In a sudden ASX announcement, IGO said its CFO Johan van Vuuren had resigned effective immediately after a mutual agreement “that the position was not the right fit”. “He will pursue other opportunities more aligned with his career aspirations,” the lithium miner stated. “The company has commenced arrangements for interim CFO cover and will undertake a process to identify a permanent replacement. A further update will be provided in the coming weeks.” Mr van Vuuren was previously a senior vice-president of corporate development at Saudi Arabia’s state-owned mining company Ma’aden and had worked in the Middle East for more than a decade in various finance roles. IGO appointed Mr van Vuuren as CFO in December but he did not formally start in the role until April 1. “It is a privilege to be joining IGO at such a pivotal time,” Mr van Vuuren stated in December. “Under the leadership of Ivan Vella, the company has delivered a refreshed strategy, seen a significant improvement in safety performance and is continuing to safely deliver production from its Nova [nickel] operations as it nears end of life of mine. “Underpinned by IGO’s investment in the world’s lowest cost, large scale hard rock lithium mine at Greenbushes, we can lead the company in a new direction.” Mr van Vuuren’s departure comes less than a week after IGO revealed numerous operational issues at Greenbushes, which caused the company’s share price to tumble. Earnings derived from the Greenbushes mine in WA’s South West is IGO’s financial lifeblood. “Performance has been challenged across a number of metrics including safety, feed grade, recoveries, maintenance execution and plant reliability,” IGO chief executive Ivan Vella said on Friday. “Many of these issues are systemic and, as part of the strategic options review, programs and initiatives are being implemented to improve and address them.” It also came to light last month that the Australian Taxation Office is delving into the bumper profits reaped by Greenbushes’ holding company — Windfield Holdings — in recent years. IGO owns a 25 per cent stake in Windfield. Transfer pricing relates to transactions across international borders between related parties. It is a tax evasion technique used by multinational companies to shift profits out of a country. “Windfield Holdings has been advised that the ATO will be conducting an audit over the 2020 to 2024 income years in relation to historical transfer pricing matters,” Windfield’s 2025 financial report stated last month. No further detail about the audit was provided. Mr van Vuuren is currently based in Dalkeith, according to his LinkedIn, and ASIC filings show he is an investor in a number of Australian start-ups. These investments include Zea pain relief cream, Heapsgood compostable packaging.