Phil Hearse is an Australian metallurgist with 40 years’ experience leading diverse and challenging resource projects around the world. He is Chairman of International Graphite, a new generation Australian company, which is developing a downstream graphite processing facility in Collie in the south-west of Western Australia. The plant will help meet growing demand for graphite products driven by rapid uptake of electric vehicles, fire-retardant building materials and new consumer technologies. As a Director of the metallurgy and process engineering consultancy BatteryLimits, Phil provides high level technical advisory services and has played a significant role in the development of resource projects in gold, base metals, rare earths and graphite. The consultancy has built a unique reputation in the challenging space where engineering technology meets resource economics.Phil's extensive career has taken him from operational roles at Broken Hill, Bougainville Copper, Queensland Nickel (QNI) and Gove Alumina to senior executive and managerial positions. He founded Normet Pty Ltd, one of Australia’s major metallurgical companies, and managed the business for 18 years. He also held the key role of Director Advisory with GRD Minproc Ltd (now Wood Group).Phil provides leadership for the strategic development of mining processing projects for Australian companies operating in Australia and internationally.