Altona Rare Earths plc has appointed Hilton Banda as a non-executive director with immediate effect.
Mr Banda, aged 35, is a qualified geologist and group chairman of Akatswiri Holdings Ltd in Malawi.
Akatswiri is the parent company of a number of resources focused companies including Akatswiri Rare Earths Pvt Ltd, in which Altona acquired a majority interest in October.
Mr Banda gained his Bachelor of Science in Geology from University of Malawi in 2010.
He is involved in the resources sector in Malawi and has been a speaker at several international mining summits.
Mr Banda has undertaken international professional training programmes in Australia and China including sustainable mining, decision makers on geothermal management and seismology and earthquake engineering.
He has contributed to a number of mineral exploration projects in Malawi, including basic field survey for hydrocarbons, rare earth minerals, gold and heavy mineral sands, as well as environmental impact assessment projects.