Elliott turns up heat on Northern Star with board picks

Activist investor Elliott Investment Management is escalating its campaign against Northern Star Resources (ASX: NST), naming six potential directors after talks with Australia’s largest gold miner failed to produce an agreement on board changes.

Elliott, which began pushing for changes in June with an investment worth more than A$1 billion ($706 million), disclosed on Wednesday that its stake in Northern Star now sits at 5.6%. The investor is pressing the company for substantial board changes as well as comprehensive strategic and operational reviews.

The New York hedge fund said it does not seek control of the board or plan to install its own employees as directors. Instead, it wants Northern Star to consider independent directors with operational, financial and governance experience who can support incoming CEO Suresh Vadnagra.

“We have recruited a broad and complementary pool of candidates because we believe the scale of change required is significant,” Elliott said in its letter.

The public nomination marks an escalation after Northern Star’s board said in June it was open to considering Elliott-backed directors. Elliott said subsequent discussions failed to produce a path forward, prompting it to publish the names so other shareholders can weigh in.

Board pressure

The six candidates include Mark Cutifani, the former CEO of Anglo American (LSE: AAL) and AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE: AU) who is now an independent director of Woodside Energy. Cutifani also played a role in developing Kalgoorlie’s Super Pit, now a cornerstone of Northern Star’s portfolio.

Elliott also proposed Graham Shuttleworth, Barrick Mining’s (TSX: ABX; NYSE: B) former CFO and previously CFO of Randgold Resources; Paul Graves, former CEO of Arcadium Lithium and later head of Rio Tinto’s (ASX, LSE, NYSE: RIO) lithium unit; and Mick McMullen, former CEO of Metals Acquisition (NYSE: MTAL), Detour Gold and Stillwater Mining (JSX: SSW).

The remaining candidates are Susan Corlett, a former investment director at mining private equity firm Pacific Road Capital and an experienced ASX-listed director, and Peter Rozenauers, formerly a managing partner at Orion Resource Partners who oversaw global mining portfolios.

Elliott argues Northern Star’s assets should have produced stronger shareholder returns during a period of record gold prices, blaming what it describes as years of operational and governance failures rather than the quality of the miner’s deposits or workforce.

Northern Star has faced repeated production setbacks, including two revisions to its fiscal 2026 outlook as issues around its Kalgoorlie operations and the transition to an expanded processing plant weighed on output. The miner ultimately sold slightly over 1.5 million oz. gold in fiscal 2026, meeting its revised guidance, while commissioning of the KCGM mill expansion is under way.

Leadership reset

The board campaign comes as Northern Star prepares for a management transition. Vadnagra, currently head of Glencore’s (LSE: GLEN) nickel and zinc industrial assets and a former Newcrest Mining executive, is due to become managing director and CEO on Oct. 5, replacing Stuart Tonkin.

His appointment followed Elliott’s call for leadership with operational and turnaround experience, but the activist investor has maintained that changing the CEO alone is insufficient. It says a strengthened board is required to oversee a credible operating plan and assess strategic options for the company.

Elliott said it would prefer to reach an agreement with Northern Star over adding several of the candidates and determining an appropriate board size rather than pursue unilateral action.

The firm said it has helped add more than 150 directors to corporate boards over the past 15 years, almost always through negotiated agreements.

Northern Star shares rose 0.7% to A$22.96 in Australian trading Wednesday, valuing the company at about A$32.7 billion ($23 billion). The stock has traded between A$17.07 and A$31.96 in the past year.