John Borshoff Paladin Energy

In 1991, when his West German employer withdrew from the dying Australian uranium industry, John Borshoff acquired the company’s databases and used them to found Paladin Energy. When Paladin listed on the ASX in 1994, the geological, metallurgical and environmental data gave the company enormous credibility. John sees the years following Paladin’s listing as "character building". To survive in a period where funding for resources, and particularly uranium, was almost impossible, Paladin diversified its activities into software and IT companies. In 2002, Paladin purchased the Langer Heinrich Project in Namibia for A$15,000 and John waited patiently for two years until funds became available to grow his company. In January 2004, he was able to start building two uranium mines in Africa – the world’s first new conventional uranium mines in 20 years. Developing a uranium mine in Malawi was particularly difficult. The mine was the largest private investment in Malawi’s history, which would increase GDP by 10%. But the government had no precedent or framework to deal with the complexity of establishing this type of project, and John had to placate numerous, divergent interest groups. Despite the challenges, both mines proved successful. Today, Paladin remains the second largest pure play uranium mining company in Australia and Canada and the eighth largest mineral resource company in Australia. The company has a market capitalisation of $2.6 billion and employs 500 people. In addition to developing a strong pipeline of projects in Australia, John plans to expand Paladin into Africa, North America and Asia, taking advantage of the nuclear revival he expects in future decades.