Rob Curtis

Rob Curtis is a geologist with more than 20 years (some sources cite 30+) of experience in exploration, business development and mining investment. Before EMR Capital he worked within highly successful teams at CRA/Rio Tinto, Oxiana and OZ Minerals — the same lineage from which much of EMR Capital's senior team is drawn. He graduated from the School of Mines at the University of Ballarat with a Bachelor of Applied Science (Geology), First Class Honours, and won the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (AusIMM) Scholarship.

At EMR Capital — a specialist resources private equity group founded in 2011 by executive chairman Owen Hegarty (founder of Oxiana and a former Rio Tinto executive) and CEO Jason Chang — Curtis serves as Investment Director. His work spans the full deal lifecycle: early-stage project evaluation, technical due diligence, and execution of investments. His transaction track record includes Sandfire Resources, IMX Resources, Toro Energy, Beadell Resources, Royalco Resources, Minotaur Resources, Golden Grove, Martabe, Sepon, Wafi and Hidden Valley.

A frequently cited career highlight is his involvement with the Sepon project during his time at Oxiana, part of the story that grew Oxiana from roughly A$30 million into what ultimately became OZ Minerals, later acquired by BHP in a deal valued around A$9.6 billion. His stated strength is "hands-on multi-commodity fieldwork across Australia and new-frontier jurisdictions, plus transformative transactions and corporate exits."

In December 2025, Curtis was appointed a Non-Executive Director of ASX-listed explorer Altair Minerals Limited (ASX: ALR), effective 22 December 2025, bringing his EMR Capital and technical mining experience to the board.

• Invests through EMR Capital's institutional private equity funds in mining and natural-resource assets — copper, gold, coking coal, potash and other base and precious metals — rather than startups or seed-stage companies.
• Focuses on control positions and development/producing mining assets in Australia and higher-risk "new-frontier" jurisdictions where technical geology expertise creates an edge.
• Values technical due diligence and hands-on geological/operational assessment — his role centers on evaluating projects from early stage through execution.
• EMR positions itself, in Owen Hegarty's words, as "private equity with a soul," emphasizing operational and ESG-conscious mining ownership alongside financial returns.
• Targets a clear value-creation-then-exit path, exemplified by consolidating assets and exiting via IPO (see 29Metals below).