Just a week ago, Berkeley Energía, the Spanish subsidiary of the Australian mining company, informed the CNMV of its discovery of lithium and rubidium "suitable for open-pit extraction on a large scale" at its Las Conchas operation, in the southwest of the province of Salamanca, near Ciudad Rodrigo. Yesterday, the company announced the appointment of José Bogas, the former CEO of Endesa, as a non-executive independent director.
Berkeley has valued Bogas's "long and successful" career of over 40 years at Endesa, which includes 12 years as CEO, during which he "led the transformation of the company to maintain its leadership in the Spanish electricity sector." His participation as a director in other institutions in the energy industry, such as the Association of Electricity Companies (Aelec), was also highlighted, and he currently serves as honorary vice president and a member of the board of the Energy Club of Spain.
At the end of April last year, José Bogas concluded his tenure as the top executive of Endesa, although he remains a director on the governing body of the electricity company.
For Berkeley, Bogas's incorporation "will substantially strengthen the position and influence of the firm in Spain and will be of great help to the company in its efforts to resolve the current situation regarding permits and, ultimately, to push the Salamanca Project towards production."
Recently, Berkeley Energía has identified significant concentrations of lithium and rubidium in the drilling work it has been carrying out since early 2026 at the Las Conchas deposit. Both minerals are strategic for major powers due to their properties in electronics and industry. Lithium is essential for electric vehicle batteries and stationary energy storage systems, while rubidium, less well-known, is used in photodetector technologies, fuel cells, atomic clocks, and navigation systems, including the EU's Galileo system. The strategic implication of this finding, both for the company and for Spain, is very relevant, as the mine could be the only one with extractable rubidium in the West outside of China.
Until now, Berkeley Energía focused its main activity on uranium exploitation. In fact, the mining company has been in a confrontation with the Spanish Government over the blocking of its Retortillo uranium mine project since 2024, and is awaiting the resolution of a lawsuit before the ICSID in which it seeks compensation of around 1.06 billion euros.
Regarding the remuneration that the new director, José Bogas, will receive, the company has detailed that he will receive a fixed annual salary of around 27,200 euros, and an additional payment of around 9,000 euros for his participation in the Remuneration and Appointments Committee
As part of his incentive scheme linked to retention, he has been granted two million stock options exercisable at a price of 0.80 Australian dollars each before 30 September 2028, which will vest after a period of 18 months of continuous service.
