Flanagan will replace MTA founding chairman Gilbert George, who will remain on the board.

George said the company had been seeking someone of Flanagan’s calibre to help it move through the development stage.

“David’s experience encompasses the qualities needed to finance and develop our projects, and effectively market our products to the industries at the forefront of the new energy revolution,” he said.

“Our discussions over the past few months have confirmed that his values and standards strongly align with those of the company, including environmental and social responsibility in the regions where we operate.”

MTA’s flagship Montepuez Central project in Mozambique has a resource of 61.6 million tonnes at 10.3% total graphitic carbon, while the nearby Balama Central project contains 16.3Mt at 10.4% TGC.

Flanagan will be paid an annual fee of $A60,000, and be issued with 20 million unlisted options, subject to shareholder approval.

A geologist, Flanagan was appointed as chancellor of Murdoch University in 2013 and last month joined the board of ASX 100 gold producer Northern Star Resources.

MTA has a market capitalisation of $16.4 million, based on its Monday closing price of 5.2c.