The hunt for his successor is now on, with Seville's exact departure date unknown but Orocobre said it expects it to be about 12 months.

Seville and former chairman Neil Stuart - credited with doing the original deal to get the Olaroz leases back in 2006 - grew Orocobre from a no-name junior in 2007 to a lithium producer with a capitalisation north of A$1.5 billion.

And one whose shares in the process went from the 20c IPO price to over $7 earlier this year.

As well as long standing Orocobre shareholders, many Australian promoters, directors and resource sector consultants owe a large debt of gratitude to Seville et al, with a large herd of lithium juniors spawned on the Australian market thanks to the success of Orocobre.

Without the lead of a company...