Leaders
The Management Team
Dennis Prins brings decades of experience in identifying, structuring, and unlocking value from Africa’s vast natural resource base. His career has been defined by a deep understanding of emerging-market dynamics and a disciplined ability to convert geological potential into bankable, high-yield investment opportunities. Under his leadership, Synterra has focused on Africa’s most strategically important resources—gold, critical minerals, and energy
Tex brings more than two decades of cross-continental experience in financial innovation, risk engineering, and structured resource finance across Africa, Europe, and the United States. A trained economist and seasoned dealmaker, he has built a career at the intersection of natural resources and advanced financial structuring, consistently converting complex, high-risk environments into investable, yield-generating opportunities.
Given is responsible for all in-country operations, government engagement, and commercial relationship management. With more than twelve years of hands-on experience working with international investors in Zimbabwe’s mining sector, he brings deep local knowledge and practical execution capability across company establishment, mineral acquisition, contract mining, exploration, and project development. His career has been built on navigating Zimbabwe’s regulatory, institutional, and commercial landscape.
Work Force
The C Team
Adriaan Van WynguaardDirector of Mining
Adriaan has almost 40 years of mining experience. As a Director of Mining at numerous mining operations, Adriaan has carried full operational and statutory responsibility for multiple shafts, overseeing underground and surface mining, processing plants, environmental management, occupational health and safety, engineering disciplines, finance, budgeting, and human resourcesThis role demonstrated his ability to manage complex, high-risk operations while maintaining production continuity and legal compliance.
Willem KramerDirector of Strategy and Project Development
Willem Kramer is an internationally recognised mining engineer and strategic adviser with more than five decades of experience in alluvial mining, dredging, and mineral processing across every major mining jurisdiction worldwide. He holds an M.Sc. in Mining and Mineral Processing from Delft University of Technology and is a member of multiple professional engineering and mining bodies. His career combines deep technical authority with strategic, board-level insight, built through decades of advising mining companies, financiers, governments, and development institutions on the evaluation, development, and acquisition of mineral assets .
Johan De WittNon Executive Director
Philippus Johannes De Witt is a highly accomplished mining executive and strategist with more than four decades of leadership experience spanning mining operations, project development, mineral trading, investment structuring, and executive management across Southern Africa and international markets. Holding both an MBL and a BSc Engineering (Mining), he has operated extensively at Board, CEO, COO, Managing Director and Chairman level, building a reputation for commercial acumen, technical depth, and decisive leadership in complex mining environments. His career reflects exceptional breadth across coal, chrome, iron ore, and crucially gold.
Manoah UpsonGlobal Head: Acquisitions
Manoah is a highly hands-on strategic operator with a strong track record in sourcing, evaluating, and executing complex opportunities across fast-moving, high-stakes environments. As Head of Global Acquisitions, he brings a disciplined, analytical, and execution-focused mindset to the identification of mining and mineral assets worldwide. His background combines deep business analysis, market intelligence, and opportunity screening, enabling him to move beyond theory into practical, ground-level assessment of asset quality, strategic fit, and value creation potential.
He works closely with the executives board, and founders, supporting investment decisions by building structured evaluation frameworks, prioritisation models, and strategic roadmaps. This hands-on approach allows him to rapidly filter large volumes of potential opportunities and focus attention on assets with genuine strategic and economic merit.
