Aeternum adds West Point advisor John Melkon to its board

Aeternum (OTC: AETN), a critical minerals company, has appointed John M. Melkon to its board of directors and as a consultant, according to a press release.

Melkon is currently a senior advisor to the United States Military Academy at West Point. From 2012 to 2026, he served as a director and assistant professor at the academy, where he was charged with building and leading the Critical Minerals Consortium. He also serves as co-chair for the Bilateral Defense Committee between the U.S. and South Africa.

Earlier in his career, Melkon served as a senior operations advisor to the United States Army Africa in Vicenza, Italy, and as a strategic operations officer for the Department of Defense. He is a former Army Special Forces officer with more than 30 years of national security service. He also previously worked as an international banking associate for Credit Suisse First Boston in Frankfurt, Germany.

Melkon holds an A.B. in History from Princeton University, an MBA from the Mays School of Business, and an MPIA from the George Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University. He is a PhD candidate at Stellenbosch University.

Aeternum said it raised $4 million from executive chairman Paul Mann and has spent six months developing a mining project in Nigeria targeting tin, niobium, and tantalum production. The company said commercial production is anticipated to begin in the first half of 2027. Aeternum also holds an option to acquire a 51% stake in American Renaissance Minerals, which is advancing a cobalt-nickel-manganese project in Cameroon.

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