HGM.L Share News (HGM)

(Sharecast News) - Highland Gold Mining announced the appointment of Michael Monaghan as its chief operating officer on Wednesday, to be based at its Moscow management office Russdragmet.
The AIM-traded firm said Monaghan would be responsible for overseeing day-to-day operations at all of its production and development assets.

It described him as a mining engineer with more than four decades in the industry.

Monaghan's management experience covered both underground and open-pit operations across a number of commodities, as well as commissioning, mine management, turnaround management, and environmental and safety compliance in Australia, Africa, Asia and Europe.

He most recently served as mining and technical director for the Russia-based Nordgold.

Before that, he held senior management positions at Akara Resources - a subsidiary of Kingsgate Consolidated - in Thailand, as well as AngloGold Ashanti in Tanzania, Etruscan Resources in Burkina Faso, and Redback Mining in Ghana.

Monaghan holds a graduate diploma in mining engineering from Ballarat University College, and a business diploma in frontline management from RTO Perth Western Australia, and completed an executive development programme at the University of Virginia's Darden School of Business.

He is a member of the Australian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (MAusIMM) and of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

"We are pleased to welcome Michael and his extensive international mining industry experience to our management team at Highland Gold," said chief executive officer Denis Alexandrov.

"His track record of designing operations and management systems and implementing best practices in mining and health and safety across a range of enterprises will be invaluable to the company as we enter a new phase of growth and development."

At 1422 GMT, shares in Highland Gold Mining were up 2.46% at 208.6p.