LONDON, Jan 19 (Reuters) - Nick Mather, the chief executive
officer of copper and gold miner SolGold, will retire
at the end of March after 13 years at the helm, the company said
in a statement.
While Solgold starts the hunt for a new CEO, its
non-executive director Keith Marshall will step in as an interim
chief, it added.
Reuters on Friday reported that the company had launched a
process to replace Mather after nearly half of shareholders,
including BHP, and Newcrest, opposed
his reappointment to the board following a dispute over funding
for the miner's mammoth Ecuador copper-gold project.
The London-listed company is seeking to mend fences with
major shareholders, as it needs to secure more than $2.5 billion
for the project, expected to start production of copper and gold
in 2025.
Copper is in high demand for use in renewable energy
and electric vehicles and new deposits are rare and increasingly
difficult to recover. Gold prices are hovering around
record highs.
Mather intends to remain on the board as non-executive
director, it said.
"Nick Mather has made an incredible contribution to the
success and growth of SolGold, having taken the company from a
market capitalisation of $40 million in 2006 to over $1
billion," said Liam Twigger, chairman of Solgold.
"The strategy of regional exploration designed by Nick and
his exploration team will continue to be pursued and has the
potential to deliver a string of major projects for SolGold, its
shareholders and Ecuador," he added.
SolGold shares were up around 3% giving the company a market
capitalisation of about 709 million British pounds ($965
million).
($1 = 0.7346 pounds)
(Reporting by Clara Denina; editing by Barbara Lewis)