Dec 17 (Reuters) - Gold and copper miner Solgold Plc's
chief executive Nick Mather was handed a strong rebuke
on Thursday, with nearly half of the company's shareholders
voting against his reappointment to the miner's board.
Solgold, backed by BHP and Newcrest
, has sparred with two of its largest shareholders over
funding for its mammoth Ecuador copper-gold project.
Solgold said in a release that 44.7% of investors voted
against reappointing Mather as director at Thursday's annual
meeting.
The Ecuador-focused company agreed in May a financing
package of up to $150 million and a $15 million bridge loan for
its Alpala project with streaming company Franco-Nevada
, defying Newcrest, which had urged it to raise funds
via equity.
Solgold did not immediately respond to a request for
comment.
(Reporting by Jeff Lewis; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)