(Alliance News) - Russia-focused gold miner Petropavlovsk PLC on Monday said it has appointed mining veteran Maksim Meshcheriakov as its interim chief executive officer to "ensure operational stability" and strengthen governance of the company following a boardroom tussle.
The London-listed company added that Meshcheriakov, who joins with immediate effect, will not be a director and the appointment of a permanent CEO and other executive management roles will be determined by the board in due course.
Shares in the FTSE 250-listed company were up 3.0% at 32.50 pence each in London on Monday morning. Year-to-date the stock has more than doubled mainly due to rising gold prices as investors flock to safe havens amid uncertainty created by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Gold was up at USD1,954.11 per ounce on Monday morning from USD1,945.10 an ounce Friday evening
Meshcheriakov, who is expected to be a candidate for the permanent CEO role, has more than 17 years of mining experience and has been involved in various projects in mining, metallurgical and other sectors, including most recently as director-general of Traxys' tin project in Russia.
Petropavlovsk also appointed existing Independent Non-Executive Director James Cameron Jr as chair, Charlotte Philipps as senior independent director. Other members of the board include Katia Rayas as independent non-executive director and Maksim Kharin as non-executive director.
"The board is committed to ensuring it has the necessary strength and breadth, including appointing additional independent non-executive directors. The board will shortly engage an external search consultancy to assist it in those appointments," the company explained.
Chair Cameron said: "The immediate priority of the board is to ensure the stability of the management of the business and its assets, and we are delighted with the appointment of Meshcheriakov. Our next step is to provide a robust and transparent governance structure that will command the trust and support of all stakeholders. In my new role as chair, I am delighted to have the opportunity to begin that process so that we can return the internal and external focus to our strong asset base and operations."
Earlier in June, Petropavlovsk's shareholders including Everest Alliance and JSC Uzhuralzoloto group of companies orchestrated removal of seven Petropavlovsk directors, including chief executive and co-founder Pavel Maslovskiy.
The removal was subsequent opposed by another shareholder Prosperity Capital Management, which sought to re-instate Maslovskiy and four other directors.
However, at an August general meeting, Prosperity's proposals failed to pass and the company's board now consists of Cameron, Philipps, Rayas and Kharin.
By Tapan Panchal; tapanpanchal@alliancenews.com
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