19 Jul 2012 07:00
Avocet Mining Change in Directorate
Avocet Mining PLC ("Avocet" or the "Company") announces that the Company received and accepted the resignation of Brett Richards, Chief Executive Officer on 18 July 2012. Brett will stand down as Chief Executive Officer and as a director of the Company with immediate effect.
David Cather, who joined the Company as Chief Operating Officer in May 2012, has been appointed Chief Executive Officer and it is the intention of the Board to appoint David as an Executive Director at its next meeting.
David is an experienced mining engineer with over 30 years of experience in building and developing mines, most recently in his role as the Chief Operating Officer of European Goldfields.
His career has included senior roles at Anglo American where he was Technical Director for its Industrial Minerals Division, Redland Aggregates Ltd. (now Lafarge SA) and De Beers. David also spent five years consulting on a variety of early stage projects principally for gold, copper and base metal projects in the DRC, Sierra Leone, Nicaragua, Philippines and Columbia.
He is a graduate from the Royal School of Mines, Imperial College London with a first class degree in mining engineering, and has gained extensive senior level project development experience and operations management in both open pit and underground operations.
Avocet remains committed to the development of its Inata Gold Mine in Burkina Faso and to maximising value from its gold projects in Guinea. To this end the Board considers that David's experience will be invaluable in realising the considerable potential of the Inata mine and the surrounding Bélahouro area. Overall these management changes will enable Avocet to further its objective of becoming a leading West African gold mining and exploration company.
Russell Edey, Avocet's Chairman, commented:
"Over the last two years Brett has played a central role in transforming Avocet from a South East Asian mining company to an established West African gold mining and exploration company. The Board would like to thank him for these contributions and wish him every success going forward. As the Company enters its next phase of development, ensuring operational success at Inata will be critical to underpinning Avocet's continued growth. David's strong operational focus will lead the experienced on-site management team to ensure delivery on this growth strategy."
For further information please contact
Avocet Mining PLC | Pelham Bell PottingerFinancial PR Consultants | J.P. Morgan CazenoveLead Broker | Arctic SecuritiesFinancial Adviser & Market Maker | SEB EnskildaFinancial Adviser &Market Maker |
David Cather, CEOMike Norris, FDAngela Parr, IR | Daniel TholeJoanna Boon | Michael Wentworth-StanleyNeil Passmore | Arne WengerPetter Bakken | Fredrik Cappelen |
+44 20 7766 7676 | +44 20 7861 3232 | +44 20 7588 2828 | +47 2101 3100 | +47 2100 8500 |
Notes to Editors
Avocet Mining PLC
Avocet Mining is a gold mining and exploration company listed on the London Stock Exchange (Ticker: AVM.L) and the Oslo Børs (Ticker: AVM.OL). The Company's principal activities are gold mining and exploration in West Africa.
In Burkina Faso the Company owns 90% of the Inata Gold Mine. The deposit at Inata currently comprises a Mineral Resource of 3.46 million ounces and a Mineral Reserve of 1.85 million ounces. The Inata Gold Mine poured its first gold in December 2009 and produced 167,000 ounces of gold in 2011.
Other assets in Burkina Faso include eight exploration permits in surrounding the Inata Gold Mine in the broader Bélahouro region. The most advanced of these projects is at Souma, some 20 kilometres from the Inata Gold Mine, where a Mineral Resource of 0.56 million ounces exists.
In Guinea, Avocet owns twelve exploration licenses in the north east of the country. Mineral Resource development has been ongoing since 2005 and the project at Tri-K is the most advanced. Within the Tri-K project, Koulékoun has a Mineral Resource of 1.83 million ounces and Kodiéranof 0.4 million ounces.
David Cather, Chief Executive Officer
David Cather is a qualified mining engineer from the Royal of School of Mines, and the last 35 years and has gained wide knowledge on operational, commercial and project management experience at board level. Key highlights of David's career to date include:
·; European Goldfields Ltd - Chief Operating Officer, 2011 - 2012
Responsible for the successful implementation of the expansion and development of the Skouries and Olympias mines in Greece.
·; Grafton Resource Investments Ltd - Consulting Engineer, 2006- 2011
Consultant Mining Engineer to Grafton, a closed end fund with c $100m assets under management which specialises in mining and other natural resource- based pre-production opportunities. Recent executive management roles included:
- Universal Gold Mining Corporation - Director, 2008 - 2011
Developed a 35koz underground gold mine in Nicaragua as well as obtaining a listing on the TSX.
- Sino-Asia Mining Resources - CEO - June 2007 - August 2008
Launched a pre-IPO process to acquire a copper smelting business in the DRC, and subsequently successfully listed the company on AIM in London.
·; Anglo American Plc - Divisional Technical Director - 1998-2006
David spent eight years at Anglo American Plc. Whilst at Anglo David led a team that identified, analysed and prepared the US$2bn bid for Tarmac plc. He subsequently led the clearance of the deal through the various regulatory authorities and integrated Tarmac into the existing business. Thereafter David oversaw the Feasibility Study for a new cement plant and its subsequent engineering, construction and successful commissioning below budget.