Aim-listed African phosphate explorer and developer Kropz has appointed Mark Summers CEO with effect from August 4.

He had been serving as interim CEO since February 26.

He will continue to perform both the CEO and CFO roles until a new CFO has been appointed.

Meanwhile, as part of its long-term incentive plan, Kropz has granted conditional share awards over ordinary shares in the company to key members of the executive management team, including certain persons discharging managerial responsibilities, including Summers and COO Michelle Lawrence.

These long-term incentive plan (LTIP) awards have performance conditions aligned to the implementation of the company’s strategic plans, including appropriate weightings on the successful commissioning of the Elandsfontein mine, in South Africa's Western Cape province, and completion of an updated feasibility study on the Hinda project, in Congo-Brazzaville.

The LTIP awards are nil priced options over a total of 6.7-million ordinary shares representing 1.5% of the company’s issued share capital.

Following the grant of the LTIP awards, together with the existing 4.83-million awards currently under option under the employee stock ownership (Esop) plan, the Esop awards and LTIP awards represent 2.6% of the company’s issued share capital.

Of the total, 2.35-million LTIP awards have been granted to each of Summers and Lawrence.

The LTIP awards will vest on December 31, 2021, subject to the terms of the LTIP plan rules, as set out in Kropz's admission document, including financial and nonfinancial performance conditions and, in respect of Summers and Lawrence, continued employment by the company.

As part of the recent equity facility and fundraising, Kropz has granted Hannam & Partners 121 837 warrants over the ordinary shares of 0.1p each in the company, exercisable at 6.75p apiece for a period of two years from the August 4 issue.