JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Paul Bosma has been appointed to succeed Stuart Brown as CEO of Aim-listed Firestone Diamonds, with effect from July 1.

Bosma has more than 24 years’ experience in the mining industry, of which 14 years have been in the diamond sector working for diamond major De Beers.

Bosma joined Firestone in 2014 as the mineral resources manager on the project team and, in 2016, was appointed GM of the Liqhobong mine, in Lesotho.

His responsibilities, to date, have included managing and implementing the commissioning and ramp-up to commercial production of the Liqhobong mine, the day-to-day management of site operations and producing the recently approved revised mine plan.

“The board, in its succession planning, has been impressed with Paul's role as GM of Liqhobong, while his significant experience in the diamond sector, as well as a deep understanding of capital markets, make him the ideal candidate to become the new CEO,” Firestone nonexecutive chairperson Lucio Genovese said on Monday.

"On behalf of the board, I would like to thank Stuart for his leadership. Stuart joined just under five years ago, with the mandate to lead the financing and construction which subsequently put Firestone into the elite group of producing diamond companies. We wish him every success for the future," he added.

Brown commented that he believes the company will continue to grow and be a successful diamond producer.

"With the operations now at steady state production and the team carrying out a recently signed-off, optimised mine plan, I feel confident that Firestone is well placed to realise its full potential under Paul's leadership.”

He further mentioned that Bosma “knows the Liqhobong mine better than anyone and has been instrumental in delivering the mine performance within budget, and continuing Firestone's remarkable zero lost time injury record since project commencement in July 2014. Paul has proven he is more than capable of taking this project forward and I wish him every success.”