PERTH (miningweekly.com) - Gold miner Focus Minerals’ CEO Campbell Baird has resigned from the company, with chairperson Don Taig taking up the role of acting CEO and executive chairperson, effective immediately.
Taig, who has extensive senior management experience, would be supported by the company’s senior leadership team.
Focus said on Tuesday that the company would now start looking for a replacement for Baird, and would consider both internal and external candidates.
Focus recently reported that production for the three months ending December had remained in line with targets, despite its Coolgardie operation delivering output below expectations.
For the quarter ended December, Focus produced 41 097 oz of gold from the combined operations of its Laverton and Coolgardie projects. Gold sales for the period reached 41 691 oz, with revenues recorded at A$68.95-million.
The gold miner also on Tuesday warned shareholders that it would report a net loss after tax of some A$27.4-million for the six months to December, including losses from its minority interest in the Laverton operations.
“In the first half of 2013 we have incurred a number of one-off costs in relation to our Laverton operations, which have impacted profitability,” said Taig.
“I am now leading an action-based review with our management team committed towards restoring our business to profitability and, with the valuable support of our major shareholder Shandong Gold, repositioning the company as a low cost, high value enterprise.”