TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Vancouver-based miner Pan American Silver on Monday announced that president Michael Steinmann would also assume the position of CEO on January 1, after incumbent Geoff Burns’ retirement on December 31.
TSX- and Nasdaq-listed Pan American made the announcement as a last step of a transitional plan that had been under consideration for more than a year.
Steinmann would also join the board on January 1, and Burns would continue serving on the board until the company's next annual general meeting, scheduled for mid-May, 2016.
Steinmann had led the company's geology and exploration activities since he joined Pan American in 2004. While in this role, the company had added more than 279-million ounces of new proven and probable silver mineral reserves.
Steinmann was appointed executive VP in 2008 and he took charge of Pan American's strategic business development activities in 2011. He was promoted to president in February. He played a pivotal role in the successful acquisition of Aquiline Resources and its Navidad project and Minefinders Corporation, with its Dolores mine, as well as several other exploration and business development initiatives.
Pan American, which operated seven mines in Mexico, Peru, Argentina and Bolivia, had produced 19.33-million ounces of silver and 135 500 oz of gold during the first three quarters of 2015. For the full year, it expected to produce between 25.5-million and 26.5-million ounces of silver and 175 000 oz and 180 000 oz of gold.