Canadian miner Ivanhoe Mines has promoted Marna Cloete to the position of president of the company, in addition to her existing role as CFO.

Cloete will replace Tony Giardini, who would leave Ivanhoe mines after a “short transition period”, the company said on Wednesday.

Giardini returned to Ivanhoe last year to succeed Lars-Eric Johansson as president when he retired as president and CEO at the end of June.

"Tony took on the task of helping Ivanhoe through a transition following the retirement of its long time CEO, Lars-Eric Johannson, and we personally thank him for helping bridge Ivanhoe from its exploration and development phase to its forthcoming operational phase," cochairperson Robert Friedland said in a statement.

Under the leadership of Cloete, Ivanhoe will review the organisational structure with the aim to unlock the synergies that exist between the various shareholders and stakeholders.

With this in mind, the board has elevated the responsibilities of several other company executives, including Ivanhoe's executive VP for sustainability and special projects and executive chairperson at its Platreef project, Dr Patricia Makhesha.

In addition, Matthieu Bos will be promoted to executive VP Africa and Peter Zhou will be promoted to executive VP China.

Cloete started her career in 2002 with PricewaterhouseCoopers in the metals and mining division with a client base that included Harmony Gold, Palabora Mining and Ingwe Collieries. She joined Group Five, a South African construction company, in April 2005, where she was responsible for group reporting. Cloete joined Ivanhoe Mines in July 2006 and was promoted to CFO in December 2009. 

She is a registered chartered accountant and holds a master's degree in taxation from the University of Pretoria, in South Africa.

“She [Cloete] is an extraordinarily talented executive with a strong track record of leadership in finance and team building. Marna has a deep knowledge of our organisation, the African continent and is well regarded by everyone at Ivanhoe and across the mining industry."