PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Australian gold mining company Newcrest on Wednesday announced two major board changes, as both chairperson Don Mercer and CEO Greg Robinson are leaving the company later this year.

The group, whose A$6.2-billion asset writedown triggered an Australian Securities and Investment Commission (Asic) investigation earlier this year, on Wednesday named former Pacific Aluminium chief Sandeep Biswas its new CEO.

Biswas would take up the CEO position at Newcrest on January 1, when Robinson steps down, and would also join the board as an executive director from that date.

At Pacific Aluminium, Biswas was in charge of some 5 000 staff and operations, including the Gove bauxite mine and alumina refinery, in the Northern Territory.

“After eight years with Newcrest, as CEO and previously CFO, it is time to ensure there is an organised succession for the CEO role, with a successor who is committed to delivering the company’s long-term strategic objectives,” said Robinson.

He added that Biswas's skills and background would assist the gold miner to deliver the high performance outcomes expected from its existing operations and progress the strong development opportunities in the asset portfolio.

Newcrest also named Peter Hay, who joined the miner’s board in August, as the successor for Mercer, who is stepping down in December.

“Hay is an extremely experienced and capable director, whose skills and intellect will help lead Newcrest into the next stage of its development as a major gold producer,” Mercer commented.

Hay has experience in business, corporate law, finance and investment banking advisory work.

Newcrest produced 586 573 oz of gold during the three months to September and 19 632 t of copper.

In June, Asic announced that it iwasinvestigating Newcrest after its share price dropped sharply in the days leading up to it announcing a big asset impairment. The miner was accused of breaching disclosure rules and responded by appointing former ASX chairperson Maurice Newman to conduct an independent investigation. Newman’s review could not fault Newcrest’s disclosure practices. The Asic investigation is still ongoing.