Canada-based natural resources company Mandalay on Tuesday announced the resignation of Dominic Duffy as president and CEO for personal reasons.

Duffy will continue to serve as CEO and assist with the transition of leadership until his departure in July next year. He will remain on the board in a nonexecutive capacity after his departure as CEO.

The company has engaged a recruiting firm to lead the search process for Duffy’s successor.

Executive chairperson Bradford Mills extended thanks to Duffy for his vision, leadership and dedication to Mandalay over the past 12 years. “In particular, Dominic played a crucial role in Mandalay’s turnaround over the past four years, leading a dramatic improvement of our operating performance and financial results,” said Mills.

He noted that when Duffy was appointed CEO in 2018, Mandalay faced significant operational and liquidity issues. “He led Mandalay through these challenges by successfully recapitalising the company, disposing of our noncore assets, transforming both operations and achieving significant exploration success, particularly at Costerfield. His efforts led to the company’s remarkable performance since then, and he leaves Mandalay in a very strong financial position with two producing mines that are generating significant free cash flow and have significant additional exploration potential. We are also glad that Dominic has agreed to continue to serve as a director following his departure as CEO, which will ensure leadership continuity and maintain a strong technical presence on the Mandalay board.”

Further, Mandalay announced that Ryan Austerberry would be promoted to the role of COO. He is currently the general manager (GM) of the Costerfield mine, in Australia, and was previously the GM of Mandalay’s other operating mine, Bjorkdal, in Sweden.

Adam Self, the current mine manager at Costerfield, will replace Austerberry as Costerfield’s GM.