Outgoing CEO and chairperson Stan Bharti
TSX-V-listed junior African Gold Group (AGG) has announced structural changes to its board of directors and management of the company as it moves towards construction and first gold at its flagship Kobada gold project, in southern Mali.
The company promoted COO Danny Callow to president and CEO, appointed Scott Eldridge nonexecutive chairperson, Jan-Erick Back as vice-chairperson and John Begeman as lead independent director.
Stan Bharti, the current chairperson and CEO, is stepping down.
AGG also announced that it intends to change its name to Avion2 Gold. Shareholders will vote on the new name at the next annual general meeting.
“We are positioning AGG to be the next multi-asset gold producer in Africa, and have the benefit of this new board’s vast experience to take this company into production.
“We now have a top-class operating team led by Danny Callow who has built and operated a number of mines in Africa over the past 28 years, most recently running Glencore’s African Copper and Cobalt division, and who has fast-tracked Kobada into being construction ready in a few short months,” says Bharti.
Callow joined AGG as COO in August last year, having previously served as CEO and executive director of Glencore’s Katanga Mining and CEO of Mopani Copper mines.
New chairperson Eldridge is an executive with international experience in raising project finance debt and equity for mining projects. He co-founded Euroscandic International Group, a private company offering merchant banking and advisory services. Eldridge also served as VP finance and CFO of Amarillo Gold, president and CEO of Arctic Star Exploration and is CEO of Canarc Resource.
Pierre Pettigrew will remain on the board as an independent director, while Ryan Ptolemy will step down as an executive director, but will remain as CFO of the company.
AGG’s flagship project is the planned 100 000 oz/y Koboda mine. The project has a 2.2-million-ounce resource and a 2016 feasibility study proposed a 50 000 oz/y mine that will be in operation for eight years. AGG is optimising the feasibility study and plans to release a definitive feasibility study in the second quarter, a final step before starting construction. The DFS will incorporate results of an additional drilling programme.
AGG recently announced a fast-tracked schedule for Koboda, which reduces construction from 23 months to 19 months.
The 2016 feasibility study demonstrated that the project will require $45.4-million in initial capital expenditure and has an aftertax net present value of $126-million and an internal rate of return of 55%.