PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Gold miner Blackham Resources has announced the ousting of its founding MD and CEO Bryan Dixon just a day after downgrading its production expectations for the 2019 financial year.
Blackham told shareholders on Wednesday that Dixon and the company’s board had mutually agreed to terminate his services contract, effective from May 1, with Dixon to provide assistance to the board, executive chairperson and incoming CEO as required during his notice period.
Executive chairperson Milan Jerkovic will assume the day-to-day management of the company on an interim basis, until a replacement CEO is appointed.
Meanwhile, COO Richard Boffey has also resigned, effective from the end of May.
Blackham said that moving forward, the COO position will not be replaced, but that the current MG at the Wiluna operations, Guy Simpson, will assume control of all direct management of operations and planning associated with the operations.
The new role of GM of operations and planning will initially report directly to the executive chairperson, and ultimately to the CEO, once an appointment is made.
Blackham earlier this week revised its full year production guidance for 2019 from the previously targeted 80 000 oz, to between 66 000 oz and 68 000 oz, after a tough March quarter.
In the three months to March, gold production declined from the 19 016 oz reported in the December quarter, to 15 296 oz, with all-in sustaining costs over the same period increasing from A$1 606/oz to A$1 757/oz.
The miner told shareholders that mill throughput decreased in the March quarter due to harder ore being processed. Compounding the effect of the reduced throughput, 17% of the ore processed during the quarter was also from lwo-grade stockpiles owing to the Wiluna gold mine being mining constrained.