New Hope CEO quits

14th January 2022 By: Esmarie Iannucci - Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor: Australasia

PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Coal miner New Hope Corporation on Friday reported the immediate resignation of CEO Reinhold Schmidt, following a short period of personal leave.

CFO Rob Bishop has been appointed as acting CEO.

“Schmidt led the company during a challenging period for both the business and the industry, and delivered organisational changes that positioned the business to withstand the downturn in commodity prices experienced in early 2021, and achieved outstanding returns as markets improved,” said chairperson Robert Millner.

“We are grateful to Schmidt for his contribution to the business and wish him well in the future.”

New Hope has been battling to gain approval for the Stage 3 development of its New Acland mine, in Queensland, and was last month backed by the Queensland Land Court which recommended that the mining leases and environmental authority applications for the project be granted.

New Hope subsidiary New Acland Coal currently operates the existing New Acland mine as a 4.8-million-tonne-a-year opencut coal mine, however, the mine’s reserves are depleted. The Stage 3 expansion project will increase the mine’s yearly output to 7.5-million tonnes and will extend the operation’s life by 12 years beyond the current end-date of mid-2020.

Once approved the New Acland Stage 3 project will create 187 new jobs within the first six months and 487 jobs within 18 months, injecting A$7-billion into the economy.