Keep up with the latest executive movements across the mining sector, including the resignation of Sandfire Resources chief Karl Simich.
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Karl Simich has stepped down as managing director and chief executive officer (CEO) of Sandfire Resources.
Sandfire said Simich made the call having recently completed a transformation of the company’s portfolio, which included the $US1.87 billion ($2.87 billion) acquisition of the MATSA copper operations in Spain.
Simich has also overseen the integration of the asset and its third quarter of successful operations during 2022.
“The company is now consolidating this acquisition, focusing on further optimising and enhancing the MATSA operation, while also preparing to deliver its new Motheo copper mine in Botswana,” Sandfire said in a statement.
“After what has been an incredible journey over the past 15 years, I believe now is the right time to hand over the reins to a new CEO to take this company forward into the next decade,” Simich said.
“I am immensely proud of everything the Sandfire team has achieved during my tenure, which has seen the company evolve from junior explorer to successful mid-tier miner and now an emerging and globally significant copper mining company.”
Sandfire has appointed its chief operating officer Jason Grace as acting CEO as it carries out a global executive search process for its next chief.
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Emerging gold miner Ora Banda Mining has promoted chief executive officer Luke Creagh to managing director.
Creagh is a mining engineer with 20 years’ experience working for contracting and mining companies at projects throughout Australia and overseas.
He most recently served as chief operating officer of Northern Star Resources, and before that was operations manager at Barminco.
Ora Banda chairman Peter Mansell said Creagh was highly experienced in managing mining operations and was well placed to extract maximum value from the company’s highly prospective land package in Western Australia.
Ora Banda also announced the resignation of David Quinlivan and Mark Wheatley as non-executive directors.
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QX Resources has appointed Steve Promnitz as its new managing director. Promnitz recently resigned as managing director of lithium company Lake Resources.
QX said Promnitz would be an important addition as the company advances its lithium assets in Western Australia and its gold projects in Queensland.
Promnitz successfully secured Lake Resources’ lithium assets in 2016 and transformed the business from a $1 million market value private company into an ASX-200 company. Lake had a market capitalisation of $2.1 billion at the time of his departure.
Promnitz said QX had accumulated highly prospective battery minerals and gold projects, offering him a new challenge in his career.
“I plan to advance the current assets and expand the focus on battery minerals by drawing on my extensive networks and skills from the past six years in the battery minerals sector,” he said.
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The Hon Tony McGrady has joined the Hawsons Iron board as a non-executive director.
McGrady is the former Queensland Minister for Mines and Energy and Mayor of Mount Isa and fills a vacancy created by the retirement of Jon Parker.
Hawsons chair Dave Woodall thanked Parker for his significant contribution and welcomed McGrady, who brings to Hawsons exceptional government relations and stakeholder management experience.
“We are very fortunate indeed to have attracted such a high-calibre and experienced director as Tony McGrady to join the board as we prepare to progress our Hawsons Iron project into development and production,” Woodall said.
“As Minister for Mines and Energy, he presided over significant developments within the Mount Isa Carpentaria Minerals province including the Century mine, the Ernest Henry mine and many smaller mines which provided jobs and opportunities to the Gulf Country and north-west Queensland.”