Interesting to hear something from the, possibly, new CEO. ECUADOR GOLD & COPPER ANNOUNCES NEW CEO AND SECOND QUARTER FINANCIAL RESULTS
Ecuador Gold & Copper Corp. has appointed Heye Daun as the new interim chief executive officer of the company. Mr. Daun was elected as a director of the company at the annual general meeting of shareholders on June 18, 2015. Glenn Laing did not stand for re-election as a director and has stepped down as chief executive officer, but he will remain as interim president for a transition period to assist the new chief executive officer in assuming his executive role. The company wishes to thank Mr. Laing for his service to the company in the past and for agreeing to assist with the transition period.
Mr. Daun is a Namibian-born mining engineer and MBA with 20 years of experience with top-tier mining companies and financial groups. Most recently, he served as the chief executive officer and president of Emerge Resources Corp. from September, 2013, to March, 2015. He was a co-founder and president of Auryx Gold Corp. from June, 2010, to December, 2011. Mr. Daun was instrumental in leading the transformation of Auryx from initial formation as a private exploration company in 2009 through listing on the Toronto Stock Exchange's main board, raising of more than $80-million in equity capital, development of the project from exploration to advanced prefeasibility stage and eventual sale of the company to B2 Gold Corp. in a $160-million transaction at the end of 2011. Mr. Daun qualified as a mining engineer in 1994 and has extensive mine building and operating experience gained from working for Rio Tinto, AngloGold and Gold Fields. He is the former mine superintendent at AngloGold's Sadiola and Yatela mines and a former mine manager at Goldfields' Tarkwa mine in West Africa. After graduating with an MBA in 2004, Mr. Daun worked in mining finance, investment analysis and portfolio management for South Africa's Nedbank Capital and Old Mutual Investment Group, respectively, among South Africa's top investment banks and fund managers. In 2008, he joined the Bright Resources Group, an established South African niche finance house, as its principal mining specialist and has since co-invested and executed on a number of transactions.
Mr. Daun stated: "I look forward to the challenge of leading this junior gold-copper exploration company into its next phase. Having recently returned from a technical visit to Ecuador, I was very excited to experience first-hand the significant exploration and project development potential inherent in the company's projects. The recently completed preliminary economic assessment of its Santa Barbara gold-copper project now needs to be optimized and refocused towards more economic alternatives. The company's other projects also require significantly more exploration work in order to unlock their full potential and to maximize shareholder value. We have a core of strong shareholders who currently support this vision, and I look forward to building value for all shareholders and stakeholders."
Pursuant to the recent election of directors, the company has reconstituted its board committees with members from its new directors. The audit committee now comprises Francisco Narvaez (chair), Marcelo Rivadeneira and Gonzalo Mendoza; the compensation committee now comprise Gonzalo Mendoza (chair), Heye Daun and Francisco Narvaez; and the corporate governance committee now comprises Gonzalo Mendoza (chair), Francisco Narvaez and Marcelo Rivadeneira.
In addition, the company has also completed reporting of its second quarter financial statements for the three and six months ended April 30, 2015, and the corresponding management discussion and analysis, which are both available for review under the company's profile on SEDAR.
IMHO, Daun may be considerably better as a CEO in terms of meeting the needs of all shareholders. Good Luck all....
B