VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire - Dec. 19, 2012) - Ecometals Limited (the "Company") (TSX VENTURE:EC)(BERLIN:GDQ)(FRANKFURT:GDQ) announces that Mr. Lawrence M. Clark, Jr. who was recently appointed to the Board of Directors of the Company did not stand for election at the annual general meeting of shareholders held on December 17, 2012 (the "AGM"). Mr. Clark decided that the Company's interests would be best served by him acting in an advisory role. Accordingly, Mr. Clark will continue to provide advice to the Company while it is considering a number of strategic actions to reposition itself as a leader in South American mining.
In his place, Mr. Russell Fryer was nominated and elected at the AGM. Russell Fryer has 23 years experience investing in developed and developing markets with a focus on mining and natural resources. With a background in engineering, Mr. Fryer has advised mining companies in pre-production and production stage of mineral output.
Previously, Mr. Fryer was a Managing Director at Macquarie Bank. Before Macquarie, Mr. Fryer managed investor capital in the natural resources sector at Baobab Asset Management and North Sound Capital. Throughout his career, Mr. Fryer has also worked with investment banking firms such as Robert Fleming, HSBC and Deutsche Bank.
Mr. Fryer holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Newport University in Johannesburg South Africa along with an Advance Degree in International Taxation from Rand Afrikaans University, also in Johannesburg South Africa.
Mr. Fryer stated: "I greatly look forward to joining the Ecometals team and helping create sustainable value for all Ecometals shareholders."
Mr. William Lamarque, the Company's Chief Executive Officer commented as follows: "We were disappointed that Counsel's advice suggested that Mr. Clark's role as a lead advisor to the Company on a number of our key initiatives could give rise to conflicts with his role as Chairman, leading him to step down. But we are delighted to welcome Mr. Fryer to our Board and the Chairmanship for which his background eminently qualifies him."