By Robb M. Stewart
Solaris Resources' shares rallied after it has turned to former Glencore copper boss Matthew Rowlinson to lead the metals company and moved to spin off certain non-core assets.
In early trading Wednesday, the shares jumped 15% to C$3.89, narrowing the year-to-date drop to 5.8%.
Solaris appointed Rowlinson as president and chief executive effective the start of next year. Rowlinson, who recently was head of Glencore's copper development business, will be based in a new company office in Zug, Switzerland, with further appoints in the office to come.
Rowlinson will lead Solaris's executive team, backed by a team at the company's Warintza project in Ecuador that is led by Chief Operating Officer Javier Toro, who is based in Lima, Peru. Solaris said Toro will continue to be supported by Ecuadorian executives.
The company, which is advancing a portfolio of copper and gold assets in the Americas, said it plans to spin off of non-core assets into a new copper-focused company. The majority-owned La Verde joint-venture project with a subsidiary of Teck Resources in Mexico and the Capricho and Paco Orco ventures in Peru which will form the foundation of the spin-out operation.
The changes come as Solaris takes the final steps to leave Canada and shift to Ecuador. The company aims to complete the corporate emigration by year-end, and from January its Canadian offices will be closed and no employees of the company or its subsidiaries will be in the country.