🕐26.03.14 - 12:27 Uhr
ASANKO GOLD STRENGTHENS EXECUTIVE MANAGEMENT TEAM
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News Release - Wednesday, March 26, 2014
Asanko Gold Strengthens Executive Management Team
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Vancouver, British Columbia, March 26, 2014 - Asanko Gold ("Asanko")
(TSX, NYSE MKT: AKG) is pleased to announce changes and additions to
its Executive Management, as it strengthens the team in preparation of
an investment decision in Q3 2014 to commence construction of Phase 1
of the Asanko Gold Mine ("AGM"), its flagship project in Ghana.
The Company has added depth to its technical team with the appointment
of Rob Sherwen-Slater as Mining Executive, who will be based in the
Projects office in Johannesburg.
Rob has over 20 years of mining
experience in operational, project management and executive roles in
Africa and Australia.
Most recently Rob was Group Executive Mining for
Coffey International based in Australia.
Prior to that he was
Operations Director for Norilsk Nickel in Australia, Projects Director
for LionOre Mining in Africa and Chief Mining Engineer for JCI
Projects.
Mike Gloyne, former Chief Operating Officer of PMI Gold has been
retained by the Company on a temporary basis to assist with the
integration of PMIs assets into Asanko.
In addition, Tony Devlin,
Chief Operating Officer of Asanko, has resigned and taken early
retirement.
Josephat (Joe) Zvaipa has been appointed Managing Director -- Ghana and
will be based in Ghana.
Dr.
Ben Adoo, formerly Managing Director and
Chairman of the Companys Ghanaian subsidiary, will retain the
full-time role of Executive Chairman in Ghana.
Joe has over 25 years
of experience in operations management, human resources, training and
development.
During his career, he has held positions as Operations
Executive at Zimasco in Zimbabwe, one of Africas largest integrated
ferrochrome producers, Head of Training and Development at the Hwange
Colliery, Zimbabwes largest coal producer and Head of HR at LionOre
Minings Africa division, until its acquisition by Norilsk Nickel.
Most recently he was Head of Organizational Capability at Asanko.
To fill the role left by Mr.
Zvaipas move to Ghana, the Company has
hired Frans de Bruyn as Organizational Capability Executive, who will
based in Johannesburg.
Frans has extensive human resources and
organizational development experience.
He has held senior managerial
positions in South Africa and Australia with a number of mining and
mining services companies, including Anglo American, Rio Tinto and
Snowden.
During the past 20 years, he has focused on business readiness
and capability development and worked as a consultant with Asanko,
Mantra Resources, LionOre Mining, Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton, BCL, Mimosa
Mining Company and Zimasco.
He holds a Doctorate in Psychology.
Commenting on the announcement Peter Breese, President and CEO, said
"The Executive Management structure has been designed around the
capabilities required for a high performance business to deliver our
vision of becoming a mid-tier gold producer.
I am delighted to welcome Rob and Frans to the team.
I believe we have
put together a highly skilled and appropriately experienced Executive
Management Team with a proven track record of operating in Africa and
delivering projects on schedule and within budget.
I would like to thank Tony for the key role he has played in building
Asanko over the past eighteen months and, in particular, for
implementing our comprehensive stakeholder engagement plan in Ghana,
which is critical to our social license to operate.
On behalf of the
team, I wish him well."
Executive Management Team Biographies
With the addition of Rob Slater and Frans de Bruyn, the Company has
rounded out its Executive Team in line with its vision of becoming a
mid-tier gold producer.
Other current executive team members are as
follows:
Peter Breese, Director, President & CEO
Mr.
Breese has over 25 years operational experience in the global
mining industry, predominantly in southern Africa (South Africa,
Botswana, Tanzania and Zimbabwe) and Australia.
Prior to joining
Asanko, he was most recently CEO of Mantra Resources, before its US$1
billion acquisition by ARMZ, the wholly owned subsidiary of the Russian
State Corporation for Nuclear Energy and Chief Executive of Norilsk
International, following its US$6 billion acquisition of LionOre, where
he was Chief Operating Officer.
Peter has also held senior executive
and Board positions with Impala Platinum Holdings, Mimosa Mining
Company, Zimasco and BCL.
He is currently a Director of TSX listed
Coalspur Mines Limited and holds a PMD from Harvard Business School.
Greg McCunn, CFO
Mr.
McCunn has been the CFO of Asanko for three years and has over 20
years of experience in the mining industry.
His background includes
technical, operational, corporate development and financial roles with
Teck, Placer Dome and several junior mining companies in Canada and
Australia.
Most recently he was CFO of Farallon Mining, during which
time the company constructed and commissioned the G-9 mine in Mexico
and was subsequently acquired by Nyrstar.
Greg holds a Masters degree
in Business Administration as well as a Bachelor of Applied Science in
Metallurgical Engineering.
Dr Ben Adoo, Executive Chairman -- Ghana
Dr.
Adoo is a mining engineer and has almost four decades experience in
Ghana.
He was former Managing Director, Ghana Bauxite Co., a subsidiary
of Alcan, former General Manager of Prestea, Tarkwa and Dunkwa
Goldfields in Ghana and is a past President and Honorary Member of
Council of the Ghana Chamber of Mines.
Dr.
Adoo has also acted as a
representative of Ghanas mining community on many occasions, including
a recent role with the World Bank study on "The Mining Sector and
Business Sector Development in Burkina Faso".
He graduated from the
Camborne School of Mines and holds a Masters in Engineering.
Hugo Truter, Projects Executive
Mr.
Truter is a mechanical engineer and holds a bachelor of commerce
degree in management.
He has over 25 years experience of project and
operational management in Africa and has worked in the gold, base
metals, platinum and diamond sectors.
Most recently he was Manager,
Engineering for Mantra Resources Mkuju River Project in Tanzania
before its acquisition by ARMZ, the wholly owned subsidiary of the
Russian State Corporation for Nuclear Energy.
Prior to this, Hugo held
a number of senior roles at Tati Nickel in Botswana, one of LionOre
Minings major mining operations, including Head of Engineering,
Project Manager of the DMS plant, one of the worlds largest and acted
as General Manager of Tati for two years.
Rob Sherwen-Slater, Mining Executive
Mr Sherwen-Slater has over 20 years of mining experience in
operational, project management and executive roles in Africa and
Australia.
Most recently Rob was Group Executive Mining for Coffey
International based in Australia.
Prior to that he was Operations
Director Australia for Norilsk Nickel, Projects Director for LionOre
Mining and Chief Mining Engineer for JCI Projects.
In addition to these
corporate roles, Rob has had significant experience as a professional
mining consultant in numerous parts of the world.
Ed Munnik, Metallurgical Executive
Mr.
Munnik has over 30 years of experience working in Africa in the
gold, nickel, uranium, copper and cobalt sectors.
During his career, he
was COO of Chambishi Metals, a copper and cobalt smelting, leaching,
refining and electro winning facility in Zambia, Metallurgical
Executive at LionOre Minings Africa division and most recently
Metallurgy Manager at Mantra Resources, where he managed the process
aspect of the Definitive Feasibility Study for the Mkuju River Project.
Ed holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering and a
Bachelor of Commerce degree.
Fausto Di Trapani, Finance Executive
Mr.
Di Trapani is a Chartered Accountant with over 16 years auditing,
accounting and information technology experience.
During this time, he
has held a number of financial management roles at BHP Billiton and
Norilsk Nickel International.
More recently Fausto was Financial
Controller: Africa at Mantra Resources where he was responsible for
managing the financial evaluation of the Mkuju River Project Definitive
Feasibility Study and formulating the National Investment Steering
Committee tax incentive package.
He holds an Honours Bachelor of
Accounting Sciences degree.
Josephat Zvaipa, Managing Director, Ghana
Mr.
Zvaipa has over 25 years of experience in Operations, Human
Resources, Training and Development.
During his career, he has been
Operations Executive at Zimasco in Zimbabwe, one of Africas largest
integrated ferrochrome producer, Head of Training and Development at
the Hwange Colliery, Zimbabwes largest coal producer and Head of HR at
LionOre Minings Africa division, until its acquisition by Norilsk
Nickel.
Most recently Joe was Head of Organizational Capability at
Asanko.
Enquiries:
For further information please visit www.asanko.com or contact:
Alex Buck, Manager -- Investor Relations
Telephone: +44-7932-740-452
Email:
Greg McCunn, Chief Financial Officer
Telephone: +1-778-729-0604
Email:
General enquiries:
About Asanko Gold Inc.
Asankos vision is to become a mid-tier gold mining company that
maximizes value for all its stakeholders.
Asankos flagship project is
the fully financed, multi-million ounce Asanko Gold Mine Project
located in Ghana, West Africa.
Asanko is managed by highly skilled and successful technical,
operational and financial professionals.
The Company is strongly
committed to the highest standards for environmental management, social
responsibility, and health and safety for its employees and
neighbouring communities.
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Copyright (c) 2014 ASANKO GOLD (KGN) All rights reserved.
For more
information visit our website at http://www.asanko.com/ or send
mailto:
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