Perth-based Allied Gold Ltd has appointed mining engineer Richard Johnson as its new chief executive, while announcing the resignation of Grant Brock as company director and chief operating officer.
Mr Johnson has more than 30 years of experience in the mining industry, working at gold and platinum mines in South Africa and has worked as an independent mineral industry consultant in Brisbane and for DRDGold Ltd when it operated the Tolukuma gold mine in Papua New Guinea.
He was a director of Emperor Mines Ltd and was involved in selling DRDGold's PNG assets into Emperor.
Allied said Mr Johnson's long association with mining projects in Papua New Guinea and his knowledge of the Simberi Oxide Gold Project project, having reviewed it in his prior positions, would bring considerable value to the company as it moved to become a significant gold producer.
Mr Johnson will initially work closely with the current executive chairman, Mark Caruso to ensure a smooth transition, following which it is expected that Mr Caruso will assume the position of non-executive chairman of the company.
Allied thanked Mr Brock for his efforts and contribution to the development of the Simberi project and wished him well in his future endeavours.
In a separate announcement today, Allied advised that it had completed a placement of 14.6 million shares at $0.72 cents to raise approximately $10.5 million, before expenses.
The placement, representing approximately 4.27 per cent of the shares in issue prior to the placement, has been made to institutional clients of UK-based Mirabaud Securities Ltd and falls within the company's 15 per cent placement capacity.
