Red 5 cease order lifted

West Perth-based gold miner Red 5 has cleared a key regulatory hurdle on the way to resuming production at its mothballed Siana gold mine in the Philippines.

The Philippine Mines and Geosciences Bureau placed a cease and desist order over processing operations at the Siana mine in June last year after studies concluded the mine's tailings wall dam had been compromised.

Red 5 told the market today the Philippines government had agreed to lift the order, subject to the company meeting conditions, following a review of an engineering report submitted in support of the company's request to resume production at Siana.

The company must complete construction of a new high-density polyethylene-lined tailings storage facility, install a proposed thickener and cement addition facility, and modify existing tailings storage facilities.

Red 5 said it expected the works would take six to eight months to complete.

It hopes to resume gold production at the mine early next year and says it currently has $40 million in uncommitted cash to fund the restoration works.

The company has meanwhile announced its managing director Steve Norregaard will step down from his role but will be retained as a consultant with remuneration of $275,000 per annum.

Non-executive director Mark J Williams will step up to the managing director role, with his remuneration package including a base salary of $420,000, a short-term incentive of up to 80 per cent of fixed remuneration, and long-term incentives.

Experienced accountant Ian Macpherson will join the board as a non-executive director.

Red 5 shares closed the day's trade 0.4 cents lower at 7.2 cents.