Mirabela directors resign from board

Mirabela Nickel chairman Geoff Handley and directors Colin Steyn and Peter Nicholson have all resigned from the board of the embattled company, which remains in a trading freeze as it works to restructure its $US454 million of debt.

Ian McCubbing has been appointed to replace Mr Handley as non-executive chairman, with the size of the board stripped back to consist of three directors including managing director Ian Purdy.

Mirabela announced in December it had secured a $US45 million loan from a consortium of the company's noteholders, which would allow it to continue operating as it continued discussions with stakeholders in regards to restructuring its debt.

The nickel miner formally acknowledged “significant uncertainty” about whether it would continue as a going concern after Canadian regulators issued a ‘cease trade’ order in November.

Standard & Poor’s lowered Mirabela’s credit rating to ‘D’ that month, saying it was highly likely the debt restructuring would be in the form of a distressed exchange.

Mirabela shares last traded at 1.6 cents.