CMCL - Caledonia Mining Corporation Plc Chief Operating Officer to step down | Benzinga
ST HELIER, Jersey , Nov. 17, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Caledonia Mining Corporation Plc ("Caledonia" or the "Company") (NYSE:CMCL, AIM: CMCL, VFEX: CMCL)) announces that Mr. Dana Roets (61) will step down from his role as Chief Operating Officer ("COO") with effect from February 29, 2024. Mr. Roets will remain a director of the Company and various subsidiaries until February 29, whereupon he will also step down from those roles.
Mr. Roets joined Caledonia as COO in 2013 and he has been instrumental in the development of the business over the following decade. During his tenure, production increased from 45,000 ounces to over 80,000 ounces in 2022; in the most recent quarter ended September 30, 2023, Blanket Mine achieved record quarterly production of almost 21,800 ounces. Over the same ten-year period, group all-in sustaining costs reduced from $978 per ounce to $878 per ounce.
The key element in Caledonia's success over the last ten years is the successful implementation of the Central Shaft project which involved the sinking of a six-meter diameter shaft from surface to 1,204 meters. This project was accomplished under Mr. Roets' direction, using internal financial and technical resources, and was completed and commissioned without any fatality. When the work on the revised investment plan started in 2014 (the main component of which was the Central Shaft project), the expected life of mine was up to 2019. As a result of the Central Shaft project, Blanket's mine-life has been significantly extended. The resumption of deep level exploration at Blanket in early 2023 has resulted in encouraging results (as reported in a news release published on July 10, 2023), which, in due course, are hoped to further extend Blanket's mine life.
A process has already commenced to identify a suitable replacement as COO.
Commenting on the announcement, Mark Learmonth, Chief Executive Officer, said:
"Dana has made an outstanding contribution to Caledonia over the last ten years – as evidenced by the increased production, reduced costs and exploration success which we believe will, in due course, extend Blanket's life of mine. This was achieved against the backdrop of a challenging operating environment and the COVID-19 pandemic which introduced a new set of unanticipated operational challenges.
"Dana is leaving the business not only having seen Blanket Mine hit its long-term target of 80,000 ounces (in 2022), but also with an operational solar plant providing around a quarter of Blanket Mine's daily electricity requirements, thereby reducing our dependence on diesel generators. More recently, he has overseen the construction of the first phase of a new tailings storage facility which, when fully built, is expected to serve the mine for at least the next fourteen years at the current production rate.
"Along with the board and his colleagues, ...