Argonaut Gold names new CEO, shares advance
Argonaut Gold Inc. [AR-TSX] shares advanced in active trading Tuesday after the company named Larry Radford as President, CEO and director, effective March 21, 2022.
The shares gained 1.5% or $0.035 to $2.36 on volume of 2.08 million and now trade in a 52-week range of $4.09 and $1.90.
Radford was most recently the chief operating officer at Gold Standard Ventures Corp. [GSV-TSX, GSV-NYSE], a company that recently announced the results of a feasibility study for its 100%-owned South Railroad gold project in Nevada.
Radford was responsible for leading the development of the South Railroad project, including permitting, feasibility studies, and exploration.
He previously held senior executive roles with Hecla Mining [HL-NYSE] and Kinross Gold Corp. (K-TSX, KGC-NYSE). At Hecla he was responsible for managing the operating portfolio of several undergound mines, including Lucky Friday in Idaho, Greens Creek in Alaska, Casa Berardi in Quebe, and San Sebastian in Durango, Mexico.
His career in mining includes a spell with Barrick Gold Corp. [ABX-TSX, GOLD-NYSE], from 1989 to 2007, featuring 14 years at the Goldstrike Mine in Nevada.
“Larry has had an impressive career in mining operations and project delivery,” said Argonaut Chairman Jim Kofman. “During his time with both Barrick and Kinross, he made a name for himself – including working directly with members of Argonaut’s board of directors – as someone who was mandated to turn around existing mines or deliver on projects that had experienced challenges during construction and/or ramp-up,” Kofman said.
Argonaut is a Canadian intermediate gold producer with assets in Mexico, Canada and the United States.
Argonaut recently announced details of a gold price protection plan for the remainder of the construction phase of its Magino property in northern Ontario.
The Magino mine property is a past-producing underground gold mine located 40 kilometres northeast of Wawa, Ontario, approximately 14 kilometres southeast of Dubreuilville. It is estimated to host proven and probable reserves of 58.9 million tonnes, grading 1.13 g/t gold or 2.13 million ounces.
Argonaut is approximately half way through the construction of a 10,000-tonne-per-day project, and continues to believe that an expansion, including the existing high-grade underground exploration targets, has the potential to meaningfully increase production.
The company’s biggest value drivers over the next several years are expected to be:
- Delivering the Magino project on schedule and within the capital estimate of $800 million.
- Seeing Magino ramp up to design capacity as safely and efficiently as possible.
- A potential expansion of Magino’s processing facility, including potential future underground mining concurrent with open-pit mining.
“Larry’s skill set perfectly aligns with these value drivers,” Kofman said.