Mountain Province Diamonds names new CEO
Mountain Province Diamonds Inc. [MPVD-TSX, NYSE] on Tuesday said mining industry veteran Mark Wall has been named President and CEO of the company, effective on November 15, 2021.
He replaces Stuart Brown, who stepped down from the position last month.
Most recently, Wall was CEO of Streamers Gold Mining, a subsidiary of Shandong Gold Mining, which was set to acquire TMAC and its Hope Bay mine last year before the deal was rejected by Canadian regulators.
Before joining Streamers, Wall was Chief Commercial Officer and Chief Operating Officer of Nevada Copper Corp. [NCU-TSX]. He was previously Senior Vice President & Operations Officer for Barrick Gold Corp. [ABX-TSX, GOLD-NYSE]. Wall notably held senior leadership roles at Barrick joint ventures at both its Veladero (Argentina) and Kalgoolie (Australia) mines.
On Tuesday, Mountain Province shares eased 2.00% or $0.01 to 49 cents on volume of 432,320. The shares currently trade in a 52-week range of 82 cents and 37.5 cents.
A Scotiabank report said the appointment was considered good news for the shares because it swiftly fills the company’s leadership gap and provides some clarity for investors after the abrupt departure of the previous CEO.
While Brown also resigned as a director, the company said he would provide assistance to the company to facilitate the transition period.
Mountain Province is a Canadian diamond mining company. In a joint venture with De Beers Ltd., it operates the world’s largest and richest new diamond mine – Gahcho Kue – located in Canada’s Northwest Territories.
Gahcho Kue is a fly-in-fly out operation located 280 kilometres northeast of Yellowknife and is expected to produce an average of 4.5 million carats per year (100%) over an initial 12-year lifespan. Production during the first five years (2017 to 2021) was expected to average 5.4 million carats annually.
De Beers Canada has a 51% stake in the operation, with Mountain Province holding the other 49%.
Earlier this year, the company reported an outbreak of COVID-19 at its Northwest Territories mine site, which resulted in the temporary suspension of production-related activities.
For context, the Government of the Northwest Territories defines an outbreak in a closed facility (which includes remote camps) as one or more confirmed or probable case(s) of COVID-19 where the infection is acquired within the facility, Mountain Province said.
Mountain Province’s largest shareholder Dermot Desmond agreed to refinance the company’s US$25 million maturing revolving credit line after its financial and operational results in the second quarter of 2020 were heavily impacted by COVID-19 headwinds and associated global migration efforts to slow down the spread of the virus.