Osisko Gold launches search for new CEO
Osisko Gold Royalties Ltd. (OR-TSX, OR-NYSE) on Wednesday announced the appointment of Paul Martin as interim CEO following the departure of President and CEO Sandeep Singh, effective immediately.
The shares fell in active trading, easing 9.2% or $1.89 to $18.56 on volume of 2.24 million, and now trade in a 52-week range of $24.41 and $11.90.
“The board remains committed to continuing our focus on prudent capital allocation and ensuring sustainable value creation,’’ said Joanne Ferstman, Osisko’s Lead Director, on behalf of the Board.
“After careful consideration, the independent directors unanimously concluded that a change of CEO was necessary to best position Osisko for continued long-term success,’’ she said.
As part of the company’s commitment to continuous governance improvement, Ferstman said Sean Roosen will transition from his role as Executive Chair of the Board to non-Executive Chair of the Board, effective immediately.
“This change reflects Mr. Roosen’s desire to focus more on his role at Osisko Development Corp. [ODV-TSXV], while maintaining his valuable insights and guidance with the Corporation,’’ Osisko said in a press release.
The company said Martin has significant experience in multi-operationally focused mining companies. “His appointment will ensure a smooth transition and continuity of Osisko’s existing disciplined strategy while the board undertakes its search for a new President and CEO.’’
Osisko Gold Royalties is an intermediate precious metal royalty company with a focus on the Americas. It holds a portfolio of over 160 royalties, streams and precious metal offtakes. Its portfolio is anchored by a 5% NSR royalty on the Canadian Malartic Mine in Quebec, which ranks as the largest gold mine in Canada.
The company recently added to its portfolio via a binding agreement to acquire a 1.0% copper net smelter return (NSR) royalty and a 3.0% gold NSR royalty from Australian company Hot Chili Ltd. [HCH-TSXV, ASX, HHLKF-OTCQX] covering the Costa Fuego copper and gold project in Chile.
Costa Fuego has the potential to be a long-life, lower-cost copper mine in Chile, with significant byproduct credits, importantly situated at low elevation and in close proximity to key infrastructure.
The project is estimated to contain an indicated resource of 725 million tonnes of grade 0.47% copper equivalent (CuEq), grading 0.38% copper, 0.11 g/t gold, 0.45 g/t silver, and 93 ppm molybdenum. That material is hosted in both the open pit and underground portions of the Cortadera and Productora deposits.
The resource estimate includes an inferred resource of 202 million tonnes of grade 0.3% copper and 0.06 g/t gold.
Hot Chili’s June 28, 2023 PEA projects a 16-year mine life with average annual production of 95,000 tonnes of copper and 49,000 ounces of gold in the first 14 years.
Osisko said an updated mineral resource estimate for the project is scheduled for late 2023 and will serve as the basis for a pre-feasibility study that is scheduled for completion in 2024, following a 30,000-metre drilling campaign.