Veteran geologist William Howell has joined the board of ECR Minerals (LON:ECR) as a director and non-exec chairman with effect from the end of May this year.
Previous chairman Paul Johnson has stepped down with effect from today (June 1).
Howell, 70, has 48 years of experience in the minerals industry, having graduated from Southampton university in 1966.
He is a fellow of both the Australasian Institute of Mining & Metallurgy (AusIMM) and the Society of Economic Geologists and is a director of several public companies, including as exploration director of Triple Plate Junction plc (now named Aurasian Minerals plc).
From 2009 to 2012, he was also a director of Toronto-listed Asian Mineral Resources.
Johnson, former ECR chairman, said: "The restructured business is now focused on two gold exploration assets which the board consider to be promising, one in Argentina and the other in the Philippines, with an overarching drive to become a gold producer and/or position ECR as a compelling takeover target.
"There is still work to be done to achieve this, but a key part of doing so is to make sure the company is led by a board with the right balance of skills.
"In this respect there is a need to add a geological capability to the board and to ensure that the chairman has the time available to commit to the next phase of the company’s development."