Broken Hill Prospecting Ltd (ASX:BPL) has appointed current chief executive Trangie Johnston to the position of managing director.
Johnston will drive the company’s aggressive growth and value-adding strategy in 2018 after multiple successes in 2017 that saw shares double.
Creagh O’Connor, chairman, said: “Trangie’s appointment as managing director of BPL is the logical progression in his role with the company.
“He has played a pivotal role in BPL’s major value-adding initiatives in 2017 such as the Cobalt Blue spin-off and expansion of our mineral sands portfolio within the Murray Basin.”
Exploration in Broken Hill area key objective in 2018
The company’s key objectives in the early part of 2018 are the acceleration of base, precious and industrial metals exploration in the Broken Hill area and advancement of its advanced mineral sands project.
READ: Broken Hill Prospecting's shares positively re-rated
Shares in the company are trading up 70% over the past month after rallying strongly in late December.
BPL delivered over $30 million in equity value-add in 2017 through the spin-out of Cobalt Blue Holdings Ltd (ASX:COB).
It also generated $3.1 million in cash through the divestment of non-core mineral sand assets.
Johnston intends to keep adding value in 2018
Trangie Johnston, chief executive and managing director, said: “My challenge is to optimise BPL’s performance and keep adding value.
“Late last year the board and I formulated a blueprint for the growth of the Company through 2018 and we addressed that in our 2017 annual general meeting presentation.
“I’m looking forward to delivering against that strategy and positioning BPL, over time, to become a mid-tier, multi-commodity, multi-project miner.”
Thackaringa joint venture with Cobalt Blue Holdings
Johnston will continue playing an active role in the Thackaringa joint venture with Cobalt Blue.
Thackaringa is subject to a farm-out agreement whereby Cobalt Blue can earn 100% in four stages by committing $10.9 million expenditure and $7.5 million in cash.
In addition, BPL will receive a 2% net smelter royalty on all cobalt produced from the Thackaringa tenements for the life of mine.