Apollo Minerals Limited (ASX:AON) has made several changes to its board, with executive director Hugo Schumann transitioning to a non-executive role and the departure of non-executive director Michel Bonnemaison.
To bolster its expertise, Apollo has engaged geologist Bradley Drabsch as a consultant to assist with the company’s large-scale, near-surface Kroussou Zinc-Lead Project in western Gabon.
Former managing director of earn-in partner
Drabsch is a geologist with over 20 years’ experience and has extensive first-hand knowledge of the Kroussou project, having been responsible for identifying and securing the project as managing director of Trek Metals Ltd.
Apollo is also undertaking a one-for-one pro rata non-renounceable entitlement offer with new shares offered at 2.5 cents each raising up to $4.2 million.
The capital raising will open on September 23 and close October 7, with shares anticipated to be issued Friday, October 11.
Funds will be used for new and existing activities centred on the development of Kroussou.
Subsidiary achieves partial activity ruling
After the negative court ruling to cancel the Couflens exploration permit, the French Ministry of Labour had also rejected the company’s application for partial activity for local subsidiary Mines du Salat.
This partial activity would allow Apollo to maintain the employment of key members of staff while the appeal process against the court ruling was heard.
Apollo has appealed the rejection and the Ministry of Labour has now revised its decision and approved a state of partial activity for the subsidiary.
Schumann transitions to non-executive diector
Apollo executive director Hugo Schumann will transition to a non-executive director role from the end of this month, after his decision to leave the company and pursue an opportunity at a tech-driven natural resources company in the US.
Schumann was instrumental in attracting leading institutional investors onto the company register, positively transforming stakeholder relations in France, progressing work programs at the Couflens project and assisting with the due diligence and acquisition of Kroussou.
He will remain involved as non-executive director to oversee the start of activity at Kroussou and to assist with the Couflens appeals process.
Employment agreement terminated
The employment agreement between non-executive director Michel Bonnemaison and Apollo’s French subsidiary Variscan Mines SAS has been terminated and Bonnemaison no longer holds executive positions on the company’s local subsidiaries.
The services contract with Bonnemaison’s company E-Mines has also been terminated.
Substantial exploration upside
Kroussou consists of one prospecting licence and covers more than 986 square kilometres in the West African nation of Gabon.
Exploration work undertaken by previous operators at Kroussou identified 150 base metal occurrences along a plus-70-kilometre strike length of prospective geology.
The zinc-lead mineral occurrences are hosted within exposed channels that offer very shallow, near-surface targets close to the Archean and Paleoproterozoic basement rocks.
Only two of the 18 exposed channels were drill tested historically, with both channels containing significant base metal mineralisation.
Apollo stands to earn up to 80% interest in Kroussou through its earn-in agreement with Trek Metals Ltd by spending $2 million on the project within three years to earn 70% and spending a further $2 million within five years to earn an additional 10%.