Centamin PLC (LON:CEY) boss Andrew Pardey intends to leave the FTSE 250-listed Egyptian gold miner next year.
The company also warned that production for the first nine months of 2019 is lower than expected at 331-332,000 ounces, but said the lower end of its full-year guidance range of 490,000 ounces “remains achievable”.
Pardey, who joined the company 12 years ago as general manager and has given 12 month’s notice of his intention to retire, will remain in place and work on an orderly handover once a successor is appointed.
Josef El-Raghy, founder and chairman, hailed his protégé’s “tireless” work as the Sukari has grown from exploration through to construction and today’s status among the global top 20 gold mines.
Total gold production for the third quarter is expected to be 97-98,000 ounces, due to reduced open pit mining rates on the higher-grade stage 4 west wall.
But with “significant changes” to Sukari’s operational team and the planned mining of higher-grade material from the open pit and underground, the company is still aiming to reach the 490,000 oz mark for the year.