[miningmx.com] – PAN African Resources CEO, Ron Holding, is to retire effective from March 31 and will be replaced by the gold firm’s finance director, Cobus Loots, the company announced.
Holding, a mining engineer who replaced Pan African founder, Jan Nelson, in September 2013, will remain in a consultative position at the company for a year, it said. Shares in Pan African were down half a percent at the time of writing.
“The appointment of Cobus as CEO secures the long-term stability and continuity of executive management,” said Keith Spencer, chairman of Pan African in a statement. Loots is 37 years old. “Cobus is very familiar with our business and those issues critical to the success thereof,” said Spencer.
Loots, who was previously managing director of Shanduka Resources, has been a director of Pan African since 2009. He was also previously the group’s joint interim CEO from March 2013 to September 2013.
Loots takes the post at Pan African Resources at a time when the sun is starting to shine on South African-based gold miners, largely owing to the effect of the weakening rand against the dollar.
JP Morgan gold analyst, Allan Cooke, said in a recent report that gold shares would be supported by “a healthy” R450,000 per kilogram gold price whilst Walter De Wet, an analyst at Standard Bank forecast a stronger gold price in rand terms, assisted by the worsening macroeconomic conditions.
However, this doesn’t mean Loots won’t have his challenges. He will firstly have to convince shareholders he has a strong grasp of the technical aspects of mining (as he’s a chartered accountant).
He may also be faced with finding a new black economic empowerment partner depending on how Shanduka’s stake in the gold firm is constituted following the merger with Pembani Resources.
Said Loots a year ago: “Shanduka Resources has always been supportive; they followed their rights in the acquisition of Evander Gold Mines. They will be responsible. We won’t be without an empowerment partner overnight. Even though the situation is fluid, it won’t change overnight”.
Pan African also has a strong track-record of providing returns to shareholders and is one of the few gold shares to attract a following among the likes of institutional investors such as Investec Asset Management. The company had gold production of some 250,000 ounces a year targeted.
The first few months of the firm’s financial year had been difficult, according to a recent trading statement, but the grades at its key mine, Evander Gold Mines, was starting to improve, as planned.
Said Loots today: “We are targeting as much cash flow as possible whether it be 200,000 oz or 250,000 oz of gold we produce. Investors have also come to expect dividend so we’re under pressure to provide that”.
As for his experience, Loots said there would undoubtedly be questions about his technical knowledge. “There is strong expertise into the group and all of us bring different skills. The important thing is to ask the right questions and logic must always prevail,” he said.
