TINASHE MAKICHI
Caledonia Mining Corporation’s chief executive Steve Curtis (pictured) will be stepping down from his role in June next year after reaching retirement age, Business Times can report.
He will be succeeded by CFO Mark Learmonth.
Curtis will continue to serve as a director of Caledonia, transitioning from an executive to a non-executive role by the end of 2022 and will also act as a consultant to the company until the end of 2023, the company said.
“Under his calm and steady leadership since November 2014, Caledonia’s production has almost doubled and its market capitalisation has increased over four-fold. Steve has also laid the foundations for the next phase of Caledonia’s growth,” Caledonia Mining Corporation chairman Leigh Wilson said.
Wilson said the Central Shaft project at Blanket Mine has been the defining feature of Curtis tenure as Caledonia’s CE.
This project commenced in February 2015 and the shaft was successfully commissioned in March 2021.
The new shaft is expected to result in production increasing to 80,000 ounces of gold per annum from 2022 onwards – almost double the level of production we achieved in 2014.
Central Shaft is also expected to result in lower operating costs and capital expenditure, thereby enhancing earnings and cash generation respectively as well as allowing a resumption of deep-level exploration which, if successful, will extend Blanket’s mine life.
Wilson said the completion of the Central Shaft and the anticipated increase in cash generation would be the foundation for Caledonia’s growth.
“Under Steve’s stewardship, the strength and depth of Caledonia’s management team has increased so that it has the capacity to take on new projects.
“In recent years, under Steve’s leadership, Caledonia has also improved its relevance to international capital markets, which has resulted in a substantial increase in Caledonia’s share price since 2014 and a significant increase in the liquidity of its shares which now trade on Alternative Investment Market, New York Stock Exchange and the Victoria Falls Stock Exchange in Zimbabwe,” Wilson said.
The process of recruiting Curtis’ successor was carried out independently by Spencer Stuart, a leading global executive search and leadership consulting firm.
The incoming chief executive joined Caledonia in 2008, having spent over 17 years in corporate finance and investment banking, mostly in Africa.
Learmonth has been Caledonia’s chief finance officer since November 2014 and is experienced in the complexities and opportunities that arise from operating in Zimbabwe, the miner said.
“I am delighted that Steve will remain with Caledonia in a non-executive role and look forward to his invaluable guidance in the future, which I am certain will continue to be a major asset to the Company,” Wilson said.
On April 1, 2006 a wholly-owned subsidiary of Caledonia Mining Corporation completed the purchase of the Blanket Mine from Kinross.
Caledonia has allowed Blanket to make considerable capital investments in its underground, surface and township facilities.
