New Gold Inc. (TSX: NGD / NYSEMKT: NGD) ("New Gold") announces that Hannes Portmann has been named President of New Gold. Randall Oliphant will continue in his role of Executive Chairman and Brian Penny will continue as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. David Schummer, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, is leaving New Gold and Raymond Threlkeld, currently a member of the company's Board of Directors, will become Interim Chief Operating Officer.
Mr. Portmann was originally with Western Goldfields Inc. ("Western Goldfields") from 2008 until its 2009 merger with New Gold. After the merger, Mr. Portmann's primary focus was leading New Gold's corporate development team. Over the last several years he has taken on progressively more responsibility in other facets of the business, including investor relations, human resources and exploration, culminating in his role as Executive Vice President, Business Development of the company. He has played a key role in the transactions that have resulted in New Gold having a strong portfolio of assets that combines free cash flow generating mines and significant growth projects. Mr. Portmann has a Bachelor of Science in mining engineering from Queen's University and is a Chartered Professional Accountant.
"On behalf of our Board of Directors and the entire New Gold team, I congratulate Hannes on this well-deserved recognition," stated Randall Oliphant, Executive Chairman. "Having worked in many roles with New Gold and predecessor companies since 2008, Hannes has a deep understanding of the value drivers of both our company and the industry. I look forward to working closely with Hannes, Brian, Ray and the rest of our team to deliver on our commitment of generating long-term shareholder value."
"On behalf of New Gold, I would also like to thank Dave for his contributions since joining the company in September 2014. We all wish him great success in his future endeavours," added Mr. Oliphant.
As Interim Chief Operating Officer, Mr. Threlkeld's primary responsibility will be to lead the project development team through the continued construction of the company's Rainy River project, which is currently over 65% complete and on schedule to begin production in mid-2017. Mr. Threlkeld has extensive history with both the company and the Rainy River project. He was President and Chief Executive Officer of Western Goldfields from 2006 through its 2009 merger with New Gold. Thereafter, Mr. Threlkeld was President and Chief Executive Officer of Rainy River Resources Ltd. through 2013 when it was acquired by New Gold. Mr. Threlkeld adds a tremendous breadth and depth of experience to the team which is underpinned by his strong track record of successful project development and value creation. New Gold will commence a comprehensive search process to recruit a permanent Chief Operating Officer.
Cory Atiyeh, Vice President, Operations, will continue in his current role and report to Mr. Threlkeld. Mr. Atiyeh will continue to be responsible for the company's operating mines, which remain on track to meet 2016 production guidance at costs that are within, or potentially below, the guidance ranges. Mr. Atiyeh has been with New Gold since the company's 2009 merger with Western Goldfields. He and Mr. Threlkeld previously worked together at Western Goldfields where Mr. Threlkeld hired Mr. Atiyeh as General Manager of the Mesquite mine. Mr. Atiyeh was General Manager of the mine from 2006 until early 2016 when he was promoted to his current role.
ABOUT NEW GOLD INC.
New Gold is an intermediate gold mining company. The company has a portfolio of four producing assets and two significant development projects. The New Afton Mine in Canada, the Mesquite Mine in the United States, the Peak Mines in Australia and the Cerro San Pedro Mine in Mexico, provide the company with its current production base. In addition, New Gold owns 100% of the Rainy River and Blackwater projects, both in Canada, as well as a 4% gold stream on the El Morro project located in Chile. New Gold's objective is to be the leading intermediate gold producer, focused on the environment and social responsibility. For further information on the company, please visit www.newgold.com.
Source: New Gold
