Johannesburg - Rockwell Diamonds has overhauled its executive after the resignation of its chief executive, James Campbell.
Rockwell said the resignation followed a strategic review of the alluvial diamond maker announced last month.
The JSE- and Toronto-listed firm said Campbell would be replaced by Tjaart Willemse, a mining engineer and De Beers veteran with 25 years experience. “James Campbell has tendered his resignation and agreed on a structured handover before leaving at the end of November 2016 as per his employment contract.
“He will also remain a director of the company, working closely with the board and the newly appointed executive, Tjaart Willemse. Tjaart will assume chief executive authority for day-to-day operations and plant completion, reporting to the chairman of the board.”
Ryan Long, an analyst at Northland Capital Partners, welcomed the appointment of Willemse. “Tjaart Willemse appears to be a strong replacement for James Campbell as he is a mining engineer with 25 years of senior operational experience, particularly with operating plants in the diamond industry with De Beers in South Africa,” said Long.
Rockwell said the review was aimed at assessing its position in the diamond mining space, and the effectiveness of defined strategies.
This as the newly acquired Remhoogte Mine in Northern Cape posted low production.
“This review included the performance of its Remhoogte acquisition, which has been below plan, and the construction of the new Wouterspan plant that is behind schedule with a higher cost. Notwithstanding this, the first phase of the wet plant at Wouterspan, being the first two of four circuits, is substantially complete and diamond grades are in line with expectations,” the company said. It said its board had carried out a management review following the recent exit of two senior managers.
Intervention
The board determined further intervention on operations and plant completion was necessary, while new opportunities were being assessed.
Rockwell, with a R82 million market cap, had a strategic and operational review of its business in the last three months of this year to assess its direction, including its commitment to processing 500 000m³ monthly from its Middle Orange River operations.
As a result of lower grades associated with processing old dumps during the third quarter, which were expected to be depleted at fiscal year-end, Rockwell Diamond closed operations at Saxendrift. Rockwell said non-executive director Stephen Dietrich had stepped down due to ill health and Rick Menell had resigned as a result of his demanding schedule.
It said it had appointed former group human resource and industrial relations manager Richard Mhlontlo to represent its economic empowerment shareholder.
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