Canadian gold mining company Iamgold on Sunday announced that Don Charter had retired from the board as chairperson, stating that the move was consistent with longstanding plans and in line with the group’s board renewal programme.

Kevin O’Kane had been elected interim chairperson of the board.

Charter’s retirement comes only weeks after Gordhan Stothard resigned as CEO and from the company’s board of directors. CFO Daniella Dimitrov is currently acting CEO, while a search for a permanent CEO is ongoing.

"The board thanks Don for his many contributions, including leading the update of the board's renewal guidelines in 2020 and in effecting its renewal programme. This retirement, together with our previous board and board committee changes, is in accordance with our 2020 board guidelines regarding tenure and board composition, and the renewal process is ongoing,” said O’Kane, noting that the board now had a majority of directors who joined as part of the renewal programme.

He also said that the board was committed to the ongoing review of Iamgold’s portfolio of assets.

“. . . . a focused strategy will prioritise return on investment and cash flow generation, balanced with the capital allocation requirements to ensure the delivery of Côté - a tier-1, generational asset in Canada that is expected to come online next year.”

Earlier this month, Iamgold said that it was evaluating options for the Rosebel mine, which would require a material capital investment in 2022 and 2023 to address certain challenges that the mine had been experiencing over the last two years. These challenges at Rosebel, in Suriname, have resulted in delays in stripping, strategic pit pushbacks, maintenance and the completion of required infrastructure at Saramacca.

Two of the key priorities for Rosebel relate to stripping and mill capacity to treat hard rock. Considerable stripping was required to access deep, higher grade ore in existing pits, resulting in the necessity for a material capital outlay in the next five years. The capacity for the mill to deal with the Rosebel ore hardness could be alleviated by the replacement and expansion of two crushers at an estimated cost of $30-million.

A total of $1.24-billion of capital expenditure is estimated for the remaining 12 years of mine life.