JSE-listed Evraz Highveld Steel & Vanadium, which is undergoing an ownership change, confirmed on Monday that Johan Burger had been appointed as its new CEO with effect from October 1, 2014, following on the resignation of Jan Valenta.
Valenta was appointed CEO in April this year after Michael Garcia stepped down from the position.
The change followed on from an earlier announcement that Evraz would sell 34% of its shares in the South African group to Macrovest 147 Proprietary Limited.
The statement was accompanied by news that Barend Petersen, who is also chairperson of De Beers Consolidated Mines, had been appointed chairperson with effect from August 19 and that Evraz would remain a 51% shareholder in Evraz Highveld.
The company also announced on Monday that Valery Borisov would take over as CFO with effect from October 1, following on the resignation of Olga Luzik.
Burger is an electrical engineer and is described as having a “wealth of experience in the steel and mining industries”.
Evraz Highveld reported a net loss of R302-million for the six months to June 30, 2013, and warned that its revenue would remain under pressure during the second half, owing partly to the effect on steel demand of strikes in the mining and engineering sectors.
The company warned that the domestic steel industry was unlikely to expand significantly in the near future, highlighting weak economic growth prospects and the slow pace of government’s infrastructure programmes as key constraining factors.
Iron output increased by 3% to 343 664 t during the interim period when compared with the same period in 2013, but steel output decreased by 5% to 319 197 t as a result of “operational challenges incurred on the slab caster and the basic oxygen furnaces”.
A total of 26 296 t of vanadium slag was produced in the period, containing 3 332 t of vanadium.