Resource Capital Fund VII, which owns about 5.2% of the shares of Canadian miner Iamgold, on Tuesday announced that it would be nominating a slate of at least three director candidates to provide the gold producer with “desperately needed” mining, operational and governance expertise.
RCF has put forward Maryse Belanger, David Smith and Lawrence Haber as its nominees to serve on Iamgold’s board.
"Our nominees are independent and accomplished world-class directors who bring vast mining experience and knowledge," said RCF head of resource capital Martin Valdes. "They also share a common and very achievable goal: to create a much-needed culture of operational excellence, integrity and accountability at Iamgold, which is essential if Iamgold is to reach its full potential."
RCF has proposed Belanger as chairperson of Iamgold.
On Sunday, the midtier miner announced that Don Charter had retired from his position of chairperson. His departure followed the recent resignation of the company’s president and CEO Gordan Stothart, amid a strategy review.
Valdes said that RCF’s nominees, if elected, would help lead the selection of a new CEO for Iamgold.
“We urge the board to refrain from taking any actions at this time under the guise of the strategic review or in furtherance of the appointment of a new chair or new CEO and to heed the views of its shareholders before making any key decisions on the future leadership of Iamgold.”
RCF also stated that it had lost faith in the current board during the past two weeks of engagement.
“We no longer trust the current board to make any material decisions on Iamgold’s future leadership that reflect the best interest of its shareholders,” said Valdes.