PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Gold miner St Barbara has announced that MD and CEO Dan Lougher will step aside on June 30, to be replaced by Andrew Strelein, subject to the completion of the Leonora assets sale to Genesis Minerals.

Strelein is a highly experienced mining executive with extensive global experience in leadership roles across a number of mining jurisdictions including Australia, Indonesia, Africa and North America. He joined St Barbara as chief development officer in August 2021 and was instrumental in the acquisition of Bardoc Gold and the sale of the Leonora assets to Genesis Minerals.

Prior to joining St Barbara, Strelein was CEO of the entity progressing development planning and permitting of the Nimba iron-ore project in West Africa.

Lougher has agreed to provide a comprehensive handover of responsibilities to support Strelein for a period beyond his retirement date.

“I have enjoyed my short but exciting time at St Barbara,” Lougher said on Thursday.

“My final day as MD and CEO of St Barbara will be spent at Gwalia to meet with the team and to observe the last gold pour under St Barbara’s ownership. It has been a highlight to oversee the stabilisation of Gwalia’s operational performance while the organisation was involved in a complex transaction. I will hand over the keys at Gwalia to Genesis Minerals with great pride in the site team’s performance and wish everyone the best.”

Genesis’ A$631-million acquisition of the Leonora assets is expected to settle on June 30.

Meanwhile, St Barbara nonexecutive chairperson Kerry Gleeson on Thursday welcomed Strelein in his new role, saying he had significant global experience in business development, project advancement and permitting and knew St Barbara well.

“He is ideally suited to take over as the company enters a new phase. I would also like to thank Lougher for his invaluable leadership at St Barbara to stabilise Gwalia performance while the company navigated a period of intense change culminating in the transaction with Genesis Minerals. On behalf of the rest of the board, I wish Lougher well as he returns to his nonexecutive director portfolio career with another successful transaction to add to his achievements,” she said.

Meanwhile, St Barbara has also appointed Sara Prendergast as CFO with effect from September 1. She will succeed Lucas Welsh who has been the CFO since August 2021.

With the closure of the Melbourne office, Welsh will be leaving St Barbara following the handover of responsibilities after finalisation of the 2023 financial accounts. Welsh will depart on September 30 to ensure a smooth and orderly handover of responsibilities.

Prendergast joined St Barbara as GM for finance and procurement in October 2020 and has extensive experience in finance roles including at Orica, Downer, BHP, Glencore, Minara Resources and Gold Fields.