AngloGold Ashanti聽(NYSE: AU) (JSE: ANG) has appointed former BHP executive , ending almost a year without a top boss following Kelvin Dushnisky鈥檚 sudden departure last July.
Calder贸n, a 61-year-old Colombian with more than two decades of executive experience in the mining sector, will be starting in his new role on September 1, the company said.
A junior minister in a government that fought drug lord Pablo Escobar and his Medell铆n Cartel, Calder贸n was chief executive of Orica Ltd, an Australian explosives maker,聽until February this year.
The Ivy League economist, who was one of the leading candidates for the top job at BHP before the position went to Andrew Mackenzie, once also ran Cerrej贸n Coal, which was recently acquired by Glencore.听
The world鈥檚 third-biggest gold miner had been on the hunt for a new chief executive since the sudden departure of Kelvin Dushnisky last year
Calder贸n鈥檚 experience and contacts in the home country will come in handy as AngloGold is moving forward with key expansions in Colombia, including its Gramalote joint venture with B2Gold (TSX:BTO) (NYSE:BTG). The asset is at the centre of long-dragged out mining rights dispute with Canada鈥檚 Zonte Metals that .
Calder贸n said one of his priorities will be to improve the credibility of AngloGold Ashanti with investors, noting that the No. 3 gold producer is trading far lower than bigger rivals Newmont and Barrick.
AngloGold Ashanti has had a bad year, with the company鈥檚 lack of a permanent chief executive officer and a suspension of its Obuasi mine in Ghana weighing on the stock.
Investors reacted positively to the appointment of Calder贸n. The company鈥檚 shares climbed as much as in 6.7%聽pre-market in New York and closed almost 6% higher in in Johannesburg, the most in seven weeks.
The new CEO聽will have to take on the company鈥檚 battle to repatriate more than $461 million of its profit from the Democratic Republic of Congo, and resolve challenges with value added tax with the government in Tanzania.
He may also have to decide whether AngloGold should move its primary listing from Johannesburg 鈥� a topic discussed for years.
BMO metals and mining analyst, Raj Ray, said Calder贸n comes at at time considered transitional years for most of AngloGold鈥檚 operations, as the company focuses on ore reserves development.
鈥淸He] is based out of Melbourne, Australia, so it will be interesting to see how he goes about building familiarity and understanding of the various operations quickly given the travel restrictions still in place,鈥� Ray said in a note to investors.
Christine Ramon will remain as interim CEO as Calder贸n assumes the position, and she will return to her role as the company鈥檚 CFO.
During her year at the top job, Ramon laid out a plan to expand output at key operations in Tanzania, Ghana and Guinea. She also discussed investing more than $2 billion in two new mines in聽Colombia 鈥� Quebradona (copper-gold) and Gramalote (gold)聽鈥� from 2022.