Southern Arc Minerals (CVE:SA)(OTCQX:SOACF) announced Friday that at its annual general meeting held yesterday, the company elected Khalid Al-Obaidli, chief investment officer of existing shareholder Qatar Mining, to its board of directors, while also appointing Danny Lee as its new CFO.
Shareholders approved all matters before them, said the company, including a new shareholder rights plan.
Messrs. John Proust, Michael Andrews, David Stone, Robert Gallagher and Khalid Al-Obaidli were elected to the board, with Al-Obaidli nominated in place of Mohammed Al-Shahwani, CEO of Qatar Mining, which purchased a 9.99% interest in Southern Arc in June 2011.
Before joining Qatar Mining in 2011 as chief investment officer, Al-Obaidli held a number of positions with Dolphin Energy Qatar, including business support manager and health, safety and environment manager.
Lee, a chartered accountant with more than 18 years of experience including eight as the CFO of various resource companies, was also appointed as chief financial officer. His experience includes financial reporting for both Canadian and U.S.-listed companies with international subsidiaries, strategic planning, tax planning, corporate governance, equity financings and due diligence for acquisitions.
"Southern Arc is at an interesting point in its evolution, as the company moves from a pure Indonesian focus to a more diverse portfolio of high-quality gold projects in multiple jurisdictions," said chairman and CEO, John Proust.
Late last month, Southern Arc provided financial results for its fiscal year that ended June 30, along with an update on its portfolio of projects in Indonesia as well as its investment in Eagle Hill Exploration (CVE:EAG), which is the owner of the Windfall Lake gold deposit in Quebec.
Despite seeing notable progress at its flagship West Lombok project in 2013, including publishing the first resource estimate for the Indonesian project, the company booked a write down for the property in the fourth quarter, reflecting challenging market conditions that have significantly devalued exploration-stage properties.
The company also said at the time it believes it can more effectively build shareholder value by redirecting its funds to solid projects in stable mining jurisdictions.