Chaarat Gold

Chaarat Gold Holdings Ltd is a gold exploration and development company which is listed on London’s Alternative Investment Market (AIM:CGH).

The Company has a 100% interest in the 604 square kilometre exploration licence in the western part of the Kyrgyz Republic, which covers an area of extensive gold mineralisation, within the Tien Shan Gold Belt.  In 2010, the Company announced a resource update at its Chaarat Gold Project, delineating a JORC compliant mineral resource of 4 Moz at a grade of 4.14 g/t gold.  The resource increase was the result of a 5,357 metre drilling programme across a six kilometre strike length.

A scoping study demonstrating the economic viability of the Chaarat Gold Project was completed at the end of 2008.  The Company is currently in the process of compiling a pre-feasibility study which is on track for completion Q3 2010.  Chaarat's objective is to become a low cost gold producer targeting an initial production of over 200,000 ounces per annum by early 2013.

Extensive prospecting has only been conducted on one of the three known clusters of gold occurrences within an area of approximately 48km2, referred to as the Chaarat Gold Project, which hosts many highly prospective gold occurrences. The two other prospective clusters which have been identified in the Licence area, Minteke and Kashkasu will be explored as soon as practical.

Board of Directors

Christopher Palmer-Tomkinson

(Non-Executive Chairman)

Christopher graduated from Oxford University and joined Cazenove in 1963. He served as a partner from 1972 until 2001 and as managing director of international corporate finance until May 2002. He was responsible at various times for Cazenove’s African and Australian business focussing on the resource sector. Christopher is also a former director of Highland Gold Mining Limited. He is a member of both the Remuneration Committee and the Audit Committee. 

Dekel Golan

(Chief Executive Officer)

Dekel Golan is a graduate of Tel Aviv University. Formerly president of Apex Asia LDC, a subsidiary of Apex Silver Mines Limited, he has extensive experience in developing businesses, in emerging economies as well as the developed world. Dekel was the founder and Executive Chairman of APC Limited, a coffee and tea producer in Africa.  In addition, he has advised a number of international and Israeli companies on business development. Prior to those activities Dekel was Vice President of Business Development of Supersol, the largest retail operator in Israel and worked at Dead Sea Bromine Group, the world’s largest bromine producer. 

Alexander Novak

(Executive Director)

Alex Novak is a graduate of the Kazakh Polytechnic Institute (M.Sc). He has assisted companies investing in Kyrgyzstan in various aspects of finance, administration and representation with the authorities since 2000. He has more than 25 years experience in all aspects of business management in Central Asia including negotiations with governmental institutions, contractors, preparation of development plans, monitoring of operations and public relations.

From 1992 to 1995, he was a founding partner and a director of Maya Elev Diamond Limited, a diamond processing plant in Russia.  From 1978 though to 1990, Mr Novak held several positions at numerous construction companies in Kazakhstan, including Director of KazStroiMontajAvtomatika.  Alex is the sole director of Chaarat Zaav.

Linda Naylor

(Finance Director)

Linda is a graduate of the London School of Economics and a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales. A former partner in Grant Thornton UK LLP, her experience gained over more than twenty years included working as a nominated adviser in the Capital Markets team from 1996 and as an audit partner specialising in the natural resource sector. 

Dr Robert Weinberg MA, DPhil, FGS, FIMMM

(Non-Executive Director)

Rob Weinberg gained his doctorate in geology from Oxford University and has more than 35 years of international mining industry experience. He is an independent mining research analyst and consultant. He is a Fellow of the Geological Society of London and also a Fellow of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining.

Rob brings a wealth of marketing and investment banking experience to the Company having held executive positions that include being Managing Director, Institutional Investment at the World Gold Council. Previously he was a Director of the Investment Banking Division of Deutsche Bank in London,  head of the global mining research team at SG Warburg Securities and head of the mining team at James Capel & Co. He was formerly Marketing Manager of the Gold and Uranium Division of Anglo American Corporation of South Africa Ltd. 

Dr Weinberg has been an independent non-executive Director of Kasbah Resources Ltd, listed on the ASX, since 15th November 2006, also of Medusa Mining Ltd since July 1st 2006 (listed on the ASX , LSE and TSX), and of AIM listed Solomon Gold plc since 22nd November 2005. He is also an independent non-executive Director of Metallon Corporation Plc, a private company.

He is Chairman of both Chaarat's Audit and the Remuneration Committees.

Senior Management

Andrew Howson

(Chief Financial Officer – Kyrgyzstan)

Andrew is a qualified cost and management accountant and after gaining experience at large multinationals including Cable & Wireless he worked for three years at the Andash Mining Company in Kyrgyzstan. He was responsible for the in country finance, purchasing and administration and assisted with negotiation of finance facilities and in corporate transactions.

In 2010 he moved to Kazakhstan to work for Ivanhoe Mining at the Bakyrchik project and was heavily involved in setting up the new systems to enable a significant increase in the size of the operation. He joined Chaarat in March 2011. 

John Scott

(Acting Project Manager)

John Scott is a mechanical engineer by profession and is a Fellow of the Institute of Materials Handling and a member of the Project Management Institute.

He has over 35 years experience in project engineering and project management. He has extensive expertise in the management of medium and large minerals and metals processing plant projects including the Venetia Diamond Mine, Hartley Platinum, Tubatse Ferrochrome and the Moma Mineral Sands projects.

He has been study manager on numerous feasibility studies, at all levels, for gold, diamond, platinum, mineral sands, cobalt and iron ore facilities mainly with Bateman Engineering and recently with SNC-Lavalin.

Dushen Kasenov

(Deputy Project Manager)

Dushen completed his PhD at the Institute of Civil Engineering in Moscow in 1986, he is also a gradute in Civil Engineering of Frunze Institute, Bishkek.  He holds various vocational qualifications in management, health and safety and Engineering.  In 1997 he was awarded an Honorary Diploma from the Kyrgyz Republic for his commissioning and construction of the Kumtor Gold Mine.

Dushen has worked extensively in Kygyzstan and has far reaching knowledge of development and engineering processes and strategies within the country. -

During his time at Kumtor he worked as a manager in many areas including environment, projects and safety.  Dushen has also worked as Deputy General Director of construction for Kazakhmys Gold Kyrgyzstan LLC as well as a supervisor for UrAsia in Kyrgyzstan and as a consultant for Kazakhmys Projects LLC, Karaganda & Almaty, Republic of Kazakhstan.

Sunit Patel

(Vice President - Geology)

Sunit Patel holds a B.Sc. (Honours) degree in Geology from Sambalpur University, India and a M.Sc. (Geology) from Berhampur University, India. He is a Fellow of the Geological Society of India, the Geological Society of London and a Member of the Geological Society of South Africa and has more than 20 research publications to his credit. Sunit was a Senior Exploration Geologist with the Geological Survey of India.

He has more than 20 years in Greenfield and Brownfield exploration including gold exploration in Noa Dihing valley - India. Before joining Chaarat, he established and led a large exploration department for CHEMAF s.p.r.l. in DRC. Prior to his move to the commercial sector Sunit served the Geological Survey of India as Senior Exploration Geologist.

Suresh Kalathil

(Mine Manager)

Suresh graduated from Bangalore University as a mining engineer in 1992. During his 17 years of operating experience he has held open pit and underground Mine and Operations Manager roles for Vedanta Resources plc and Mawarid Mining in India, Armenia, Zambia and Oman. His expertise is in all aspects of  mine operations, development and management.

He has recently been responsible responsible for fast tracking two new open pit mines in Oman to production.