Aim-listed iron ore explorer IronRidge Resources (LON:IRR) has appointed a former Rio Tinto (LON:RIO) geologist as the company's country manager for Gabon.
Lennard Kolff van Oosterwijk, known as Len, will replace the roles formerly held by Barry Stoffell and Amanda Geard who have left IronRidge.
"Len will be integral in overseeing SRK Exploration Services along with the evaluation and review of potential new project opportunities” the company said today in a statement.
Most recently, Kolff has been the technical director of Tawana Resources (ASX:TAW) from 2010, overseeing the discovery, resource-definition and evaluation of the Mofe Creek Iron Ore project.
He also worked at Rio Tinto on high-profile projects including the Simandou iron ore project and the Northparkes Cu-Au mine.
SP Angel said: “Len Kolff takes over country responsibility with a formal work programme to be run by SRK in place.”
According to the broker, an exploration budget of US$12.8mln has been set aside for exploration at both the Tchibanga and Belinga projects with a 10,000m drilling programme planned at Tchibanga.
Shares have dropped 59% so far this year but were on the way back up today, rising 3% to 4.25p on the news.