Red Rock Resources (LON:RRR) today announced key appointments and said that mine and plant operations in Colombia are improving as a result of recent staff changes.
Resource Star Limited (ASX:RSL), a 24.7 percent associate of Red Rock, has appointed Simon Heggen as managing director and chief executive officer. Heggen is a former group manager business development at WMC Resources, the publicly listed company acquired by BHP Billiton (LON:BLT). He has also held managerial and board positions at other companies, including Boral, Wesfarmers, and Schroders Australia.
Richard Evans, who will remain as a consultant and geological adviser to Resource Star, will now serve as chief scientific adviser at Red Rock.
In addition to that, Red Rock has hired Oscar Alvarado, initially as chief mining operations and development officer. Alvarado will initially be in charge of optimising the operations of the company's 51 percent owned subsidiary Mineras Four Points SA at El Limon and Machuca. It is expected that Alvarado will then move to a senior group wide role.
Red Rock has also provided updates on its Kenyan and Colombian operations. In Kenya, the company has received further metallurgical results on the Macalder tailings, which are currently being assessed by Red Rock’s metallurgist. The drill programme at Migori intensified despite the rains with each drill from overseas having been brought into operation.
In Colombia, the staff changes at the mine made by the new management at Mineras Four Points SA have resulted in continuing improvements in mine and plant operations, which, however, are not yet at satisfactory levels.
Red Rock has also announced that Jupiter Mines (ASX:JMS), which is its key investment, has named Richard Mehan its chief executive officer and managing director. Mehan served as managing director and chief executive of Portman Limited before its takeover by Cliffs Natural Resources, an S&P 500 company. He helped develop Portman into a profitable 9m tonnes per annum iron ore exporter through Esperance port.
Mehan has previously worked for 15 years for Rio Tinto in sales, marketing, business development, and logistics.