After being forced back to the drawing board in March in the face of major environmental opposition to its proposed heap-leach open-pit Angostura gold mine in Colombia, Vancouver-based Greystar Resources (GSL-T, GSL-L) has agreed to change its executive management team and ditch its current directors.
The company said the decision was the result of an agreement with New York hedge fund Amber Capital LP, which controls about 18% of Greystar’s shares and has the support of other shareholders controlling a further 20%.
Greystar suspended permitting applications in March for its giant Angostura project – which has measured and indicated resources totaling at least 8.9 million oz. gold and 56 million oz. silver – after the Colombian government indicated it would not approve the operation as previously proposed. A significant portion of the project lies in Colombia’s paramo ecosystem, which hosts high-elevation peat bogs, grasslands and lakes, and is an important supply of water for the country’s sixth-largest city, Bucaramanga.
Amber Capital has appointed Juan Orduz and Rafael Nieto Loaiza as directors immediately, and will replace the rest of the board at the company’s annual general meeting (AGM) on May 18. Nieto Loaiza has also taken over as president from Steve Kesler, who lasted a little less than a year in the role after taking over last May from retired president and current chairman David Rovig. Rovig has agreed to act as interim CEO until the AGM.
The new executives have considerable experience dealing with Latin American governments and have likely kept some good contacts in Colombia. Nieto Loaiza is a lawyer and a “specialist in constitutional and international law,” as well as the former Vice-Minister of Justice of Colombia. He is also the president of a small consulting firm specializing in environment management and socio-political analysis.
Orduz’s most noteworthy government position was a mouthful called Minister Plenipotentiary, Deputy Chief of Mission of the Colombian Embassy in Washington, D.C. He is also the CEO of the Colombian Coffee Federation in New York.
Greystar has indicated it will look into “the viability of alternative options for the project,” such as underground mining, in an attempt to resolve the outstanding environmental issues.
Nieto Loaiza began Greystar’s new PR campaign by stating: “The company will focus on reformulating the Angostura project in continued compliance with the laws of Colombia and in a manner that is environmentally sustainable and socially responsible to the people and the state of Santander, whose concerns we understand and will address.”
Orduz similarly added, “The path for Greystar is very clear. The Angostura project will succeed only if it truly benefits the people of Colombia – both the current and future generations – by offering them a better life while maintaining their land in a safe and sustainable manner.”
Shares of the company rose 3¢ to $3.12 on April 15, the day after news of the management shuffle was announced.
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