Anooraq has appointed Harold Motaung as CEO
- By http://www.businessday.co.za/articles/Content.aspx?id=139490
Anooraq appoints new CEO after three-year succession plan
PLATINUM exploration company ; has appointed Harold Motaung as CEO, replacing Philip Kotze whose fixed-term three- year contract ended on April 1.
The company said Mr Motaung had worked closely with Mr Kotze over the last three years and his appointment followed a succession planning process.
Mr Kotze will continue to act as a consultant to Anooraq.
Mr Motaung has been an executive director of Anooraq since 2004. He was a founding member of Atlatsa Holdings, the company’s majority shareholder.
Anooraq is set to change its name to Atlatsa soon.
Mr Motaung holds a BSc in mining engineering and an MBA from the University of the Witwatersrand. He was previously employed at the Free State and Vaal River operations of Anglo American for six years.
He then became a Department of Minerals and Energy director within the mine inspectorate. He was later promoted to deputy chief inspector of mines and helped to implement the South African Mine, Health and Safety Act. He has also held positions at the national regulator, the Mining Qualifications Authority and that of chairman at the Mines Research Board, which organised the Mining Safety Fund.
"Philip has made a substantial contribution to the company during an important phase in its development. A critical part of his mandate was to ensure that we achieved a smooth transition when we took over control at Bokoni Platinum Mines and then built a solid management and technical team to manage the operations," the company said.
Anooraq late last month reported a loss of C$90,6m for the year to December compared with a loss of C$66,6m in 2009 .
The group said the main reason for the bigger loss was that the 2009 results reflected a six-month period in which the main Bokoni mine was under Anooraq control, while the 2010 results reflected a 12-month period.
Mr Motaung would assume the CEO role at "another critical juncture, where we need to build on the early steps we have made towards growth and profitability to ensure that we fulfil the mandate that we have been tasked with in turning our assets to account, safely and in a profitable manner," the company said.
andersona@bdfm.co.za