TORONTO, March 7, 2022 /CNW/ - Argonaut Gold Inc.
(TSX: AR) (the "Company", "Argonaut Gold" or "Argonaut") is pleased
to announce the appointment of Larry
Radford as President, Chief Executive Officer and Director
effective March 21, 2022.
Mr. Radford brings over 35 years of technical and operations
experience in the mining industry. Most recently, Mr. Radford
served as the Chief Operating Officer of Gold Standard Ventures
Corporation, where he was responsible for the leading the
development of the South Railroad Project, including permitting,
feasibility studies and exploration. Prior to, Mr. Radford
held the role of Senior Vice President & Chief Operating
Officer of Hecla Mining Company where he was responsible for
managing the operating portfolio of several underground mines,
including the Lucky Friday mine in Idaho,
USA, the Greens Creek mine in Alaska, USA, the Casa Berardi mine, in
Quebec, Canada, the San Sebastian mine in Durango, Mexico, as well as several mines in
Nevada, USA.
Prior to his role at Hecla, Mr.
Radford held roles of increasing responsibility with Kinross Gold
Corporation from 2007 through 2011, including Vice President &
General Manager of the Fort Knox mine in Alaska, USA, Vice President of Strategic Mine
Planning and Vice President of South American Operations. Mr.
Radford worked with Barrick Gold Corporation from 1989 to 2007,
including 14 years at the Goldstrike mine in Nevada, USA, two years at the Tambo mine in Chile and two years as General Manager of the
Cowal mine in New South Wales,
Australia.
Mr. Radford is a second-generation miner who began his mining
career in 1984 with Coeur D'Alene Mines Corporation. He has
received a Bachelor of Science in Mining Engineering from the
University of Idaho and an MBA from the
University of Alaska. He is a member of AIME and CIM, a
registered Professional Engineer in Idaho, and is a native English speaker that is
also fluent in Spanish.
During Mr. Radford's career, he has managed the second-largest
open pit operation in the USA, the
deepest underground mine in the USA and the largest gold mill in the
world.
Jim Kofman, Chairman of Argonaut
stated: "Larry has had an impressive career in mining operations
and project delivery. During his time with both Barrick and
Kinross, he made a name for
himself – including working directly with members of Argonaut's
board of directors – as someone who was mandated to either turn
around existing mines or deliver on projects that had experienced
challenges during construction and/or ramp up. When we look
at the biggest value drivers for Argonaut over the next several
years, we believe they are: 1) delivering the Magino project on
schedule and within the capital estimate of C$800 million, 2) seeing Magino ramp up to design
capacity as safely and efficiently as possible, and 3) a potential
expansion of Magino's processing facility, including potential
future underground mining concurrent with open pit mining.
Larry's skill set perfectly aligns with these value drivers.
On behalf of the entire board of directors, I welcome Larry to the
Argonaut team and look forward to working with him."
Larry Radford, incoming
President, CEO and Director commented: "Argonaut is a company that
has found a niche in that is has over a decade long history of
operating lower grade mines profitably. With the Magino
project scheduled to come online in 2023, and with the exploration
upside at Magino that could lead to processing expansion or
underground mine development or both, I see an opportunity to
dramatically increase Argonaut's gold production and lower
Argonaut's consolidated cost base. It's clear that the
execution and delivery of the Magino project is the largest value
driver for the Company and I look forward to leading the existing
team to ensure we execute and deliver."
About Argonaut Gold
Argonaut Gold is a Canadian gold company engaged in exploration,
mine development and production. Its primary assets are the
El Castillo mine and San Agustin mine, which together form the El
Castillo Complex in Durango,
Mexico, the La Colorada
mine in Sonora, Mexico and the
Florida Canyon mine in Nevada,
USA. The Company also holds the construction stage Magino
project, the advanced exploration stage Cerro del Gallo project and several other
exploration stage projects, all of which are located in North
America.
For more information, contact:
Argonaut Gold Inc.
Dan
Symons
Vice President, Corporate Development & Investor Relations
Phone: 416-915-3107
Email: dan.symons@argonautgold.com
Source: Argonaut Gold Inc.
SOURCE Argonaut Gold Inc.