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Ex-Gold Fields takes Troy to Africa Posted: Wed, 09 Aug 2006 [miningmx.com] -- AUSTRALIAN junior gold miner and explorer, Troy Resources, is now being run by ex-Gold Fields executive Tommy McKeith and he’s going where previous management would not – Africa. Four years ago at the Diggers and Dealers conference, Troy’s then head of exploration Chris Ringrose told delegates that the firm would not explore in Africa because “it’s just too hot and scary.” Instead, Ringrose preferred to take Troy into “safer” venues like Mongolia and Russia. McKeith, who was Gold Fields vice-president for business development based in Denver, Colorado, is made of sterner stuff. He also knows the ground better in Africa. He has teamed up with another ex-Gold Fields executive for Troy’s first African venture which is into Ghana. That’s Vic King, the former Africa regional manager for Gold Fields and who was previously heavily involved in the development of the group’s Tarkwa mine in Ghana. King, who left the group in April this year at about the same time as McKeith, is now the CEO of Canadian exploration group Birim Gold Fields which has a large land position on the Bui gold belt in Ghana. Until now Birim has held that ground through a reconnaissance licence but has now converted this to a prospecting licence and drilling is under way. McKeith says Troy has struck a deal giving it a right of first refusal over whatever Birim may find at Bui. “Birim wants to remain a focussed exploration company. They don’t want to get involved in production. “We are looking to develop and operate mines so that we can grow into a mid-tier mining company,” McKeith said when interviewed on the sidelines of this year’s Diggers and Dealers conference being held in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia. Asked why the change in approach McKeith, said: “I’m South African so I guess I have a different perspective on Africa. But reality is that gold production from the established mining regions like South Africa, Australia and Canada is dropping. “You have to go looking in regions where output is growing and West Africa is one of the fastest growing regions in the world in terms of new gold production,” he said. “Also, Ghana is a great place to operate. It’s easier to get things done there than it is in Australia or Brazil. You can also get whatever you need there to develop a mine. There are already three established gold majors operating in the country – Newmont, Gold Fields and AngloGold Ashanti.” McKeith said Troy is interested in a number of other West African countries such as Senegal, Mali and Mauritania. He draws the line at Ivory Coast saying that’s still “a little too hot.” Troy currently has two operating mines – Sandstone in Western Australia and Goias in Brazil – and it produced a total of 71,850 oz of gold in its 2005 financial year. It has exploration ventures underway in Australia, Brazil, Mongolia and Finland and has spent a total of A$35m (about R175m) on exploration since 2000.Free news alerts: click here to subscribe
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