Mwana board ends week of ruction in simpatico

Mark Wellesley-Wood

[miningmx.com] – NEWLY appointed Mwana Africa non-executive director, Mark Wellesley-Wood, said the Zimbabwean firm was at peace with itself following the reformation of its board and resignation of CEO, Kalaa Mpinga.

“There were two sets of shareholders at the company: the Chinese and the requisitioners [disaffected investors who wanted change]. They are no longer fighting with the company,” said Wellesley-Wood.

Mwana Africa said earlier this week its founding CEO, Kalaa Mpinga had left with immediate effect following a board coup in which four other directors, two executive and two non-executive, either resigned or were voted off the board in an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) on June 9.

A day earlier, on June 8, Mwana announced that Yat Hoi Ning, had been appointed executive chairman of the company – a move that Mpinga had not supported in the past, and a sign that his 12-year time at the company was drawing to a close.

The EGM has been called by a group of shareholders holding 5.1% of the Zimbabwe gold and nickel firm calling themselves the Concerned Shareholder Group (CSG), of which Wellesley-Wood, briefly chairman of Mwana Africa, was a part.

The CSG maintained there had been significant breaches of corporate governance at Mwana Africa. It also questioned why a dispute between the Mwana board and shareholders Ning and China International Mining Group Corporation regarding the constitution of the board had been taken to court. The Chinese own 29% of Mwana Africa.

Wellesley-Wood said the EGM had been like “a pressure valve” that had been released and he now anticipated a period of growth for the company.

“It’s too early to say if we will restructure the company, or sell assets, but there are a couple of assets sitting in Mwana we could develop,” said Wellesley-Wood.

“I can say that the Chinese have money and they want to grow the company so I imagine that’s what will happen. There will be a period of growth for the company; that’s for sure,” he added.

Earlier today Mpinga said that he was yet to finalise a settlement with the company, but that those talks were due to continue.

Commenting on his own future, he said that he may consider building a new African mining company. “We started with one asset at Mwana and built a company with three mines including one of the top gold producers in Zimbabwe.

“This was all done mostly with African managers. There were very few expatriates who were involved,” he said.

Wellesley-Wood said that the board had received a number of CVs of potential new CEOs. “That’s the most important thing in the short term: to appoint a new CEO.”

He declined to say whether Paul Smith, CEO of Wesizwe Platinum until June 10, was in the running for the post.