Ian Cockerill's next move

Brendan Ryan | Thu, 04 Feb 2010 13:17

[miningmx.com] -- IAN Cockerill has joined an unlisted gold exploration junior in his first move after being forced out as CEO of Anglo Coal last October as part of a management “cull” carried out by Anglo American CEO Cynthia Carroll.

He’s now “chairman designate” of Hummingbird Resources which is developing new gold projects in eastern Liberia.

Cockerill was formerly CEO of Gold Fields and was handpicked by Carroll in April 2008 to run Anglo Coal.

Hummingbird was founded in 2005 by the Betts family of the UK which has a long history of involvement in the smelting and refining of precious metals.

Cockerill told Miningmx that, “I have long been a close friend of the Betts family and have been advising them over the past eight or so years.

“We have now formalised the relationship . I have become a non-executive director of Hummingbird and, if we find something worthwhile in Liberia, then I will help them float the company through an IPO (initial public offering).”

Cockerill described the exploration work being carried out in eastern Liberia as “exciting but early days and speculative”.

He added, “this is what mining is all about. You start with a concept, do the sampling and drilling work and hopefully end up developing a mine.”

According to the Hummingbird website the company has acquired a land package of 9,000kms in eastern Liberia on what it describes as the last unexplored section of the Birmian Shield.

The Birmian Shield is the geological gold bearing “province” which extends into neighbouring Mali, Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana where a number of major gold mines have been developed.

The company said it had identified five significant gold anomalies to date and had a “first mover” advantage in the area.

Cockerill told Miningmx that he was close to making a decision on other future work commitments.

He commented, “I have had a good break and have decided I cannot just sit around doing nothing. I am getting very close to deciding between several, very interesting offers that I have received.”