ENDEAVOUR Mining announced Ian Cockerill would take over running of the company after firing its CEO of seven years Sébastien de Montessus for “serious misconduct”.
The gold company said De Montessus’ contract had been terminated with immediate effect following an investigation by its board into an irregular payment instruction for $5.9m. The instruction was issued by De Montessus in the wake of an asset disposal by the company.
Although not specified by the company, the disposal is thought to relate to the sale of the Agbaou mine in Côte d’Ivoire in 2021, according to a report by BMO Capital Markets.
“The board became aware of this in the course of a review of acquisitions and disposals, which is ongoing. Sébastien de Montessus has been removed from the company’s board of directors with immediate effect,” Endeavour said.
Shares in the company fell 6.5% on the Toronto Stock Exchange today. The announcement was made after the London market closed where Endeavour has a premium listing.
Speaking to the Financial Times, De Montessus said he instructed a creditor in 2021 to offset a sum owed to Endeavour to pay for essential security equipment to protect its partners and employees in a conflict zone. There had been a “lapse in judgment” for not informing the board of the arrangement but “the decision had no additional cost to the company and did not benefit me personally in any way”, he said.
Endeavour said that in a separate development, allegations were made against De Montessus in October via the company’s confidential whistle blowing channel “relating to this personal conduct with colleagues”.
Cockerill, currently deputy chair of the board, has been appointed CEO and executive director with immediate effect. Cockerill was previously head of operations at AngloGold and the CEO of Gold Fields, a role he held from 2002 to 2008.
Cockerill, who attended the UK’s Royal School of Mines, is a non executive director of BHP. He would be reviewing current directorships in the light of his appointment, Endeavour said in its announcement.
De Montessus earned headlines previously for ordering the investigation into the botched $2.5bn takeover of UraMin by Areva. He resigned from Areva, where he was head of mining, in 2012.
Endeavour added that full details of the impact of De Montessus’ termination on his remuneration would be disclosed on the company’s website “in due course”.
Today’s developments are a blow to Endeavour which under De Montessus charted remarkable growth from promising mid-tier to a top 10 gold producer following two quick fire takeovers in 2019/2020 of SEMAFO and Teranga Mining.
More recently, he focused the company on developing its own exploration assets promising to uncover 20 million ounces of new gold in five years.
BMO Capital Markets said it did not anticipate “any operational or financial impact at this point” to Endeavour, but its ESG credentials could take a knock despite the prompt action taken by its board.
“The serious nature of the allegations against the outgoing CEO raises broader concerns around governance practices,” said the bank’s analyst Ray Ray.
