Kerr Mines is pleased to announce the appointment of Claudio Ciavarella as Chief Executive Officer and Martin Kostuik as President and Director effective immediately.
The appointments are consistent with the Company's strategy to strengthen its leadership team through the addition of experienced executives who bring business, mining, operational and technical expertise.
"The additions of Claudio and Martin to Kerr's management team will provide invaluable business and technical leadership as we advance our flagship Copperstone gold mine." said Mr. Fahad Al Tamimi, Chairman of Kerr. "Their experience and expertise will be especially valuable as we begin to execute exploration and development programs, designed to better define our resource and optimize Copperstone's economics."
Ciavarella (CPA) earned his Bachelor of Business Administration from Wilfrid Laurier University's School of Business and Economics, where he graduated Honours with Distinction. Ciavarella is a successful private business owner with more than 25 years of experience in the construction, real estate and manufacturing industries.
He is currently President of the Forte Group of Companies, a custom manufacturer, and is also Chief Financial Officer of the Aqua Tech Group, a dewatering and construction company. He is a Certified Professional Accountant receiving his designation in 1994, and has served on the Board of Kerr for over seven years where he has recently taken an active role in the restructuring of the Company. Mr. Ciavarella is Kerr's second largest shareholder, owning approximately 13% of the Company's issued and outstanding shares.
Ciavarella stated, "I'm pleased to be joining Martin on Kerr's management team and I am very committed to unlocking shareholder value through our plan to bring the Copperstone to its full potential."
Kostuik (B.Sc., MBA) is a mining engineer and senior executive with 25 years of diversified experience in the mining industry. Mr. Kostuik joins Kerr from Luna Gold Corporation where he was Senior Vice President of Operations and Development, responsible for operations, development, capital projects, environmental, government and community relations.
Kostuik was also President, CEO and Director of Rupert Resources Limited where he focused on implementing exploration programs for existing assets and on developing the company through evaluations of investment opportunities for near term corporate growth. He has obtained a broad base of experience in operations, engineering, exploration and capital projects with various companies including Barrick Gold Corporation, Taseko Mines Limited, DMC Mining Services and The Rogers Group.
"This is a great time to be joining Kerr," said Mr. Kostuik, President of Kerr. "The Company's Copperstone mine represents a unique and exciting opportunity within the gold sector, and I am looking forward to leading the advancement of this promising project in a measured and sustainable manner."
With the appointments of Ciavarella as CEO and Kostuik as President, Chris Hopkins will relinquish his interim President and CEO roles and resume his role as Chief Financial Officer and assume corporate secretary responsibilities for the Company on a full-time basis. Kerr's Board would like to thank Hopkins for his contributions to help the Company successfully complete its restructuring, develop a new strategy to bring Copperstone back in production and begin to re-build its profile with the investment community.
Kerr also announces the resignation of Gregory Gibson as a director of the Company effective immediately. The board of directors and management of the Company would like to thank Mr. Gibson for his contributions to Kerr and wishes him continued success.