HARARE
–
Trevor
Barnard,
who
led
Zimbabwe’s
state-owned
gold
mining
company
through
its
establishment
as
a
standalone
entity
just
months
ago,
has
resigned
as
chief
executive
officer,
the
company’s
board
announced.
Barnard’s
departure
comes
barely
three
months
after
Mutapa
Gold
Resources
(MGR)
was
formally
launched
in
February
as
the
first
of
several
mineral-specific
companies
carved
out
of
the
Mutapa
Investment
Fund’s
mining
portfolio
in
a
sweeping
restructuring
that
wound
down
Kuvimba
Mining
House.
In
a
letter
to
employees
and
stakeholders
signed
by
board
chairman
Charles
Chikaura,
the
company
said
Patrick
Maseva-Shayawabaya,
previously
MGR’s
chief
finance
officer
and
the
KMH
head
of
gold
cluster,
had
been
appointed
substantive
chief
executive.
“On
behalf
of
the
board,
we
would
like
to
express
our
sincere
appreciation
to
Trevor
for
his
dedicated
service
and
leadership
during
his
tenure,”
Chikaura
wrote.
“Trevor,
who
was
previously
Kuvimba
Mining
House
CEO,
played
a
significant
role
in
strengthening
KMH
as
well
as
MGR’s
strategic
direction,
driving
growth
and
overseeing
key
projects.”
No
reason
was
given
for
Barnard’s
resignation.
Barnard
was
the
public
face
of
MGR’s
ambitious
growth
plans
when
the
company
was
unveiled
at
a
Harare
briefing
in
February.
He
had
outlined
a
target
to
more
than
double
gold
production
over
three
to
four
years,
anchored
by
the
development
of
a
large
open-cast
mine
at
Shamva
with
throughput
of
around
2.5
million
tonnes
per
annum,
yielding
approximately
80,000
ounces
of
gold
annually.
A
second
mine,
Jena,
was
to
follow
through
a
similar
development
cycle.
He
also
argued
at
the
time
that
separating
gold
from
other
minerals
would
make
the
portfolio
more
attractive
to
financiers.
“When
you
have
a
gold
company
sitting
on
its
own,
people
are
much
more
willing
to
invest
specifically
in
a
gold
company,”
he
said.
The
board
expressed
confidence
in
Maseva-Shayawabaya,
saying
he
was
“well-suited
to
take
the
company
forward”
and
pledging
full
support
for
his
leadership.
The
Mutapa
Investment
Fund
restructuring,
announced
on
February
5,
created
five
mining
units
from
KMH’s
assets:
MGR
for
gold,
Mutapa
Base
Metals
under
Godwin
Gambiza,
Mutapa
Energy
Minerals
under
Innocent
Rukweza,
Mutapa
Platinum
Group
under
Munashe
Shava,
and
Mutapa
Frontier
for
new
acquisitions.