Modern Mining July 2017

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July 2017MODERN MINING9
MINING News
Bell implements CEO succession plans
Bell Equipment’s board of directors has
announced the appointment of the com-
pany’s Chief Operational Officer and
Executive Director, Leon Goosen, as Chief
Executive Officer designate to succeed
Gary Bell upon his planned retirement.
The appointment follows an extensive
internal, local and international search
process by an external service provider to
identify candidates, who were assessed by
a sub-committee of the board.
Goosen, aged 45, was a partner at
Deloitte & Touche in South Africa and
Namibia prior to joining Bell in 2007. He
has held the position of Executive Director
since January 2009 and has been COO
since December 2014.
Bell Equipment Limited’s Chairman,
John Barton, said: “We are delighted to
be able to appoint at the helm of Bell
Equipment a successor of Leon’s calibre. As
Chief Operating Officer, Leon has worked
very closely with the Board and Gary over
the past eight years, and has made a con-
siderable contribution to the strategic
direction of the group.
“By announcing the successor now, we
will have the benefit of a smooth handover
in the Chief Executive’s office during the
transition period. My board colleagues join
me in wishing Leon every success during
this transition phase and in his new role as
Chief Executive of Bell Equipment Limited.”
Bell’s Chief Executive Officer, Gary Bell,
added:“In the past years Leon has stepped
up to his operational role and his knowl-
edge and understanding of what is a very
complex business has developed particu-
larly well, and the executive team at Bell is
very supportive of his appointment.
“I take this opportunity to congratulate
Leon on his appointment and I have every
confidence that he will lead the business
to greater heights in the years ahead as we
roll out our agreed plans.
“In an effort to ensure a smooth transi-
tion and retain the Bell family linkages, it
is envisaged that I will continue to play a
meaningful role on the Board and, along
with Ashley Bell’s presence on the Board,
we can steer the business and retain the
all-important family culture and sentiment
that is core to the Bell business today.”
Leon Goosen, CEO designate of Bell Equipment.
GSR reports on Prestea Underground drilling
Golden Star Resources (GSR) has reported
results from 14 diamond drill (DD) holes
from the 2017 in-fill drilling programme
at its Prestea underground gold mine
(Prestea Underground) in Ghana.
The focus of this programme was
to further define the West Reef ore
body, where Prestea Underground’s
high-grade mineral reserves (1,09 Mt at
13,93 g/t of gold (Au) are located.
The 14 DD holes comprised 2 323 m
of drilling and were drilled from within
Prestea Underground’s workings.
Significant intercepts included: 1,1 m
grading 75,7 g/t Au from 147,0 m in hole
WR17-24-274S05A; and 3,2 m grading
14,4 g/t Au from 146,8 m in hole WR17-
24-274S04A, including 0,9 m grading
39,5 g/t Au from 146,8 m.
These results confirm the previously
modelled high-grade nature, strong
continuity of gold mineralisation and
thickness of theWest Reef orebody (aver-
aging 1,5 m). Assay results for five holes
are pending and a further three holes
remain to be drilled in the 2017 Prestea
Underground in-fill drilling programme
– all remaining results are expected dur-
ing the third quarter of 2017.
GSR operates both the Prestea and
Wassa mines in Ghana, which together
produced approximately 194 000 ounces
in 2016. Both are developing under-
ground operations. Wassa Underground
is in its ramp-up phase while Prestea
Underground is expected to enter com-
mercial production during the third
quarter of this year. 