Two Canadian miners are beginning the new year with new leadership: Western Copper and Gold and Rugby Mining.
Western officials announced Jan. 13 that it appointed Ken Engquist as chief operating officer, effective Jan. 15; Engquist will oversee operations for Western Copper and Gold and its wholly owned Casino copper-gold deposit in Yukon, Canada.
A 30-year leadership and de-risking veteran, Engquist has extensive development experience overseeing advancement of numerous mining projects from early-stage exploration through start-up and operations. He most recently led operations, technical studies, work programs, permitting and stakeholder relations as COO of First Mining Gold.
Other development projects with his involvement include First Mining’s Springpole gold project, Tinka Resources’ Ayawilca zinc project and South32’s Hermosa zinc project.
At Rugby Mining, president and CEO Peter Love has resigned, with Bryce Roxburgh, who formerly held those roles, resuming those positions. He will at the same time step down as co-chairman, leaving the company’s Yale Simpson as chairman.
“The board welcomes Bryce back into this role,” Rugby said. “As a founder and major shareholder of Rugby he will provide the decisive leadership and experience to the role that the Board demands.”
Roxburgh was formerly a founder of both Exeter Resource and Extorre Gold, both of which were acquired by Goldcorp (now Newmont) and Yamana, respectively.
Sources: Western Copper and Gold and Rugby Mining