Rox Resources Limited has appointed a new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Managing Director following the completion of its Youanmi Gold Project Scoping Study and as the Pre-feasibility study is set to begin.
Alex Passmore has decided to step down as Rox Resources’ CEO and Managing Director, but maintains his position as one of the Company’s largest shareholders. Mr Passmore said he looked forward to the Company’s continued success into the future.
Rox’s Non-Executive Director, Robert Ryan, has been appointed as Rox Resources’ CEO and Managing Director, effective 24 October 2022, with Mr Passmore assisting with a transition of up to three months.
Mr Passmore and the Board believe now is the logical time for a leadership transition as Rox Resources commences its Pre-feasibility study to evaluate the restart of the Youanmi Gold Mine, and continue its endeavours to unlock the value of the highly-prospective Mt Fisher Gold Project.
Over the past three and a half years, Mr Passmore has been critical in transforming Rox into the Company it is today, through the acquisition of the Youanmi Gold Project (Rox share 70 per cent).
Through Mr Passmore’s leadership, the Youanmi Gold resource has substantially grown from 1.2m oz to 3.2m oz – an increase of 167 per cent – and a robust scoping study has been delivered to set a base point for the potential restart of the Youanmi Gold Project.
In addition, Mr Passmore led the successful demerger of Rox’s nickel and base metals assets into Cannon Resources Limited, which was successfully listed on the ASX in August 2021 and has since seen substantial growth in nickel resources.
The newly appointed CEO and Managing Director, Mr Ryan, is a mining engineer with more than 20 years of experience in the resource sector, including exploration, resource development, feasibility studies, project development, mining operations, and corporate mergers and acquisitions.
Mr Ryan has extensive experience in sulphide gold and concentrates, offtake agreements and feasibility studies, which the Board considers is the right skill set to lead the Rox Resources in its priority agenda of restarting the Youanmi Gold Mine.
Rox Resources Board Chairman, Stephen Dennis, said Mr Passmore’s achievements cannot be overstated.
“Alex drove the acquisition of Youanmi, built the team that has generated major resource growth, and has delivered a high-quality robust scoping study. He has overseen the successful demerger of Rox’s Mt Fisher nickel assets to unlock their value through the listing of Cannon Resources, and, in addition, has advanced the early-stage Mt Fisher gold project,” Mr Dennis said.
“Rox is well-positioned to progress the Youanmi Gold Project through the next steps of feasibility evaluation and ultimately towards production. The scoping study presents a solid foundation, and through the conversion of the project’s extensive resource inventory into indicated and measured ounces, we are confident the true and exciting potential of Youanmi will be realised.
“On behalf of all stakeholders, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Alex for his passion and drive and enormous contribution he has made to Rox. I wish him well for the future.”
Alex Passmore he was both excited and confident for the future of Rox Resources.
“I stepped in to reset a company, find a core focus, and then build a team to deliver on the Company’s core asset agendas,” Mr Passmore said.
“We acquired the Youanmi Gold Project and have made massive inroads to delineating its immense resource potential and its optimal development path from a processing perspective, and how to best utilise the existing infrastructure footprint.
“The Company has a clear path forward with Youanmi, and it’s a great time to transition the leadership to Rob to take Youanmi through the remainder of the feasibility phase and into mine development. Rob has the ideal skillset as a mining engineer with experience and a great track record in feasibility studies, and a deep knowledge of the technical and commercial aspects of sulphide gold operations.
“As one of the Company’s largest shareholders I look forward to sharing in our continued success into the future.”
Rox Resources Managing Director, Robert Ryan, said he was looking forward to transitioning into his new role.
“I’ve always held the Youanmi Project in high regard, and after joining the Company in a Non-Executive capacity and learning more about the details and the upside, my conviction has continued to grow,” Mr Ryan said.
“The Youanmi Gold Project is an asset of scale, and the Company’s tenure brings fantastic growth opportunities, both in the Youanmi and Mt Fisher greenstone belts.
“I look forward to working with Alex through a transition phase as we refine the forward strategy and set the Company on a path to create long-term shareholder value.”
