New chairman and upbeat outlook from company behind Scottish gold mine

Nat Le Roux is stepping down from his position as non-executive chairman, a position he has held since March 2015, but will remain on the board as a non-executive director and major shareholder of the company.

Non-executive Peter Hetherington has been appointed chairman with immediate effect. He has held the positions of chief operating officer and chief executive of FTSE 250 trading platform IG Group, and the role of chief executive at Schroders Personal Wealth.

Hetherington said: “I have been a non-executive director of Scotgold for over three years. During that period the company has transitioned from being almost dormant into the exciting, bustling enterprise it is today.”

The processing plant at the precious metals mining site at Cononish.

Le Roux added: “Seven years ago, I recapitalised Scotgold and joined the board as chair. My aim from the beginning was to see Scotland's first commercial gold mine in production.

“That objective has now been achieved, thanks to the dedication and hard work of our executive team. Therefore, I believe this is the right moment for me to stand down as chair.”

In an update on activities, the firm told investors that it was well positioned to continue with the ramping up of gold production at its Cononish site.

It pointed to the third consecutive month where production revenues exceeded operational costs.

Scotgold's board and leadership team are preparing the operational, financial budget and strategic plan for 2022, it noted.

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