Primero Mining Corp. has appointed Ernest Mast as its new president and chief operating officer, effective immediately.
Mast is a metallurgical engineer and brings to Primero more than 25 years of international mining experience. He previously held leadership positions including vice-president of corporate development at Copper Mountain Mining, owner of the 35,000-tonnes-per-day Copper Mountain mine in British Columbia, and vice-president of operations at New Gold Inc., where he was responsible for overseeing approximately 1,600 employees at four mines producing a combined 400,000 ounces per year of gold and substantial silver and copper byproducts.
Mast was also the president and CEO of Minera Panama, a subsidiary of Inmet Mining (now First Quantum), during the development of Cobre Panama, a 290,000-tonnes-per-year copper project. In addition, he was president and general manager of the large-scale Falcondo ferronickel operations in the Dominican Republic, now owned by Glencore. Mast has a Master's degree in metallurgical engineering from McGill University, is a registered professional engineer, and is fluent in English, Spanish and French.
“We are extremely pleased to welcome someone with Ernie's depth and breadth of international mining experience to the Primero team,” CEO Joseph F. Conway said in a news release. “His proven track record in operational optimization, strategic management of multiple sites and capital markets experience are an ideal fit for the next phase of Primero's growth.
“He is also a strong cultural fit for Primero, with over 18 years of experience leading successful operations and projects in Latin America. Together, we will continue to deliver on our commitment of building a leading intermediate gold producer in low-risk regions of the Americas.”
Primero Mining Corp. is a Canadian-based precious metals producer that owns 100 per cent of the San Dimas gold-silver mine and the Cerro del Gallo gold-silver-copper development project in Mexico, and 100 per cent of the Black Fox mine and adjoining properties in the Township of Black River-Matheson near Timmins.
