Barrick Gold has carried out a number of changes to its management structure, putting Kelvin Dushinisky in sole charge of the business.
Dushinisky, formerly the co-president, will now take the role of president, while the other co-president Jim Gowans will act as a senior advisor to chairman John Thornton until Gowans retires at the end of the year.
Former chief of staff Richard Williams has been appointed as the new COO, reporting to Dushinisky, while Basie Maree – the senior vice president, technical services – is now the chief technical officer.
Dushinisky now leads the company, with overall responsibility for the business’ “strategic priorities with a focus on improving productivity and driving down costs”, whereas Williams will head the day-to-day implementation of these decisions.
According to Barrick: “They are charged with driving the organisation to reach our target of $2 billion in reduced expenditures across the company by the end of 2016.”
“As we become leaner, more efficient and more keenly focused on a smaller number of core assets,” Barrick chairman John Thornton said.
“Jim Gowans has trained and mentored our mine managers in this mindset for over a year and a half, preparing them to take on more responsibility and accountability.
“As we work to accelerate Barrick’s return to the lean, decentralised model that drove the company’s early success, the time is right to put a structure in place that supports this vision,” he said.
“As president, Kelvin will ensure the entire company remains focused on our primary objective, maximising free cash flow per share from a portfolio of high-quality gold assets in our core regions; as chief operating officer, Richard will drive organisational efficiencies, with a focus on enabling our mine managers to deliver on our business objectives; Basie will provide strategic technical advice and support to the operations, ensuring our mine managers have the information and tools they need to realise the full potential of each mine.”