Serabi Gold COO steps down, new ops manager appointed

Brazil-focussed mining and development company Serabi Gold announced on Tuesday that Roney Almeida had stepped down from his position as chief operating officer.

The AIM-traded firm also said that Helio Tavares had taken the position of general manager of projects and operations, effective from 1 November.

It said Tavares would report directly to chief executive officer Mike Hodgson, and have responsibility for the ongoing operations at the Palito Complex, and oversee the development and construction of the Coringa gold mine.

Tavares was part of the team involved with Serabi that originally developed the Palito mine, and designed and oversaw the construction of the process plant in 2004.

Having been involved as a consultant with a number of other junior mining groups in Brazil, he returned to Serabi in 2013 to oversee the recommissioning of the Palito Complex, and held the position of General Manager for five years.

“I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank Roney for his dedication and the professionalism he has brought to Serabi over the past three years,” Mike Hodgson said.

“Helio Tavares was responsible for the redevelopment of Palito in 2013 and construction of the Sao Chico operation - I am pleased to welcome him back to Serabi and look forward to working with him again.

“The board has elected to discontinue the position of COO at this time and those responsibilities will be shared between myself and Helio.”

At 1219 GMT, shares in Serabi Gold were up 0.54% at 73.4p.