Centamin appoints Ross Jerrard as interim CEO

Pardey announced his intention to leave the gold miner in October when it said production would be at the lower end of expectations. Jerrard, a former Deloitte partner, has been CFO since 2016 and will keep his finance job while serving as CEO.

The FTSE 250 company also announced that Jim Rutherford would join the board as deputy chairman on 1 January and would replace Josef El-Raghy as non-executive chairman by the end of 2020. Rutherford is a former mining and metals analyst and investment manager and has been a non-executive director of Anglo American since 2013.

Centamin said it had whittled its CEO search down to a shortlist and that interviews were under way. It said Jerrard had shown himself to be a good manager and had forged relationships with government officials in Egypt, where Centamin's Sukari mine is based.

El-Raghy said: "It is a pleasure to appoint Ross as the interim CEO, giving the company clear leadership during this period of transition. Over the last three years Ross has instilled strong financial and governance discipline and I am looking forward to his skill set being applied to our wider business, alongside our recently strengthened operating team.

"Jim's appointment comes after an extensive search and, with his considerable understanding and knowledge of the resource sector obtained during his analytical and fund management and more recent board career, we are delighted that someone of his calibre and experience is joining the board."

Pardey has quit as a director with immediate effect and will be available as an adviser until his notice period ends in October 2020.