Lihir Gold appoints new boss

LIHIR Gold Ltd (LGL) has appointed former BHP senior executive Graeme Hunt as its new managing director and chief executive officer.
LGL chairman Ross Garnaut in a statement said Mr Hunt was the ideal candidate for the CEO role, possessing strong leadership skills, wide mining industry knowledge and extensive experience in strategic development.
A metallurgist by training, Mr Hunt, 53, previously spent 34 years with BHP Billiton, starting as a metallurgical trainee in 1975 at the Port Kembla Steelworks.
He advanced his career through a variety of roles, eventually becoming president of the global Iron Ore division from 1999 to 2006, and then president of the global Aluminium division in 2006 and 2007.
His final role at BHP was as president of Uranium, including responsibility for the Olympic Dam Expansion.
He left BHP in March last year.
As president of Iron Ore, Mr Hunt  presided over a major programme of building and utilising strategic options for increasing value through expanding production from a huge resource, which continues today.
Mr Hunt will relocate to Brisbane from Melbourne, and will take up his position immediately.
“We are delighted to have an executive of Graeme’s calibre in place to lead LGL to the next stage of its development,” Dr Garnaut said.
“LGL is well placed to deliver increasing returns to shareholders in the next few years, with major growth projects well advanced in PNG and in West Africa.
“Graeme possesses all of the qualities and experience the board was looking for to deliver on its commitments  to create value for shareholders.”