Mitchell vacates seat at HPL board

NASFUND’S joint chief executive officer Rod Mitchell is to step down as non-executive director of Highlands Pacific Limited (HPL).
He will be replaced on the HPL board by Dan Wood.
Mr Mitchell, who has been on the board since March 2001, is stepping down to concentrate on other work commitments, a statement issued by HPL read yesterday.
Mr Wood is a geologist with a long and distinguished record in the mining industry.
He retired from Newcrest Mining Ltd in late 2008 after almost 42 years working in the industry with Newcrest and BHP.
Chairman of HPL Ken MacDonald said Mr Mitchell’s contribution and support has been outstanding.
“He has played a very important part in the company’s history and we wish him well for the future,” Mr MacDonald said.
On the other hand, he said Mr Wood’s extensive industry experience would be valuable to the board as HPL’s Frieda’s copper/gold and Ramu nickel cobalt projects both develop, and exploration programme for copper/gold deposits at the Nong River tenement gets underway. HPL will have its next annual general meeting in June.
The company is listed on both the Australian and Port Moresby Stock Exchange.
Mr Mitchell sits on the board by virtue of Nasfund’s holding in HPL.
HPL is developing the Frieda Copper project, one of the world’s largest undeveloped copper/gold resource, and has about 8.5% interest in the Ramu nickel/cobalt project.