New boss, Darryl Cuzzubbo, and new era as SolGold looks to get copper play back on track

SolGold appointed former Orica and BHP executive Darryl Cuzzubbo as its new managing director on Wednesday.

Ecuadorean copper play SolGold will be hoping the appointment of a well-regarded CEO will calm fractious relations with its major shareholders, and perhaps smooth the path to some competitive tension over its future.

SolGold appointed former Orica and BHP executive Darryl Cuzzubbo as its new managing director on Wednesday. The veteran resources executive will take a place on the company’s board immediately and take control of SolGold’s operations in December.

SolGold has had somewhat a fractious relationship with its two biggest shareholders – BHP & Newcrest Mining, who each control about 13.5 per cent of the company – for much of the last two years after a falling out over the debt-focused funding strategy of former boss Nicholas Maher.

Maher stepped down as CEO early this year after the two majors led a shareholder revolt at the company’s December 2020 annual meeting.

Tensions appeared to calm in the wake of that decision, but flared again early in November when SolGold chairman Liam Twigger accused BHP of secretly canvassing other shareholders over a push to make SolGold directors stand for re-election annually – something that could make it easier for BHP and Newcrest to pick off independent directors and exert more control over the company without actually launching a takeover.

SolGold will be hoping that the appointment of Cuzzubbo – a familiar face to both BHP and Newcrest – from his days flogging explosives to the latter and running the former’s Olympic Dam copper mine – will smooth a return to happier days when the primary interest in SolGold stock was speculation over exactly when one of the two majors would launch a full takeover offer.

And his appointment could even add a new twist to the mix, given Cuzzubbo was a close confidant of former Orica boss Alberto Calderon, now running gold major AngloGold Ashanti – also potentially in the hunt for new gold and copper assets.