TORONTO, Aug. 29, 2018 /CNW/ - Detour Gold Corporation (TSX: DGC) ("Detour Gold" or the "Company") announces that Alan Edwards, James Gowans and Judy Kirk have joined the Board of Directors (the "Board"). 

"As part of Detour Gold's ongoing board refreshment and enhancement process, we are very pleased to welcome Alan, Jim, and Judy to the Board and look forward to their contributions as we execute on our 2018 Life of Mine Plan to deliver long-term value to all shareholders," said Alex Morrison, Chairman. "These latest changes demonstrate that our Board shares the objective of our shareholders -- to ensure the 2018 Life of Mine Plan succeeds in maximizing the value of our unique asset. Not only is Detour Lake the largest gold mining operation in Canada, it has one of the largest gold reserve endowments in the world, providing tremendous optionality to a rising gold price over at least the next two decades. Our new directors augment the Board's experience and expertise in large-scale open pit mining and corporate social responsibility, including First Nations engagement. These changes to the Board, coupled with the initiatives of Frazer Bourchier as Chief Operating Officer and additional talent upgrades at the mine site, further enhance our ability to ensure that the Detour Lake mine becomes a consistently performing operation."

Pierre Lassonde, Chairman of Franco-Nevada Corporation, stated: "From the very beginning, Franco-Nevada has been a stakeholder in Detour Gold through a royalty interest.  Today, Detour Lake is one of the largest gold deposits in Canada with a long mine life. We are pleased to see the progress Detour Gold is making in strengthening its Board and management team so that it can achieve its full potential for the benefit of all stakeholders."

About the New Directors

Alan Edwards is a highly experienced mining executive and director with a career spanning 35 years. He started his career with Phelps Dodge Corporation, having served as Mine Operations Superintendent for the Morenci copper mine (at the time a ~680,000 tonne per day operation) and with Cyprus Amax Minerals Company as Vice President and General Manager for the Sierrita copper-molybdenum mine (at the time a ~245,000 tonne per day operation), both in Arizona, United States. He then worked for PT Freeport Indonesia as Senior Vice President Operations for the Grasberg open pit and underground mining complex (the world's second largest copper and gold mine) overseeing 6,300 employees. Mr. Edwards also served as Vice President Operations for Kinross Gold Corp., initiating the expansion of the Fort Knox gold mine in Alaska and completing the expansion at the Kubaka gold mine in eastern Russia. Mr. Edwards has significant board experience, serving as Chairman of AuRico Gold Inc. ("AuRico") from July 2013 to November 2015, during which time he oversaw several M&A transactions to grow AuRico, culminating in the merger of AuRico with Alamos Gold Inc. in 2015. Mr. Edwards' current directorships include Entrée Resources Ltd. where he is also the Chairman of the Technical Committee. Mr. Edwards obtained his Bachelor in Mining Engineering and MBA degrees from the University of Arizona.

James Gowans has more than 30 years of experience in mineral exploration, mine feasibility studies, mine construction and commissioning, and the development of best practices in mine safety, operations and economic performance improvements. He has extensive mining knowledge and perspective on the importance of corporate social responsibility and brings human resources experience. Until its recently closed US$1.3 billion acquisition by South32 Limited, Mr. Gowans served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Arizona Mining Inc. He was with Barrick Gold Corporation as Senior Advisor to the Chairman from August to December 2015, Co-President from July 2014 to August 2015, and Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer from January to July 2014. From 2011 to 2014, Mr. Gowans was the Managing Director of Debswana Diamond Company (Pty) Ltd., and prior to that he held executive positions at various companies, including De Beers SA, De Beers Canada Inc., PT Inco in Indonesia and Placer Dome Inc. He spent nearly 19 years with Cominco Ltd./Teck Cominco Ltd. involved in the construction of the Polaris and Red Dog zinc mines, as well as the Con gold mine and Vanscoy potash mine. Mr. Gowans previously served as the President of the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum, the Chair of the Board of the Mining Association of Canada, and a director of the Conference Board of Canada. He currently serves on the boards of directors of Cameco Ltd. and New Gold Inc., as well as Gedex Technologies Inc., an innovative geophysics systems company. Mr. Gowans is a Professional Engineer holding a Bachelor of Applied Science degree in Mineral Engineering from the University of British Columbia, and attended the Banff School of Advanced Management.

For 30 years, Judy Kirk has been at the forefront of strategic communications, public consultation and engagement specialization for policy, planning and infrastructure projects. Ms. Kirk provides executive advisor services for significant projects from initial planning to completion by navigating the regulatory and environmental review processes through project development and construction. She has advised and led community engagement and environmental review teams for such diverse groups as CN, Teck Resources Ltd., Vancouver Fraser Port Authority, the B.C. Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, Metlakatla First Nations and Woodfibre LNG. Ms. Kirk has focussed on delivering economic, social and environmental benefits to communities and project proponents through the tailoring of environmental and regulatory processes and timelines, while also ensuring that the necessary programs meet budgets and corporate goals. She holds a Bachelor of Arts (Economics and English) from Simon Fraser University.

To accommodate these additions, Ingrid Hibbard and Robert Doyle have stepped down from the Board. "We thank Ingrid and Robert for their long and important years of service to Detour Gold and the many positive strides the Company has taken during their tenure," said Morrison. "For Ms. Hibbard, this dates back to Detour Gold's 2007 purchase of the project from Pelangio Mines Inc., of which Ms. Hibbard was President and CEO."

Appointment of Vice President, Mine General Manager

As Detour Gold moves forward with the implementation of the 2018 Life of Mine Plan under the leadership of Frazer Bourchier, COO, the Company has been expanding the skills and expertise at the mine site. In that regard, Detour Gold is pleased to announce the appointment of Dale Ekmark as Vice President, Mine General Manager. Mr. Ekmark brings over 22 years of domestic and international experience in the mining industry. He has spent over two-thirds of his career working in large open pit operations, in both operational and corporate leadership capacities. He is a highly successful leader who brings to Detour Gold a combination of strong technical expertise, focus on employee-centric mine safety and operational optimization, and extensive site management.  A common theme throughout his career has been the strong and lasting culture transition to a highly engaged workforce resulting in top-tier safety and operational results.  

Mr. Ekmark served as CEO and Chairman of OKD in the Czech Republic where he oversaw the operation of four coal mines with over 12,000 employees. Prior to OKD, Mr. Ekmark served as the Founder and Principal of EMMORA, a risk-based management consulting firm providing services to heavy industry with an emphasis on mining; and as COO of AMG Mining of the Advanced Metallurgical Group, a global critical materials company producing highly engineered specialty metals and mineral products. Additionally, Mr. Ekmark has held numerous management roles with NORAMCO Engineering Corp., Placer Dome Inc., Cleveland-Cliffs Inc., and The De Beers Group of Companies. At De Beers, Mr. Ekmark served as General Manager of the Jwaneng diamond mine in Africa (a ~360,000 tonne per day operation). He holds a Bachelor's degree in Mechanical and Industrial Engineering from University of Minnesota, a Master's degree in Engineering Management from the University of Alaska, and completed post graduate studies in Systems Science/Business Administration from Portland State University.

Advisors

The Company has retained Kingsdale Advisors as its strategic shareholder and communications advisor, BMO Capital Markets as its financial advisor, and McCarthy Tétrault LLP and Norton Rose Fulbright LLP as its legal advisors.

About Detour Gold

Detour Gold is an intermediate gold producer in Canada that holds a 100% interest in the Detour Lake mine, a long life large-scale open pit operation. Detour Gold's shares trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the trading symbol DGC.

Media Contact:

Ian Robertson
Executive Vice President, Communication Strategy
Kingsdale Advisors
Direct: 416-867-2333
Cell: 647-621-2646
Email: [email protected]

Shareholder and Investor Contact:

Laurie Gaborit, VP Investor Relations
Detour Gold Corporation
Tel: 416-304-0581
Email: [email protected]

SOURCE Detour Gold

View original content with multimedia: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/August2018/29/c6619.html