Tolga Kumova steps down at zinc producer New Century, shares drop

Pic: Bloomberg Creative / Bloomberg Creative Photos via Getty Images

New Century Resources (ASX:NCZ) is undergoing a board reshuffle that will see well-known mining personality Tolga Kumova exit the zinc producer.

Kumova will step down from his role as non-executive director, while Evan Cranston will transition from non-executive chairman to non-executive director.

Today I retired from my directorship at New Century Resources. My role was to finance the project which was done with $98m equity and $100m in debt. I even invested over $3m of my own money at different levels.
I wish the board and team all the best.https://t.co/DNKiNr8WbG

— Tolga Kumova (@KumovaTolga) July 17, 2019

The chairman slot will be filled by Rob McDonald, whose mining career spans more than four decades and includes roles with mining heavyweight Rio Tinto.

McDonald also did a 20-year stint in investment banking with players like N.M. Rothschild & Sons.

New Century said Kumova had played a pivotal role in the growth of the business to date, in particular the completion of successful financing of over $98 million in equity and $100 million in debt facilities.

“The timely completion of project financing was critical for the company to successfully achieve the rapid restart of operations at the Century mine, just 13 months after listing on the ASX,” the company said.

NCZ’s share price dropped my as much as 7 per cent following the announcement:

New Century has been ramping up production at the Century mine in Queensland.

Earlier this month, the company reported record quarterly zinc production for June of 20,450 tonnes – a 12 per cent quarter-over-quarter increase.