In a press statement emailed to Transform SA Online, dual-listed platinum miner, Lomnin announced the resignation of Johan Viljoen as the company’s COO, citing “personal” reasons for his departure.
Viljoen could not elaborate further what personal reasons had compelled him to resign. In the past three years Lomnin has endured the most trying phase in its history. The tragic shooting of its employees by police and the five-month strike which has adversely affected its financial position come to mind.
In the interim, revealed the press report, Lonmin’s business support office head Ben Moolman would, with immediate effect, become acting COO for the time being, alongside his current role.
Commenting on the developments, Lonmin CEO Ben Magara praised Moolman as someone who was “ideally placed to continue the execution of the miner’s operational strategy and strategic initiatives, having been intimately involved with the strategy and its implementation as a member of the Lonmin executive committee”.
After leaving Lomnin for Glencore Xstrata where he was COO of the platinum division, Moolman rejoined Lomnin in August 2014.
Prior to this, Moolman had served in a variety of operational management positions, including mining VP, at Lonmin.
