VANCOUVER, BC, Dec. 4, 2020 /CNW/ - Midas Gold Corp. (TSX: MAX) (OTCQX: MDRPF), ("Midas Gold" or the "Company") announced today the transition of five members the Company's current Board of Directors (the "Board") to five new, independent directors who will assist the Company in moving the Stibnite Gold Project (the "Project") through the remaining phase of permitting under the National Environmental Policy Act and into construction and operations. The decision comes as a part of a transition agreement between the Company and Paulson & Co. Inc. ("Paulson"), which owns 44.1% of the outstanding common shares of the Company. As part of the agreement, Stephen Quin has resigned as President, CEO and a director of the Company and has been succeeded by Ms. Laurel Sayer, currently President and CEO of the Company's wholly-owned subsidiary, Midas Gold Idaho, Inc. ("Midas Gold Idaho").
The transition agreement results in the resignation from the Board of the following members: Keith Allred, Jaimie Donovan, Brad Doores, Jon Goode, and Peter Nixon, effective today.
"We are confident in the management team at Midas Gold and the value provided by the Stibnite Gold Project," said Peter Nixon, former Lead Director of Midas Gold. He added, "Today's transition allows the Company to continue to focus on the execution of its business plan, the successful completion of the permitting process, and the Company's continuing efforts to create value for all stakeholders."
"We are grateful for the dedicated service Brad, Jaimie, Jon, Keith, and Peter gave to Midas Gold over the years," said Laurel Sayer, newly appointed President and CEO of Midas Gold. "Their leadership, guidance and commitment to designing a Project that will clean up an abandoned site and benefit the surrounding communities established a strong footing for the Company, which will be critical as the Project moves forward."
In their roles as the remaining two directors of the Company, Marcelo Kim and Chris Papagianis appointed the following five independent directors to fill Board vacancies: Bob Dean, David Deisley, Jeff Malmen, Chris Robison and Alex Sternhell. In addition to being named President and CEO of Midas Gold, Laurel Sayer has also been appointed a director of the Company.
Marcelo Kim said, "We are delighted to welcome Laurel to the role of President and CEO of Midas Gold Corp. Having been the leader of Midas Gold Idaho since 2016, she is a proven leader with a track record of success and has the skills necessary to achieve the Company's strategic objectives."
"The changes implemented today position Midas Gold for the future stages of its development," said Mr. Kim. He added, "We are enthusiastic about the Company's future, are appreciative of the outgoing directors' willingness to facilitate the transition and look forward to working closely and collaboratively with the Company's new independent directors and management team to bring the Project to fruition."
"On behalf of the Company and all its stakeholders, I thank Stephen Quin for his tireless and exemplary service. The Company wishes him well in all his future endeavors," said Mr. Nixon.
Mr. Quin, who has served as President and Chief Executive Officer from the inception of the Company in 2011, will be available to assist the Company over the next three months to ensure a smooth executive transition.
"Stephen set the vision for this Project, he brought together an all-star team and led Midas Gold with integrity. He has provided a foundation that will continue to be the strength of the Project as it moves forward," said Ms. Sayer. "We are forever grateful for Stephen's leadership and will continue to implement his vision of a Project that restores the environment, incorporates the needs and feedback of all stakeholders, and pushes forward a new generation of responsible, modern mining."
The changes announced today will have no impact on Midas Gold's proposed Project or commitments. The Company remains focused on restoring the site, providing Idaho with more than 1,000 direct and indirect family wage jobs and securing America's only domestically mined supply of the critical mineral antimony. The Community Agreement Midas Gold signed with eight of the communities closest to the Project also remains intact.
"Paulson & Co. believes in the Stibnite Gold Project and the Idaho team which has worked diligently to bring it this far," said Mr. Kim. "We know this Project is an enormous opportunity for Idaho and has the potential to establish a new precedent for precious metal and critical mineral development. Developing this Project will provide the financial resources necessary to address the legacy issues that remain at the historical Stibnite Mining District following a century of mining. In addition to cleaning up a brownfield site, the Stibnite Gold Project will reduce America's reliance on foreign sources for antimony, which is critical to the national defense, aerospace, energy (including renewables), and technology industries."
Biographies of the new independent directors added to the Company's board follow. These new directors will join existing directors Marcelo Kim and Chris Papagianis.
The Company also announced today that it will hold its 2021 annual meeting of shareholders by April 16, 2021, where all shareholders will be afforded the opportunity to vote on the election of the Company's directors.
Midas Gold continues to advance towards completion of its feasibility study on the Stibnite Gold Project and anticipates issuing the results of the study before the end of the year.
2020-12-04 13:00:00 GMT Midas Gold Provides Corporate Update -2- Additional information regarding the transition arrangements announced today is included in the Transition Agreement, which will be filed by Midas Gold on its SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com.
