HARARE – Metallon Corporation CEO Kenneth Mekani is to leave the company after three years.
The departure, according to the company, follows a restructuring exercise which would have required Mekani to take up a position in London where the company is headquartered, but he had chosen to leave instead.
Mekani will leave at the end of September, triggering a raft of changes that will see the company close its Harare head office and each mine having its own management. Metallon Gold will no longer exist.
“As Zimbabwe undergoes new, open political developments and the country births a climate that is highly conducive for business, Metallon Corporation aims to increase its investment in Zimbabwe,” the company said in a statement on Saturday.
“The company has completed a corporate restructuring to ensure each mining subsidiary is a standalone company with its own management team. The Metallon Corporation Chief Executive Officer position will now be based in London.
“Therefore, Kenneth Mekani will be stepping down from the CEO role in September 2018. He will remain working for Metallon in the transition phase and the CEO position will be announced in due course.”
Some of the mines owned by Metallon are How Mine, Gold Fields of Mazowe, Shamva Mine and King’s Daughter Mining Company. They will now individually have their own management and board, reporting to London.
Metallon, owned by South African mining magnate Mzi Khumalo, said Mekani had been an asset.
“Kenneth’s experience in the mining industry over the past 31 years has been an asset to Metallon. Kenneth led the company’s transition through various phases of growth and it has been Metallon’s wish to have him continue in his role from our offices in the United Kingdom. However, we understand that he will not be able to relocate, due to personal reasons,” Khumalo, who is the company chairman, said.
“We look forward to exploring a continued collaboration in other capacities. We have thoroughly enjoyed working with Kenneth over many years and wish him every success as he transitions to new opportunities.”
Mekani’s working relationship with Metallon began when he joined then Lonrho Mining as a graduate trainee metallurgist in June 1987. After completing the graduate trainee programme, Mekani was appointed plant metallurgist and he spent several years in the group’s various operations where he worked his way up the ranks and was involved in major metallurgical projects.
In December 2012, he was appointed acting chief operations officer for the company and in June 2013, he was appointed general manager for the group’s flagship operation, How Mine.
Mekani said: “As part of the Metallon restructuring, I was offered a transfer to London which I declined due to personal reasons. I have been part of the Metallon family for more than three decades. As I leave the company, I look forward to exploring, with the board and its chairman, other ways by which I can continue to give input in the transition phase. I will continue to follow company’s success with great enthusiasm.”
