Appian Capital Advisory has announced the appointment of Igor Gonzales as the company’s Chief Operating Officer.
Gonzales will manage the company’s technical team working across Appian’s portfolio, with direct oversight of the firm’s operated assets including Atlantic Nickel’s producing Santa Rita nickel-copper-cobalt project and Mineração Vale Verde’s copper-gold Serrote project in Brazil, which is advancing towards production next year.
He will also advise businesses in which the company holds a significant minority interest including Roxgold’s assets in Burkina Faso and Côte d’Ivoire, Harte Gold’s Sugar Zone mine in Canada, and Peak Resources’ Ngualla rare earth project in Tanzania.
As COO, Gonzales will work alongside the portfolio company management teams to ensure their businesses reach their full potential. This will include helping them develop and implement robust plans for the life of mine, expansions, operational improvement, exploration and growth, as well as health and safety practices.
He will also co-ordinate and participate in due diligence ahead of acquisitions by Appian and facilitate technical knowledge sharing across the firm.
Gonzales has 35 years of mining industry experience and has led operations globally with several preeminent companies, with a particular focus on Latin America.
Prior to joining Appian, Gonzales was president and CEO of Sierra Metals, a Latin America focused precious and base metals producer, and before that was COO at Compañía de Minas Buenaventura. He spent 15 years with Barrick Gold, most recently as executive vice president and COO where he oversaw 28 operations globally, and served in various roles with Southern Peru Copper Corporation.
He is a Peruvian citizen, holds Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from the University of San Antonio Abad and was a Fulbright Scholar at New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology where he earned a Master of Science in Extractive Metallurgy.