Stuart Brown (pictured), the De Beers veteran who most recently served as CEO of miner Firestone Diamonds, has been appointed president and CEO of Mountain Province Diamonds, another mining company.
Toronto-based Mountain Province owns 49 percent of the Gahcho Kué mine, located in Canada’s Northwest Territories. The other 51 percent is held by De Beers.
Gahcho Kué is considered the largest diamond mine to open since 2004, and it officially began production last year.
Brown has more than 25 years’ experience in the diamond industry. Brown joined De Beers in 1992 as an internal auditor of the then–De Beers–owned Premier mine. In 2006, he was appointed the company’s chief financial officer. In 2010, Brown and Bruce Cleaver—who then held the title of chief commercial officer—were named interim co-CEOs. Brown left the company in 2011, following the appointment of Philippe Mellier as CEO. In 2016, Cleaver became CEO following Mellier’s departure in 2016.
Since 2013, Brown has served as CEO of publicly listed Firestone Diamonds, which operates the Liqhobong diamond mine in Lesotho. Just this week, it was announced that Brown was leaving Firestone and being replaced by Paul Bosma, another De Beers veteran.
At Mountain Province, Brown succeeds David Whittle, who has served as the company’s interim president and CEO since June. Whittle will remain on the Mountain Province board and will resume his prior roles as senior nonexecutive director and head of the audit committee.
“Stuart has incredible experience in the space, having held the highest positions in De Beers,” said Jonathan Comerford, Mountain Province’s nonexecutive chairman, in a statement. “He is also very familiar with the Gahcho Kué diamond mine and its team from his time with De Beers. Mountain Province is building a strong team to execute our strategy of exploration and mining extension.”
In January, Mountain Province acquired another Canadian mining company, Kennady Diamonds, in an all-share deal.
Photo courtesy of Firestone Diamonds
Follow JCK on Instagram: @jckmagazineFollow JCK on Twitter: @jckmagazine
Follow JCK on Facebook: @jckmagazine
