Highly Regarded Luis Marchese To Take Reigns In June
Sierra Metals Inc.(TSX:SMT) (BVL:SMT) (NYSE:SMTS) has appointed Luis C. Marchese as Chief Executive Officer, effective June 1, 2020.
Mr Marchese is replacing Sierra Metals’ current President and CEO, Igor Gonzales, who will resign this position effective May 31, 2020 and his Board seat effective today.
In conjunction with his upcoming appointment as CEO, Mr Marchese will join the company’s Board of Directors effective immediately and will work closely with Mr Gonzales during this transition period.
Mr Marchese is a highly regarded mining executive with 25-years of experience in the mining sector, mostly at Anglo American (22 years).
He was Anglo American’s Peru country manager and most notably, during different periods, General Manager of Quellaveco, one of the world’s largest copper mining projects, now under construction. Quellaveco developed a successful business case, reached social license, construction permits, as well as water and land tenure, in a process that required extensive evaluation/engineering and social engagement work for its over US$5 billion capex.
Mitsubishi Corporation acquired two strategic minority interests in Quellaveco: 18.1% for an undisclosed amount in 2012 from the IFC, and an additional 21.9% for US$600 million from Anglo American, which we consider a robust validation to the exemplary job performed at this project and a remarkably strong valuation for an undeveloped copper porphyry deposit in Peru.
Mr Marchese received industry-wide recognition in the Peruvian mining industry with his election as the President of Peru’s Society of Mining and Oil and Energy (SNMP) between 2017-2019. His operating experience includes service in Chile (AngloAmerican’s Mantoverde and Mantos Blancos copper mines), Canada (Hudson Bay Mining and Smelting’s polymetallic underground mines), and various assignments at different countries (including Mexico) during his long career tenure.
Mr Marchese also served as a Senior Adviser to Anglo American’s CEO in 2018 and 2019. More recently he was a Director to Compañía Minera San Ignacio de Morococha S.A. and an Alternate Director to Compañía Minera Poderosa S.A. Mr. Marchese currently holds positions at Business associations (CONFIEP), industry associations (SNMPE, CMSP) and Academy (CEMS – UP).
He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Mining Engineering from Pontificia Universidad Catolica Universidad del Peru, and a Master of Science degree in Mineral Economics from The Pennsylvania State University. He has completed an AMP from GIBS – University of Pretoria, and an ASMP delivered jointly by the University of Cambridge and the University of Queensland.
Sierra Metals Chairman, J. Alberto Arias, Chairman, said Mr Marchese is a great fit for the company’s current strategic direction.
“After over 10 years of having one the strongest growth track records in the industry, Sierra Metals has become a medium scale diversified mining company with a solid balance sheet and increasing its copper participation, which has become its main source of revenue.
“Sierra Metals has further attractive organic growth opportunities through its exploration projects in Peru and Mexico, which includes copper porphyry mineralization in Peru and the Copper porphyry environment in Mexico. As noted in our Q1 2020 conference call, management has started a dialog with potential strategic partners to evaluate these porphyry style zones. “We are confident that with Mr. Marchese’s strong track record, he will lead the Company in an exciting new phase of shareholder value generation and market recognition.”
