HALIFAX
,
Oct. 13
/CNW/ - Gammon Gold Inc. ("Gammon") (TSX:GAM and NYSE:GRS):
Fred George
is retiring today as Chairman, President and Director of Gammon Gold Inc ("Gammon Gold" or "the Company").
Mr. George
leaves the Company well-positioned for the future.
"I have been fortunate to work with a team of outstanding individuals, including:
Rene Marion
,
Scott Perry
,
Russell Tremayne
and our Board of Directors." said
Mr. George
. "I have great confidence in the strength of Gammon Gold's operating team and its ability to deliver. I am confident that Gammon Gold can only move forward from here."
Mr. George
continued, "As one of Gammon Gold's largest shareholders and one who fully appreciates Gammon Gold's growth potential, I have great confidence in its operating team."
Mr. George
launched Gammon Gold by raising the first one-million dollars at 50 cents a share, to fund gold exploration in Nova Scotia. Since then,
Mr. George
has participated in numerous equity, merger and acquisition transactions with Gammon valued at over
$1 billion
. Under his leadership,
Mr. George
transformed Gammon Gold from a small exploration company listed on the CDN (Canadian Dealing Network), to one of the largest precious metal producers operating solely in
Mexico
. Gammon Gold is currently listed on the
Toronto
Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange.
On
September 4th, 2003
,
Mr. George
rang the opening bell on the American Stock Exchange. In
June 2004
, under
Mr. George
's leadership, Gammon Gold was added to the S&P/TSX Composite Index, where it remains today. On
October 27th, 2008
,
Mr. George
proudly rang the opening bell as part of the listing ceremony on the New York Stock Exchange.
Mr. George
commented, "The past fourteen years have been an incredible journey for Gammon Gold. I have assembled the right team to successfully execute and deliver positive results, which has contributed to Gammon Gold's success. Some corporate highlights include:
- Completed the acquisition and consolidation of the Ocampo mine.
- Completed over 200,000 metres of exploration drilling and completed a
bankable feasibility study at Ocampo.
- Completed the construction of a one-thousand room hotel and medical
centre on site to accommodate our employees.
- Completed the construction of the Ocampo mill and the heap leach pad.
- Contributed to the development of the town of Ocampo, and thereby
earned the respect of the community, by rebuilding the local church,
school, playground and starting a scholarship program for their
students.
- Completed the acquisition of MexGold."
Mr. George
was the recipient of an honorary citizenship award for
Mexico
for his continuous and valuable contribution to the mining industry and the Mexican economy. During the peak of the construction of the Ocampo mine, 2,000 direct jobs and over 10,000 indirect jobs were created.
Mr. George
was also the first individual to receive the Community Development Model Award, bestowed by the Governor of Chihuahua,
Mr. Jose Reyes
.
Mr. George
was recently recognized for Gammon Gold's performance in the presence of former President of the
United States
, the Honorable
William Jefferson Clinton
and the former Canadian ambassador to the
United States
, the Honourable Frank McKenna.
Mr. George
also received an award on behalf of Gammon Gold for being the best performing gold and silver company in the world in 2003 and the first 6 months of 2004, as rated by Mineweb.
Mr. George
concluded, "I would like to take this opportunity to thank all our shareholders for their continued support over the years. I would also like to thank the Government of
Mexico
for their support and helping Gammon Gold to consolidate one of the most exciting gold and silver districts in all of
Mexico
".
Fred George
will be remaining with Gammon Gold as an advisor to the Board of Directors and will facilitate the ongoing relationship between Gammon Gold and the various levels of the Mexican government.
About Gammon Gold
Gammon Gold Inc. is a Nova Scotia based mid-tier gold and silver producer with properties in
Mexico
. The Company's flagship Ocampo Project in Chihuahua State achieved commercial production in
January 2007
. Gammon Gold also operates its El Cubo operation in Guanajuato State and has the promising Guadalupe y Calvo development property in Chihuahua State.
Cautionary Statement
Cautionary Note to US Investors - The
United States
Securities and Exchange Commission permits US mining companies, in their filings with the SEC, to disclose only those mineral deposits that a company can economically and legally extract or produce. This press release uses certain terms, such as "measured," "indicated," and "inferred" "resources," that the SEC guidelines strictly prohibit US registered companies from including in their filings with the SEC. US Investors are urged to consider closely the disclosure in Gammon Gold's Annual Report on Form 40-F/A, which may be secured from Gammon Gold, or from the SEC's website at http://www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml.
No stock exchange, securities commission or other regulatory authority
has approved or disapproved the information contained herein.
Certain statements included herein, including information as to the future financial or operating performance of the Company, its subsidiaries and its projects, constitute forward-looking statements. The words "believe", "expect", "anticipate", "contemplate", "target", "plan", "intends", "continue", "budget", "estimate", "forecast", "may", "will", "schedule" and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include, among other things, statements regarding "moving forward", targets, estimates and assumptions in respect of gold and silver production and prices, operating costs, results and capital expenditures, mineral reserves and mineral resources and anticipated grades, recovery rates, future financial or operating performance, margins, operating and exploration expenditures, costs and timing of the development of new deposits, costs and timing of construction, costs and timing of future exploration and reclamation expenses including, anticipated 2009 results, operating performance projections for 2009 and 2010, our ability to fully fund our business model internally, 2009 gold and silver production and the cash and operating costs associated therewith, the ability to achieve productivity and operational efficiencies, further reduction in the open pit stripping ratio and the timing of each thereof. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by the Company, are inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties and contingencies. Many factors could cause the Company's actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in any forward-looking statements made by, or on behalf of, the Company. Such factors include, among others, known and unknown uncertainties and risks relating to additional funding requirements, reserve and resource estimates, commodity prices, hedging activities, exploration, development and operating risks, illegal miners, political and foreign risk, uninsurable risks, competition, limited mining operations, production risks, environmental regulation and liability, government regulation, currency fluctuations, recent losses and write-downs, restrictions in the Company's loan facility, dependence on key employees, possible variations of ore grade or recovery rates, failure of plant, equipment or process to operate as anticipated, accidents and labour disputes. Investors are cautioned that forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and, accordingly, investors are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements due to the inherent uncertainty therein.
For further information: For further information: please visit the Gammon Gold website at www.gammongold.com or contact: René Marion, Chief Executive Officer, Gammon Gold Inc., (902) 468-0614; Anne Day, Director of Investor Relations, Gammon Gold Inc., (902) 468-0614
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