By Chuin-Wei Yap
BEIJING--Former SouthGobi Resources Ltd. (1878.HK) Chief
Executive Alexander Molyneux said Thursday his departure overnight
from the helm of the Mongolia-focused coal miner was the final part
of an expected succession plan that gained momentum once the
company's proposed sale to Aluminum Corp. of China Ltd. (ACH) fell
apart last week.
SouthGobi said in a statement Wednesday that it had terminated
Molyneux, who was also the company's president, effective
Wednesday. It didn't provide a reason. Molyneux's departure comes
slightly more than a week after the collapse of a potential $920
million deal to sell SouthGobi to Aluminum Corp. of China, the
Chinese mining major also known as Chalco.
Chalco had bid in April to purchase a majority stake in Hong
Kong-traded SouthGobi from Canada's Ivanhoe Mines Ltd., since
renamed Turquoise Hill Resources Ltd. (TRQ.T). The end of the bid
accelerated a plan to fully replace SouthGobi's board with
directors backed by Rio Tinto PLC (RIO), which took a 51% majority
of Ivanhoe in January.
"I was just the last guy to go," Molyneux told Dow Jones
Newswires.
Chalco had expressed a preference to keep SouthGobi's management
in place until after the proposed sale was finalized, Molyneux
said. Chalco and Rio Tinto weren't immediately available for
comment Thursday.
Molyneux said the investment climate in Mongolia's mining sector
had become "very complex" after Ulan Bator introduced a law earlier
this year to restrict foreign ownership of key resources.
Write to Chuin-Wei Yap at chuin-wei.yap@dowjones.com
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