Copper miner First Quantum Minerals on Monday announced that COO Tristan Pascall would take over from Philip Pascall as CEO in May at the Toronto-listed miner’s annual general meeting.
Philip would retire from his role as CEO, but would continue to serve as chairperson of the board.
Tristan is currently the COO of First Quantum.
“After a thorough search process, we are very pleased to appoint Tristan Pascall as First Quantum’s next CEO. Tristan has demonstrated impressive leadership in his current role as COO as he navigated the successful ramp-up of our largest asset through the challenging environment presented by the global pandemic.
“Tristan’s previous hands-on leadership experience of eight years in Zambia and four years in Panama has given him a deep knowledge of our assets, operating teams and local partners,” said Robert Harding, chair of the nominating and governance committee and lead independent director.
Tristan joined First Quantum in 2007 and held progressively senior operational roles in Africa and Latin America until 2020 when he served as director of strategy and became COO in January 2021.
Philip co-founded First Quantum Minerals in 1996 and has served as its CEO and chairman ever since. He retires as one of the longest-serving CEOs among the world’s major mining companies.
Over the course of his stewardship, the company has grown from the construction of the Bwana Mkubwa project in Zambia designed for 10 000 t/y of copper production, to become the world’s sixth largest copper producer. First Quantum has operations on five continents, employing more than 20 000 people and producing over 800 000 t/y of copper.
“On behalf of the entire company, I would like to thank Philip for his extraordinary leadership. Over the span of a quarter century as CEO, Philip has demonstrated a capacity to solve problems others could not and to bring unique solutions to complex project issues,” said Harding.