SouthGobi Resources sacks second senior executive
Dismissal of chief operating officer follows the exit of company boss after failed takeover
SouthGobi Resources has fired its chief operating officer Curtis Church - the second dismissal of a senior executive - after Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) cancelled its plan to acquire a controlling stake in the Canadian coal miner.
SouthGobi said in a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange yesterday that the termination of Church was due to "failure to comply with his obligations" to the company.
SouthGobi, which has mining operations in Mongolia, dismissed its president and chief executive Alexander Molyneux last month after mainland state-owned Chalco called off its bid to buy up to 60 per cent of the coal miner.
Chalco, the mainland's third-largest aluminum producer, said on September 3 that it would pull out from the acquisition because chances for obtaining approval from the Mongolian government were slim.
Mongolia is reluctant to see China's increasing influence in the country.
Chalco had planned to buy the stake in SouthGobi from Turquoise Hill Resources for C$925.28 million (HK$7.26 billion).
Shares of SouthGobi, 14 per cent owned by China's sovereign wealth fund, dropped 0.93 per cent to HK$17.10 yesterday.