The NAL plant in Canada
North American lithium producer Sayona Mining on Wednesday announced Lucas Dow as new MD and CEO, taking over from interim CEO James Brown.
Dow, an experienced mining executive who has led resources organisations at the CEO level and held director roles at listed and unlisted companies, first joined the board as a nonexecutive director on February 14.
Commenting on the appointment, Dow said he was thrilled to lead the company. “Sayona is fortunate to have multiple emerging tier-one assets, including North American Lithium (NAL) and Moblan, which will underpin the success of the business into the future.”
Thanking Brown for stepping in as CEO for the last ten months, Dow said that, following a succesful ramp-up, the NAL was delivering industry-leading results for plant utilisation and recovery. Both, he said, were a testament to the commitment and leadership of Brown and the operational team in Quebec.
Further, Sayona promoted Sylvain Collard to president and COO of Canada.
Collard is responsible for the company's projects in the Abitibi-Temiscamingue hub including NAL operations, and Eeyou Istchee James Bay hub in northern Quebec, including exploration and development of the Moblan lithium project.
Collard is a specialist in mine project management, continuous process improvement and has extensive experience in operations management for both openpit and underground mines.
During his career, Collard has worked on several Iamgold mining projects, notably as manager of a major capital project at the Essakane mine in Burkina Faso, where 3 500 workers were under his direction. He has also managed copper and gold mines and projects in Quebec, Ontario and the US.