Chile's President Sebasti??n Pi??era announced this week the appointment of Robert Mayne-Nicholls as the new Vice President of the National Mining Company, known for its initials in Spanish Enami.
Enami is the state-owned mining development corporation that supports small and medium-sized mines with technical and financial support and by buying and processing their mineral.
Up until December 2018, the corporation was run by Andr?(C) Sougarret, who left his post to become Fresnillo's (LON:FRES) Chief Operating Officer.
Mayne-Nicholls, on the other hand, is a mining engineer who was working as the project manager for Twin Metals, a division of Chilean mining group Antofagasta (LON:AAL), in the US.
Previous to that job, he was the project manager for Antofagasta's flagship Los Pelambres mine. He also worked at the world's No. 1 copper producer, Codelco, and at Barrick Gold's (TSX:ABX)(NYSE:GOLD) controversial Pascua Lama mine in the Chile-Argentina border.
"He has a lot of experience in the private and the public sector," Mining Minister Baldo Prokurica said, following Pi??eras's announcement. "We expect him to put order in the company, to reduce costs and to make it work in favour of small and medium-size miners."
In response to being named Enami's highest authority, Mayne-Nicholls said he felt honoured and proud because both the President and the Mining Minister invited him to join the corporation's leadership team.
"I hope to continue developing and supporting the sector by achieving good results and complying with all the environment and safety that the industry requires," he said.