First Quantum Minerals has announced that its Board of Directors will appoint Tristan Pascall, currently the company’s Chief Operating Officer (COO), to the role of Chief Executive Officer (CEO).

The appointment will take effect at the Annual General Meeting to be held in early May 2022, at which time Philip Pascall (Tristan’s father), the company’s current Chairman and CEO, will retire from the CEO role and will continue to serve as Chairman of the Board. The company will nominate Tristan Pascall for election as a director at the AGM.

The appointment of Tristan Pascall represents the culmination of a succession planning process led by independent directors on the Board’s Nominating and Governance Committee, comprised of Robert Harding, Andrew Adams and Kathleen Hogenson.

Robert Harding, Chair of the Nominating and Governance Committee and Lead Independent Director, said: “After a thorough search process, we are very pleased to appoint Tristan Pascall as First Quantum’s next Chief Executive Officer. 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. His practical, on-the-ground experience with our people and projects, combined with lessons learned from the countries where we operate, embodies the company’s culture and makes Tristan the right leader for First Quantum.

“We believe Tristan’s combination of operational, strategic and capital markets experience, as well as the strong stakeholder relationships he has developed, are fundamental to the continuity of our unique core capabilities, namely industry-leading project execution and operational excellence.”

Tristan Pascall 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 later became Chief Operating Officer in January 2021. Prior to assuming his executive leadership roles, he was a key member of the teams that delivered on several major greenfield and expansion mining projects which now collectively represent most of the company’s net asset value, FQM said. His responsibilities from 2009 to 2015 included the initial development, construction and operating the Sentinel mine in Zambia. Starting in 2015, he led the development of the Cobre Panama mine (pictured), now the company’s largest copper mine with the world’s largest single-throughput copper concentrator plant, and built the operations team which now stands at more than 5,000 people.

Prior to joining First Quantum, Tristan spent eight years in corporate finance and investment banking with a focus on resources and heavy industry in Australia, Europe and Asia.

Tristan Pascall said: “I am very excited to continue to build upon the momentum we have established at First Quantum. It is deeply humbling to be selected to lead such a highly talented team, all of whom have contributed to establishing a unique entrepreneurial culture. As we enter our next stage of growth, I look forward to building on First Quantum’s accomplishments of the past two decades.”

Philip Pascall 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 tonnes of copper annually.

Harding said: “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. The Board believes his ongoing involvement as Chairman will be a significant competitive advantage and form a uniquely complementary combination with Tristan’s hands-on, collaborative leadership style.”