Mining Roundup: African Barrick Gold Shares Drop as CEO Resigns

African Barrick Gold’s share price (LON:ABG) today slid after the Tanzania-focused miner said that Chief Executive Officer Greg Hawkins had resigned.

The gold producer, whose poor performance meant it was under pressure even before the price of the precious metal began to slump in April, said in a statement that industry veteran Bradley Gordon would replace Hawkins at the helm of the struggling group.

African Barrick's chairman Kelvin Dushnisky commented on change:

Hochschild Suspends Dividend Payout after H1 Results Disappoint

Hochschild Mining (LON:HOC) has suspended interim dividend payout in the latest cost-cutting move prompted by falling prices of precious metals that have led to a 46-percent drop in the company’s half-year profits.

The Latin American miner today posted core adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of $90.4 million for the six months to June 30, compared to $168.4 million in the year-earlier period. Revenue on continuing operations of $308.6 million for the six months was also lower than the prior-year figure of $354.5 million.

Hochschild’s chairman Eduardo Hochschild said in a statement: “In light of the very difficult financial results caused by the precious metals price falls, the board has decided not to pay an interim dividend."

The company has also slashed capital expenditure by $30 million to $150 million, cut $27 million off its exploration budget and reduced administration expenses by $20 million, while a "significant number" of its staff has been made redundant.

The announcement of Hochschild’s cost-reduction measures followed Ivan Glasenberg calls for stricter capital discipline in the industry.

The Chief Executive Officer of Glencore Xstrata (LON:GLEN) has said that peers are responding to his bid to restrain spending and shelve expansions to buoy commodity prices and boost investor returns.