Turquoise Hill announced on Thursday that its chief executive officer (CEO) Ulf Quellman has resigned from his position, effective immediately. He will also no longer be a director in the company.
According to the company’s statement on Mar 4, Quellman’s resignation was advised by the Rio Tinto management, a majority shareholder in Turquoise Hill. Quellman had several discussions with a special committee formed by independent board members about his negotiations with Rio Tinto regarding increased funding for the Oyu Tolgoi copper project, the company stated.
The board of directors has now appointed Steve Thibeault as the company’s interim CEO. He was Turquoise Hill’s chief financial officer until April 2017 after which he was not part of the company but has mediated the negotiations between Rio Tinto and the company regarding the Mongolian mine since he left Turquoise Hill.
In another shakeup, Rio Tinto’s, chairman Simon Thompson also resigned from his post over the demolition of sacred aboriginal sites for iron ore mining in Australia on Thursday.