OSLO, 25 January 2022
Akobo Minerals (Euronext Oslo - "AKOBO"), the Scandinavian-based Ethiopian gold
exploration and mining company, today announced that it has appointed Dr Cathryn
MacCallum as head of ESG to further the company's environmental, social and
governance (ESG) program. She takes up the post on 1[st] February 2020 as part
of the company's management team.
MacCallum is a highly experienced socio-economist with a PhD in sustainable
livelihoods and global learning. In a career already spanning over 25 years she
has developed integrated approaches to diversifying sustainable livelihoods and
has delivered wide-ranging technical support and advice to poverty reduction and
education projects across Europe, sub-Saharan Africa, and the Middle East &
North Africa regions.
MacCallum has particular energy and mining sector experience, advising and
building the capacity of businesses by determining and managing ESG risks and
achieving and maintaining a social licence to operate. She is involved in a
range of international forums informing policy for the sector, provided ESG
expert input into the recent review of the PERC Standard for reporting of
exploration results, mineral resources and mineral reserves and regularly
undertakes ESG due diligence on projects for international finance institutions
and private equity companies.
On her appointment, MacCallum stated: "Akobo Minerals has demonstrated that ESG
lies at the heart of its corporate and social initiatives and I am excited to
pick up this ESG baton at a business which has already proven its world-leading
credentials. I am particularly looking forward to building upon the company's
strategy that takes an ESG 'extended shared value' approach to maximising
potential both for the company and the local peoples in and around our
operations. My success will be to prove that a community can be engaged with and
supported through ESG without creating a culture of dependency. I look forward
to the challenge."
Jørgen Evjen, CEO of Akobo Minerals, added: "We are pleased to welcome Cathryn
to the company on a more permanent basis - having previously undertaken
consulting work for us in 2021 - and she will be able to build upon our already
strong ESG initiatives through her decades of international development
experience. We recognise that stakeholder engagement is not a cost, but an
investment and this ethical approach is not just tokenism but makes sound
business sense. Cathryn's appointment will allow us to take the next step in
building a robust ESG program that will deliver a real and positive effect on
all our stakeholders' livelihoods."
Read more about the background on Akobo Minerals' ESG
program. (https://akobominerals.com/sustainability/)
Best regards,
Jørgen Evjen
CEO Akobo Minerals AB and Etno Mining P.l.c
Mob NO: +47 92 80 40 14
Mob ET: +251 944 76 2428
email: jorgen@akobominerals.com
----
Akobo Minerals, is a Norway-based gold exploration company, currently with
ongoing exploration and small-scale mine development in the Gambela region and
Dima Woreda, southwest Ethiopia. The operations were established in 2009 by
people with long experience from the public mining sector in Ethiopia and from
the Norwegian oil service industry. Akobo Minerals holds a mining licence and an
exploration license over key targets in the area. Economic mineralisation was
discovered and the company is engaged in mining studies to advance the project
to production, alongside exploration core drilling. Akobo Minerals is
transforming its organisation to support an increased pace of core drilling. At
both the key targets Segele and Joru the company has so far released
exceptionally high-grade gold results including the Segele deposit with an
Inferred Mineral Resource of 78ktons at 20.9g/t.?A scoping study for Segele
includes an up-front capital expenditure of USD $8m and all-in sustaining cost
of USD $243 per ounce of gold produced. Core-drilling and trenching at Joru have
intersected both high-grade gold zones and large wide zones near surface. The
company has an excellent partnership with national authorities and places ESG at
the heart of its activities - a ground-breaking community program is being
planned.