Sir Samuel Jonah Appointed as Director and Chairperson of Avanti Gold
Canada-listed Avanti Gold has recently appointed Sir Samuel Jonah as director and chairperson of the company, coinciding with its exploration endeavors in a newly acquired area of potential in Botswana.
With a distinguished career spanning decades in the mining sector across Africa, Jonah brings invaluable experience to Avanti Gold.
His notable roles include serving as the former president of gold miner AngloGold Ashanti and holding positions on the boards of esteemed companies such as Moto Gold Mines, Vodafone Group, Standard Bank Group, Roscan Gold, and Bank of America Corporation’s Global Advisory Council. Additionally, Jonah currently serves as chairperson of telecoms infrastructure company Helios Towers.
During his tenure at Ashanti Goldfields Corporation, Jonah played a pivotal role in its transformation into a mining powerhouse. Under his leadership, the company significantly increased gold production from 240,000 oz/y to over 1.6 million ounces annually within a decade, culminating in its merger with AngloGold.
He also played a key role in listing Ashanti Goldfields on the NYSE, marking the first African operating company to achieve such a feat.
Jonah’s achievements extend beyond the gold sector, as evidenced by his involvement in building Uramin into a major uranium producer, ultimately sold for $2.4 billion within a remarkably short timeframe.
Recognized for his outstanding contributions, Jonah was knighted in the twenty-first century, becoming the first Ghanaian to receive such an honor.
He was also elected as a foreign member of the US National Academy of Engineering in 2018, acknowledging his exceptional leadership and technical contributions to engineering in Africa’s mineral industry.
Meanwhile, Avanti Gold is expanding its portfolio through a share exchange agreement with MTM, a Seychelles-based company. This agreement aims to acquire all outstanding share capital of MTM, granting Avanti access to gold prospecting licenses in the District of Molopo within the Kraaipan Granite-Greenstone Belt, a highly prospective region spanning from southern Botswana into South Africa’s North West province.
Avanti Gold’s strategic initiatives also include the development of the tier-one gold asset, Misisi, situated in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s South Kovu province.
With a contained inferred mineral resource of three million ounces of gold, the project holds significant potential for Avanti’s future growth.
