North American Palladium has made another key personnel move in support of their growing precious metal production footprint with today’s announcement that 26-year executive finance veteran, Dave Langille (CPA, CMA), has been appointed to the company’s CFO position, effective immediately.
Langille brings a treasure trove of rich first-hand international finance expertise to PAL with him and the considerable performance record he has established for streamlining operational efficiency showcases how essential he will be during this pivotal phase in the company’s evolution. With strong Q4 palladium production out of their flagship Lac des Iles palladium mine outside Thunder Bay, Ontario (latest NI 43-101) contributing to the company’s having exceeded 2012 production guidance handsomely (at just shy of 164k ounces) and the significant progress already made in the latter half of last year, PAL is now primed for shaft mining at the Lac des Iles site in Q3 of this year and some much larger numbers.
Langille’s wealth of experience in M&A activity, as well as in moving capital market products to generate funding across a broad range of product types, will no doubt serve PAL very well as they advance the Lac des Iles expansion, in concert with ongoing activity at their Vezza gold mine in Quebec’s extremely prolific Abitibi region (latest NI 43-101). North American Palladium is going to get a lot of mileage out of having Langille in the CFO chair during 2013 as these efforts progress and the top-level financial positions he has held at companies like Capital Environmental Resource Inc., Cott Corp., Lindsey Morden Group Inc., and TVX Gold Inc. all go a long ways towards emboldening PAL shareholders about how smooth the process will be.
Chairman and Interim CEO of PAL, Andre Douchane, threw a spotlight on Dave’s financial prowess and widely noted track-record in the resource sector for optimizing financial performance, asserting that Langille’s strategic planning capabilities will translate directly into improved financial performance as the company crystallizes its industry vector as a low-cost palladium producer. Langille is just the guy to cut the fat and make sure everything is logistically ship-shape going into this year’s developments, which will be focused heavily on the new shaft mining expansion at Lac des Iles.
Langille comes to the CFO role at PAL off a significant run as VP of Finance and CFO over at Breakwater Resources (acquired by integrated mining and metals powerhouseNyrstar). Additionally, he holds an Honours Bachelor of Business Administration from Wilfrid Laurier University (Ontario). Langille is also a member of the Institute of Chartered Accounts of Ontario and the Society of Management Accountants of Ontario (since 1987, two years after receiving his degree).
Exciting times for PAL shareholders as the obvious supply/consumption metrics for 2013 are making PGM’s across the board look really attractive, especially palladium which could see some serious moves if the global economy and automotive industries outperform in a rebound scenario as already tight supplies will become even tighter. Note last week’s rally after Johnson Matthey’s report, the Platinum 2012 Interim Review, which roundly confirmed that 2013 is going to see a supply deficit in palladium, with demand of more than 9.7M ounces chasing less than 7M ounces of production (2003 levels). Of course in gold news we have India’s recent 50% import tax hike on the culturally perennial yellow metal ($38B imported in Apr-Dec 2012 alone), seen as a way for the Reserve Bank of India to shore up its own gold supply and address the flagging rupee, while also addressing the 5.4% plus account deficit.
For more information on North American Palladium, please visit www.NAP.com
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