African Queen Mines appoints Todhunter as new CFO

African Queen Mines (CVE:AQ) announced Tuesday that Jennifer Todhunter has been appointed to serve as the new CFO and director, following the resignation of Mark Lotz.
The company’s shares rose 13.51 percent to 21 cents late Tuesday.
The company said Todhunter has recently served as the VP of financial administration, and served as the finance manager of both African Queen and its predecessor, Pan African Mining Corp., since May 2005.
Todhunter has extensive accounting and finance experience, dealing with the complexities of both private and public corporations, said African Queen, adding that she has spent the last thirteen years working with public companies, predominantly those in the mining industry.
"We are grateful to Mark Lotz for his contributions to African Queen over the past nine months and wish him all the best in his other endeavors," said the company’s CEO Irwin Olian.
"At the same time, Jennifer Todhunter has been a very able and popular member of our senior financial administration for the past seven years. She is well qualified to move into her new position as CFO, and we welcome her in this role."
Lotz will remain as a financial consultant for African Queen until August 2012.
Vancouver-based African Queen is exploring its properties in Mozambique, Ghana and Kenya for gold and other metals and it is undertaking exploration in Botswana and Namibia for diamonds, gold and other metals. Its operations in Kenya are being carried out through its operating subsidiary AQ Kenya Gold Limited.
On Monday, the company announced that Alkili Minerals Services has initiated its 2,000 metre core drilling program at the company’s Odundu property in southwest Kenya's Rongo Gold Fields.
African Queen, which said that core drilling of the first hole is now underway, previously completed a program of regional exploration including mapping, sampling trenching and ground and airbourne geophysics.
In February and March of this year, seven trenches totaling 520 metres and covering a northwest-southeast strike of approximately 580 metres were excavated perpendicular to the main shear zone.
Broad zones of mineralized material were recorded in all seven trenches, as wide as 40 metres, the company said.
Last month, the company closed the second tranche of a private placement financing, raising a total of $2.41 million in proceeds.
Funds will be used for the drill program at Odundu, as well as the current drill program at its Noyem-Nyanfoman project on Ghana’s Ashanti Belt, and for potential property acquisitions and working capital.