Gold Resource Corp says Hochschild's Muffly resigns from board

Gold Resource Corporation (NYSE MKT:GORO) says that Robert Muffly has resigned from the company's board of directors under the terms of a strategic alliance agreement dated back to 2008 with Hochschild Mining. 

Under the agreement, if Hochschild sells of 20 per cent or more of its pro rate ownership stake in the company, the director nominated by Hochschild has to automatically resign. 

The gold miner yesterday announced that Hochschild sold around 3.4 million shares of the company's common stock, reducing its stake by more than 20 per cent, and thereby triggering the resignation. Muffly had served on Gold Resource Corp's board since the annual meeting of shareholders held in June. 

“We appreciate Mr. Muffly’s participation on the board,” saidGold Resource Corporation president, Jason Reid, in the statement Tuesday. “On behalf of the company, I would like to thank Mr. Muffly and wish him well in his future endeavors.”    

Mexico-focused Gold Resource Corp has returned over $85 million to shareholders in monthly dividends since declaring commercial production in July 1, 2010, and offers investors the option to convert their cash dividends into physical gold and silver. 

Earlier this month, the company said it is aiming to complete the mill expansion at its Aguila site by the end of this year. The company updated shareholders on the process, which includes a flotation circuit ball mill delivery. With the new ball mill foundation complete, the mill's sole plates are being installed, the company said, in preparation for the final ball mill installation. 

The expansion will take capacity to a nominal 1,500 tonnes per day.

The U.S.-based gold producer, with operations in the southern state of Oaxaca, Mexico, said as recently as last month that it drilled new mineralization around 500 metres northeast of the Arista vein system in Mexico. The step-out hole cut 2.2 metres of 12.91 grams per tonne (g/t) gold and 410 g/t silver. This was within an intercept measuring 15.5 metres wide and averaging 2.95 g/t gold. The structure is one of several parallel to the Arista deposit that the gold miner is targeting with its ongoing drilling.