Edgewater shares hike over 15% on news of COO appointment

Edgewater Exploration (CVE:EDW) announced Friday it has appointed Dr. John A. Thomas to the position of chief operating officer (COO) - a move that sent its shares up 15.79 percent to $0.55, as of 1:42 pm EDT.

Dr. Thomas studied chemical engineering at the University of Manchester in the U.K. before earning a diploma in accounting and finance from the U.K. Association of Certified accountants.

He has over 38 years of experience in the mining industry, including with both base and precious metals. He has worked in several countries, including Brazil, Venezuela, Costa Rica, Russia, Canada, and Zambia, and his duties have covered process development, management of feasibility studies, engineering and management of construction, and operation of mines.

Edgewater CEO, George Salamis commented: "We are very pleased to have Dr. Thomas join the Edgewater team as COO.
"Given John's depth of experience managing feasibility studies, overseeing mine construction and operations, and working on international projects, his skill set is a perfect fit for Edgewater.

"Edgewater's 100% owned Corcoesto Gold Project in Northwest Spain is now rapidly advancing from exploration to development with the company initiating a feasibility study on the project this year. 

"John speaks fluent Spanish and will be an integral member of our existing development team in Spain where his experience management development projects on the scale of Corcoesto will assist in maximizing shareholder value for Edgewater."

Late last year, the company released an NI 43-101 compliant preliminary economic assessment for the project. The PEA highlighted about 102,000 ounces of gold in annual production, for annual revenues of about $60 million.

The life-of-mine net present value is estimated at about $206 million, with a pre-tax internal rate of return of 24%. Edgewater said it expects pre-tax payback in about 3.4 years.

Overall, the mine has an estimated life of about 9.9 years, with average annual costs of $713 per ounce, and initial open pit and underground capital costs of $135 million.