28 August 2018

Acacia Mining plc

LSE: ACA

(“Acacia” or the “Company”)

Board Changes

Acacia announces that Mr Kelvin Dushnisky has tendered his resignation as a non-executive director of Acacia, effective as at 31 August 2018, and from his position as Chair of the Board.  This is further to the announcements made on 23 July 2018 by Barrick Gold Corporation (“Barrick”) and by AngloGold Ashanti Limited (“AngloGold Ashanti”), respectively, of Kelvin’s impending departure from Barrick as at the end of August 2018, and his impending appointments as CEO and as an Executive Director of AngloGold Ashanti, to be effective 1 September 2018. 

Further to Kelvin’s resignation, the Board of Acacia has appointed Rachel English, one of Acacia’s existing Independent Non-Executive Directors, as Interim Chair of the Board, with effect from 1 September 2018.

Ms English is an Independent Non-Executive Director of Acacia. Ms English is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants. Ms English has held senior positions in BG Group and Royal Dutch Shell, with responsibilities spanning finance, corporate strategy, mergers and acquisitions, and business development.  She began her career at PriceWaterhouseCoopers and subsequently worked for the World Bank Group and European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (“EBRD”), where she was involved in policy development and lending operations. Ms English has held a number of non-executive positions over the past 10 years. Currently, Ms English is also a Director of Helios Social Enterprise, which she founded to develop renewable energy access projects in rural sub-Saharan Africa. Ms English holds an MA in Politics, Philosophy & Economics from Oxford University.

Following these changes, the Board of Acacia now comprises an Interim Chair (prior to appointment, an Independent Non-Executive Director), one Executive Director, three Independent Non-Executive Directors and one Barrick Nominee Non-Executive Director.  The Board will continue to consider opportunities for additional Board appointments as part of its orderly succession planning processes, and to ensure that it retains the appropriate balance and expertise to meet Acacia’s business objectives.  An announcement on a permanent appointment to the role of Chair of the Board will be made in due course. 

Commenting on these changes Michael Kenyon, Senior Independent Director, said: “On behalf of the Board and the Company, I would like to thank Kelvin for his contribution to Acacia over the years and wish him the very best for his new role at AngloGold Ashanti. We also welcome and support Rachel in her new role as Interim Chair.”

In turn, commenting on her appointment as Interim Chair, Rachel English said: "It is a privilege to be accepting the position of Interim Chair of the Board of Acacia. In this role I will continue to work with my fellow Directors to seek to advance the Company in the interests of all of its stakeholders over the long term.”

ENQUIRIES

For further information, please visit our website: www.acaciamining.com or contact:

Acacia Mining plc                                                                                            +44 (0) 20 7129 7150

Sally Marshak, General Manager - Investor Relations & Communications

Camarco                                                                                                              +44 (0) 20 3757 4980

Gordon Poole / Nick Hennis