By Robb M. Stewart

Solaris Resources has turned to former Glencore copper boss Matthew Rowlinson to lead the metals company takes the final steps to leave Canada and shift to Ecuador.

Solaris said Wednesday it appointed Rowlinson as president and chief executive effective the start of next year. Rowlinson, who recently was head of Glencore's copper development business, will be based in a new company office in Zug, Switzerland, which further appoints in the office to come.

Rowlinson will lead Solaris's executive team, backed by the team at the company's Warintza project in Ecuador that is led by Chief Operating Officer Javier Toro, who is based in Lima, Peru. Solaris said Toro will continue to be supported by Ecuadorian executives.

Additionally, Rowlinson, Rodrigo Borja and Hans Wick will join the company's board from Jan. 1. At that time, Canada directors Daniel Earle, the current president and CEO, Poonam Puri, Kevin Thomson and Ron Walsh will resign from their roles on the board, the company said.

Solaris said it expects to complete its corporate emigration by year-end, and from January its Canadian offices will be closed and no employees of the company or its subsidiaries will be in the country. The move is part of an effort to align the company with regulators in Ecuador as Warintza completes the permitting process.

The company, which is advancing a portfolio of copper and gold assets in the Americas, said it expects to complete a spin-off of non-core assets into a new copper-focused assets. The majority-owned La Verde joint-venture project with a subsidiary of Teck Resources in Mexico and the Capricho and Paco Orco ventures in Peru which will form the foundation of the spin-out operation.

Write to Robb M. Stewart at robb.stewart@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 20, 2024 08:35 ET (13:35 GMT)

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