Mining veteran David Brown quits as CEO of Zimbabwe’s state-controlled Kuvimba Mining House

South African mining veteran David Brown has declared his intention to step down from his executive role as the CEO of Zimbabwe’s Kuvimba Mining House, Bloomberg reported. The move could jeopardize the company’s future amid government hopes that the enterprise could spur an economic revival.

Although little is known as to why Brown is stepping aside, he has mentioned that the move was initiated to ensure a smooth transition process for the company.

“It has always been my intention to transition from executive roles to non-executive roles. When I joined it was always understood that this was the process I wanted to follow,” Brown was quoted as saying.

Brown is a renowned South African mining executive, who served in Zimbabwe’s mining sector as the CEO of Impala Platinum (Implats) for six years before leaving in 2012.

Last year, he announced his resignation after seven years from the Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed MC Mining, a thermal and metallurgical coal company. During that time, Brown restructured the firm in the run-up to raising financing.

Aside from his role in Kuvimba Mining House, Brown also serves as non-executive chairman of Great Dyke Investments, a company backed by private Russian interests that hope to raise $550 million for developing platinum group metals mine, Darwendale.

Kuvimba Mining House is a Zimbabwe-based mining company largely controlled by the government, which holds a 65-percent equity stake in the business.