Wesdome CEO resigns in surprise move after delayed projects, output 

Wesdome Gold Mines (TSX: WDO) president and chief executive officer Duncan Middlemiss has resigned after the Kiena mine upgrade in Quebec fell behind schedule and the company missed production goals. 

Middlemiss, who led the company for six years, has been replaced by Wesdome board chairman Warwick Morley-Jepson while the Toronto-based company searches for a replacement.  

Laurentian Bank said the unexpected resignation is causing anxiety among investors because Morley-Jepson is little known and the miner needs stable management to see through its strategy.  

“The sudden resignation of the president and CEO is too much like falling on his sword at time when Wesdome needs good leadership more than ever,” mining analyst Barry Allan wrote in a note late Tuesday. “His departure was premature and occurs at an extremely unfortunate time.” 

The announcement comes just a week after Wesdome said supply chain snarls were delaying the Kiena project near Val-d’Or, Que., by up to a year while lower-than-expected grades at the Eagle River mine in northern Ontario knocked output.