Molycorp, Inc. MCP today announced that its Board of Directors has appointed
Constantine Karayannopoulos as Interim President and Chief Executive Officer
and is immediately undertaking a search for a permanent President and Chief
Executive Officer. He succeeds Mark A. Smith, who has left the Company.
Constantine Karayannopoulos will assume all management responsibilities for
Molycorp and its subsidiaries, effective immediately, and will continue to
serve as a Director and the Vice Chairman of Molycorp's Board of Directors. A
professional engineer, Karayannopoulos previously served as President and
Chief Executive Officer of Neo Material Technologies, a position he held from
2005 until this year. At Neo Materials, Karayannopoulos also served as
Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer as well as Vice President
and General Manager of the company's rare earths business unit and
Vice-President of Sales. His exceptional track record in and knowledge of the
rare earths industry puts him in a unique position to direct the leading rare
earths technology company.
"Molycorp has made significant progress in recent years, culminating in the
ramp up of Project Phoenix production capacity at our Mountain Pass facility
and the implementation of its vertical integration strategy through the
acquisition of Neo Materials, now Molycorp Canada," said Ross R. Bhappu,
Chairman of the Board. "With Project Phoenix on track to achieve a Phase 1
run rate by the end of this month, and these significant accomplishments
achieved, the Board of Directors believes Molycorp is at a natural inflection
point, as it transitions its focus from development to ongoing operations, to
bring in a proven business leader with industry experience, a track record of
operational excellence and management experience to execute Molycorp's
strategy. We are confident we can find a permanent Chief Executive Officer
with the expertise and credibility to maximize our great potential."
The Company will remain focused on being the rare earth industry's leading
low-cost and high-margin-capture advanced materials company. The Company noted
that, in the near term, Mr. Karayannopoulos's focus will include maximizing
the synergies between the resource and downstream divisions as well as
ensuring that the Company has a sufficient liquidity cushion from cash from
operations, tight cost controls, and potential proceeds from revolving credit
facilities or certain equipment financing and other sources.
"The Board of Directors thanks Mark Smith for his significant contributions
and leadership over the past four years that have brought Molycorp to this
natural transition into an ongoing operating business, and we wish him well in
his future endeavors," commented Bhappu. "Looking ahead, we have full faith
and confidence in Constantine to manage the Company, operating with the best
people and assets in the industry."
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