TORONTO, April 11, 2017 /CNW/ - Kerr Mines Inc. ("Kerr" or the "Company") (TSX: KER) is pleased to announce the appointment of Claudio Ciavarella as Chief Executive Officer and Martin Kostuik as President and Director effective immediately. The appointments are consistent with the Company's strategy to strengthen its leadership team through the addition of experienced executives who bring business, mining, operational and technical expertise.

"The additions of Claudio and Martin to Kerr's management team will provide invaluable business and technical leadership as we advance our flagship Copperstone gold mine." said Mr. Fahad Al Tamimi, Chairman of Kerr. "Their experience and expertise will be especially valuable as we begin to execute exploration and development programs, designed to better define our resource and optimize Copperstone's economics."

Mr. Ciavarella (CPA) earned his Bachelor of Business Administration from Wilfrid Laurier University's School of Business and Economics, where he graduated Honours with Distinction.  Mr. Ciavarella is a successful private business owner with more than 25 years of experience in the construction, real estate and manufacturing industries. He is currently President of the Forte Group of Companies, a custom manufacturer, and is also Chief Financial Officer of the Aqua Tech Group, a dewatering and construction company. He is a Certified Professional Accountant receiving his designation in 1994, and has served on the Board of Kerr for over seven years where he has recently taken an active role in the restructuring of the Company. Mr. Ciavarella is Kerr's second largest shareholder, owning approximately 13% of the Company's issued and outstanding shares.

Mr. Ciavarella stated, "I'm pleased to be joining Martin on Kerr's management team and I am very committed to unlocking shareholder value through our plan to bring the Copperstone to its full potential."

Mr. Kostuik (B.Sc., MBA) is a mining engineer and senior executive with 25 years of diversified experience in the mining industry. Mr. Kostuik joins Kerr from Luna Gold Corporation where he was Senior Vice President of Operations and Development, responsible for operations, development, capital projects, environmental, government and community relations. Mr. Kostuik was also President, CEO and Director of Rupert Resources Limited where he focused on implementing exploration programs for existing assets and on developing the company through evaluations of investment opportunities for near term corporate growth. He has obtained a broad base of experience in operations, engineering, exploration and capital projects with various companies including Barrick Gold Corporation, Taseko Mines Limited, DMC Mining Services and The Rogers Group.

"This is a great time to be joining Kerr," said Mr. Kostuik, President of Kerr.  "The Company's Copperstone mine represents a unique and exciting opportunity within the gold sector, and I am looking forward to leading the advancement of this promising project in a measured and sustainable manner."

With the appointments of Mr. Ciavarella as CEO and Mr. Kostuik as President, Chris Hopkins will relinquish his interim President and CEO roles and resume his role as Chief Financial Officer and assume corporate secretary responsibilities for the Company on a full-time basis. Kerr's Board would like to thank Mr. Hopkins for his contributions to help the Company successfully complete its restructuring, develop a new strategy to bring Copperstone back in production and begin to re-build its profile with the investment community.

Kerr also announces the resignation of Gregory Gibson as a director of the Company effective immediately. The board of directors and management of the Company would like to thank Mr. Gibson for his contributions to Kerr and wishes him continued success. 

About Kerr
Kerr is a North American gold exploration and development company based in Toronto, Canada. Kerr's core focus is to commence surface and underground exploration to support a decision on the restart of operations at the fully permitted Copperstone Mine in Arizona.  The Copperstone  Mine  produced nearly 500,000 ounces of gold through open pit mining.  Existing infrastructure which remains from this time, or which has been subsequently installed by the Company's predecessor and wholly owned subsidiary, American Bonanza Gold Corp., is considerable and serves to reduce the current capital requirements for the mine.  Existing infrastructure includes a power line and substation, and three water wells, all sufficient for the proposed operations at Copperstone.  Additional infrastructure on site includes offices, maintenance shops and a laboratory building permitted tailings facility, processing facility and mill.

This news release contains forward-looking statements, including current expectations on the timing of the commencement of production and the rate of production, if commenced. These forward-looking statements entail various risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those reflected in these forward-looking statements. Such statements are based on current expectations, are subject to a number of uncertainties and risks, and actual results may differ materially from those contained in such statements. These uncertainties and risks include, but are not limited to, the strength of the Canadian economy; the price of gold; operational, funding, and liquidity risks; the degree to which mineral resource estimates are reflective of actual mineral resources; and the degree to which factors which would make a mineral deposit commercially viable are present; the risks and hazards associated with underground operations. Risks and uncertainties about Kerr Mines' business are more fully discussed in the Company's disclosure materials, including its annual information form and MD&A, filed with the securities regulatory authorities in Canada and available at www.sedar.com and readers are urged to read these materials. Kerr Mines assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from such statements unless required by law.

Neither TSX nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release and no stock exchange, securities commission or other regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information contained herein.

SOURCE Kerr Mines Inc.