Turquoise Hill Announces Management Change
Turquoise Hill Resources Ltd. (“Turquoise Hill” or the “Company”) announced today that Mr. Ulf Quellmann has resigned as the Company’s Chief Executive Officer effective March 3, 2021, the Board of Directors of the Company (the “Board”) and Mr. Quellmann having agreed that it would not be in the best interests of the Company for Mr. Quellmann to continue in this position.
We thank Mr. Quellmann for his service to Turquoise Hill and the advancements he has made in bringing the Company closer to a financing plan for the Oyu Tolgoi project. Prior to Mr. Quellmann’s resignation, members of the Board’s special committee of independent directors (the “Special Committee”) had several conversations with Mr. Quellmann regarding his tenure as CEO and his ability to continue leading negotiations with Rio Tinto. In these conversations the Special Committee discussed views received from Rio Tinto on the leadership of the Company, including Rio Tinto’s view that new leadership at Turquoise Hill was necessary to advance work on matters of mutual interest and importance to the project. Though Rio Tinto acknowledged that the appointment and termination of the CEO and other officers at Turquoise Hill are matters within the authority of the Board, it advised that, as the majority shareholder, Rio Tinto would not vote in favour of Mr. Quellmann’s election as a director at the Company’s upcoming annual and general meeting of shareholders in May 2021 if he were to be nominated.
Following the discussions held with Mr. Quellmann, the Board and Mr. Quellmann determined that it was in the best interests of the Company that Mr. Quellmann resign his positions as CEO and as a director of the Company.