New boss at LCL as Ross Ashton calls time on plus-50-year...

New boss at LCL as Ross Ashton calls time on plus-50-year careerExplorer and the company he most recently led have been active around the globeMichael QuinnRoss Ashton in ColombiaRoss Ashton in Colombia | Credits: LCL01 November 2024twitter_iconlinkedin-iconfb-iconWith his exit today from LCL Resources, Ross Ashton is bringing to a close more than half a century in the exploration and mining sector.Ashton's resignation as executive chair of the Colombia and Papua New Guinea explorer sees Christopher van Wijk now promoted to the role.According to Ashton, "it's time".A qualified geologist who did his degree in Sydney in the late 1960s, Ashton has had some big successes over the past five decades, none more so than as founder and managing director of Red Back Mining, the ASX-listed company behind the discovery and development of the multi-million-ounce Chirano gold project in Ghana that began production in 2005 and will still be pouring bars into the 2030s.Other ASX and Canada-listed companies with which Ashton has been involved over the years include PMI Gold, Yilgarn Mining/Brockman Resources, GB Energy and Marindi Metals.Ashton's time with LCL began in 2016, and while the explorer has subsequently outlined more than 2.6 million ounces of gold in Colombia, the election of the country's first staunchly left-wing president in August 2022 forced a pause in the South American country and move into Papua New Guinea.Van Wijk joined LCL as a non-exec earlier this year.Prior to that, the professional geologist's roles included managing director of West African focused Marvel Gold, where he grew the Tabakorole gold deposit in Mali to a million-ounce resource.LCL had $1.25 million cash at the end of September.Shares in LCL were trading this week at 1c, capitalising the company at $10 million.At the end of 2021, before the political landscape changed in Colombia, the company had an enterprise value of around $70 million.