(Updates with details from statement and background) May 18...

(Updates with details from statement and background)

May 18 (Reuters) - Gold miner Newmont Corp NEM.N said on Thursday it had appointed Karyn Ovelman, lead independent director at steelmaker ArcelorMittal MT.LU , as its chief financial officer.

Ovelman will take over a position that has been vacant for nearly seven months after Baker Hughes Co BKR.O tapped Newmont's Nancy Buese as its finance chief last year.

The appointment also comes at a time when Newmont prepares to complete the acquisition of Australian gold miner Newcrest Mining Ltd (NCM) in a deal valued at A$26.2 billion ($17.77 billion), one of the world's largest buyouts so far this year.

Ovelman will take charge during the second quarter of 2023, Newmont said in a statement.

"Karyn brings a breadth of global experience operating in complex financial environments," Newmont CEO Tom Palmer said. ($1 = 1.4743 Australian dollars)