Swanepoel is the current joint chief executive officer of Village Main Reef and joins Continental following the completion of a financial settlement between the two companies.
Continental announced in March that it had raised $US8.2 million for its fourth mine development, the De Wittekrans coal project, through a financing agreement with VMR.
The deal added to Continental's access to capital, with its cash position at the end of the last quarter at about $4.1 million, and resulted in VMR, a South Africa-based diversified mining company, holding a 16.35% interest in Continental.
Swanepoel is a mining engineer but has spent the better part of the past decade in management roles. Swanepoel has worked with Beatrix Mines, Randgold and was the CEO of Harmony mine from 1997 to 2007.
Swanepoel is a non-executive director of African Rainbow Minerals and a partner of To The Point Growth Specialists. He also serves as a member of the advisory board at Umbono Capital Partners and the Pretoria University mining engineering advisory board.
"Bernard is an individual who has experienced sustained success in the South African mining sector over a long period of time and someone who we believe can add significant value to the company and its operations as we move into our next growth phase,” Continental CEO Don Turvey said.
"Village Main Reef are now a significant strategic investor in and partner of our business, and Bernard has been a key driver of this investment, which in our view speaks volumes for the company and his views on how Continental Coal is placed to grow in the future," Turvey added.
As a result of the appointment of Swanepoel to the board, founding director Peter Landau has tendered his resignation, effective immediately.
“The board wishes to thank Mr Landau for his tireless efforts over a long period of time and wishes to publicly recognise the significant role he played in the creation and development of Continental Coal into a significant South African coal production company,” Turvey said.
The company announced strong operational results across its South African mines for the March quarter, with record total run of mine coal production of 631,557 tonnes and increased total thermal coal sales to export and domestic markets.
