“Wal’s appointment to the board is a coup for the company,” Guildford Group managing director Peter Kane said.
“He is a proven leader whose unrivalled skills and experience are exactly what the company needs as it enters its next phase as a producer.”
The appointment of King, who grew Leighton from $1 billion in annual revenue to more than $20 billion per annum over his 23 years as its CEO, comes as Guilford aims to start trucking a trial shipment of coal from the Baruun Noyon Uul mine in Mongolia into neighbouring China today.
Under King’s reign, Leighton became a pioneering player in Mongolia’s young mining scene with the company earning billions of revenue as mine-operating contractor there.
The BNU mine is initially targeting 1 million tonnes per annum of low-ash, low-sulphur hard coking coal production for the Chinese steelmaking market.
