Mr. Binedell was appointed as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Corporation effective June 1, 2021. Mr. Binedell is a mining executive with 25 years of industry experience in leading global mining companies and adjacent joint ventures. Prior joining the Corporation, Mr. Binedell was Chief Financial Officer of Guyana Goldfields Inc. a Canadian-based gold producer focused on gold deposits in Guyana. Mr. Binedell has also served in a variety of senior leadership roles at leading mining companies, including nickel and other base metals businesses. Prior to joining Guyana Goldfields Inc., he served as Finance Operating Executive with Resource Capital Funds, a leading private equity fund focused on the mining sector and the commercialization of mining innovation. Additional sector experience includes his time as National Leader of Finance Consulting in Mining & Energy at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, General Manager of Business Services at Xstrata Nickel (now Glencore) and Chief Financial Officer at Koniambo Nickel SAS.
Under Leon’s leadership, since he joined in mid-2021, Sherritt significantly improved its balance sheet through a 35% reduction in long-term debt, resulting in $13 million in annual interest savings. Sherritt concluded a reliable and sustainable transaction with their Cuban partners to recover historical amounts receivable over five years to provide greater certainty in the recovery of $368 million in total receivables and expanded the Moa swap to facilitate Energas liquidity. These transactions demonstrate the strong relationship Sherritt has with senior Cuban leadership and set Sherritt up as a sustainable business partner.
On the foundation of these improvements, Sherritt and their Cuban partners commenced an expansion program at Moa to increase metals production by 20% and optimize the mine plan to facilitate the Extension to the life of mine at Moa to beyond 2040. Similarly, Sherritt and their Cuban partners commenced work to increase natural gas supply to the Energas Power business to increase power production and once completed will see the Boca facility return to full production and add significant additional electricity to the Cuban grid. Alongside these improvements, the Energas joint venture agreement was extended for another 20 years to 2043, which sets up Sherritt’s partnership with Cuba for long-term stable and more profitable operations.