11:24 AM EST, 01/16/2025 (MT Newswires) -- (Updates with analyst comments in the third through fifth paragraphs and updates shares)

K92 Mining ( KNTNF ) on Thursday promoted Heidi Grobler to vice president of human resources role and made other management changes.

The Papua New Guinea miner appointed Stanley Komunt to the role of general manager, external affairs designate, who will take over from Mark Schubert when he retires later this year. Andrew Kohler got promoted to interim vice president of exploration while the company evaluates its long-term plans for the role. Kohler succeeds Chris Muller, who is leaving the company.

National Bank of Canada said it does not expect any impact to progress on exploration and its importance as part of the bank's thesis, as Kohler is a geologist with over 30 years of experience, including a long tenure at K92.

The bank maintained its sector-perform rating and target price of $11.00 as it expects the commissioning of the Stage 3 expansion at its Kainantu mine to start near-term in late second quarter of this year.

"Our thesis is supported by exploration upside and production growth, also noting it is one of the few remaining single-asset companies and with visibility for production over 400k oz, a wheelhouse of interest to seniors, tempered by jurisdiction and development risk," said National Bank of Canada analyst Don DeMarco.

Shares of the company were last seen down $0.02 at $9.78 on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

Price: 9.77, Change: -0.03, Percent Change: -0.31