Gateway puts Richard Pugh in charge of Yandal’s next growth phase

Pugh takes operational control at Yandal

Gateway Mining Limited (ASX:GML) is moving its exploration chief into the top executive seat as it shifts from corporate reconstruction to a more aggressive push at the Yandal Gold Project. Chief Executive Officer Richard Pugh will become managing director at the conclusion of the company’s 16 November 2026 annual general meeting.

Pugh has led Gateway’s exploration strategy over the past year, during which the company says it advanced discoveries at Haflinger, Hummer, Rubicon and Cowza, while defining mineralised systems at Celia South, Great Western and Ward. The announcement also points to a balance sheet holding more than $50 million in cash, while recent coverage recorded Gateway’s $45 million exploration placement as funding for an extensive Yandal drilling campaign.

McClure moves into the chair

Existing non-executive director Anthony McClure will become non-executive chair, replacing Andrew Bray, who will move from executive chair to non-executive director. McClure brings 35 years of technical, management and financial experience in the resources sector and has been involved with the Yandal project since 2021 through his work with Strickland Metals and Gateway.

Kristen Podagiel will join the board as a non-executive director. The former chief executive and managing partner of law firm McCullough Robertson has worked on major mining, energy, agriculture, technology and defence projects, and is currently a director of Silver Mines. Her appointment adds senior legal, corporate and governance experience to a board that will retain Bray, David Morgan and David Crook as non-executive directors.

Remuneration puts share price hurdles on the agenda

Pugh’s new executive services agreement provides fixed remuneration of $340,000 a year plus statutory superannuation, with eligibility for short-term incentives of up to 100% of fixed remuneration. The board will determine whether any short-term incentive is paid, and may provide it in cash, shares or a combination, subject to the ASX Listing Rules and applicable law.

The long-term incentive terms set out 15 million performance rights across three hurdles: 5 million vest if Gateway achieves a 10-day volume-weighted average price of $0.125 before 31 December 2028; another 5 million at $0.175 before 31 December 2029; and the final 5 million at $0.250 before 27 November 2030. Those hurdles give the package a direct link to the company’s market valuation, although vesting depends on the specified share-price conditions being met.

The board changes arrive as exploration activity broadens beyond the company’s existing resource base. Gateway’s recent Cowza drilling results included a 41-metre intercept grading 2.0 grams per tonne gold, but the current announcement provides no new drilling results, resource estimate or development timetable. The next test for the restructured leadership team is therefore execution: converting a series of discoveries and a heavily funded exploration program into defined resources.