K92 Mining Inc. has appointed President and Chief Operating Officer David Medilek as chief executive officer and director, succeeding John Lewins as the company prepares for its next phase of growth at the Kainantu Gold Mine in Papua New Guinea.
The leadership transition will take effect on Oct. 1, 2026, with Lewins stepping down as CEO to become non-executive chair. Anne Giardini will move from independent chair to lead director, while K92 Vice President, Projects & Engineering Chris Kinver will become chief operating officer.
K92 also appointed Susan Scheepers as vice president, human resources, effective Aug. 1. She had been serving as the company's acting vice president for human resources.
Lewins has been a founding director of K92 since 2016 and became CEO in August 2017. During his tenure, the Kainantu operation progressed from mine restart in late 2016 to commercial production in early 2018, followed by the Stage 2 and Stage 2A expansions and substantial completion of the Stage 3 Expansion.
As of June 30, 98% of Stage 3 Expansion capital had been spent or committed and the project remained on budget. A new 1.2 million-tonne-per-year processing plant has been fully operational since December 2025 and is performing above design expectations, with the mine ramp-up underway.
Lewins said the transition was timely given K92's production growth outlook and exploration pipeline.
“With an exceptional production growth outlook and exploration pipeline ahead of us, this is the right time to transition leadership,” Lewins said.
He said he would continue supporting K92, including through engagement with the PNG government and the resources industry. Lewins has also served for many years on the council of the Papua New Guinea Chamber of Resources and Energy and intends to remain involved in industry engagement.
He also plans to continue supporting K92's social development initiatives through the Kainantu Foundation. Last month, Lewins was appointed Pro-Chancellor of the University of Goroka in Eastern Highlands Province, where the Kainantu Mine is located.
Medilek, who joined K92 in 2019, said his immediate priorities would be to operate safely and responsibly, execute the Stage 3 Expansion ramp-up and Stage 4 Expansion, advance exploration around Kainantu and deliver sustainable value for Papua New Guinea and shareholders.
Medilek has more than 19 years of mining capital markets, corporate strategy, technical and operating experience. Before joining K92, he worked as an equity research analyst covering precious metals companies at Macquarie Group, a mining investment banker at Cormark Securities and a mining engineer at Barrick Gold.
Kinver, the incoming COO, has more than 20 years of experience in underground operations and mine development. At K92, he has led major expansion and engineering programs and previously served as project director for the Kora Expansion and mine manager. He also worked on OceanaGold's Didipio Underground Mine in the Philippines and held senior operational roles with BHP Billiton and Barrick Gold.
Scheepers has more than 20 years of human resources leadership experience in the global resources industry, including roles with Aurelia Metals, Geopacific Resources and St Barbara. Her experience includes work at the Simberi Gold Mine and operations in Papua New Guinea.
K92 operates the Kainantu Gold Mine in Eastern Highlands Province, producing gold, copper and silver. The company is pursuing further expansions and exploration around the mine, with the stated objective of becoming a Tier 1 mid-tier producer.
