KEH - Keaton Energy - Changes to the Board: Rowan Karstel, Ex-Optimum, succeeds

KEH - Keaton Energy - Changes to the Board: Rowan Karstel, Ex-Optimum, succeeds 
Paul Miller as CEO                                                              
Keaton Energy Holdings Limited                                                  
(Incorporated in the Republic of South Africa)                                  
(Registration number 2006/011090/06)                                            
JSE code: KEH  ISIN code: ZAE000117420                                          
("Keaton Energy" or "the company")                                              
CHANGES TO THE BOARD                                                            
ROWAN KARSTEL, EX-OPTIMUM, SUCCEEDS PAUL MILLER AS CEO                          
Johannesburg, South Africa. 06 June 2012. Keaton Energy has announced the       
appointment of former Optimum Coal Holdings Chief Project Officer Rowan Karstel 
as Chief Executive Officer to succeed present incumbent Paul Miller with effect 
from 1 July 2012.                                                               
Former Nedbank Capital corporate financier Miller (42) - who has led Keaton     
Energy from its foundation as an empowered greenfields junior coal explorer five
years ago to a producer with the capacity to deliver more than 2.7Mt of coal a  
year into domestic and export markets - will continue to consult to the company 
for a period of up to six months, concentrating on the company`s growth plan.   
Karstel (49) - a professional engineer who holds bachelor`s degrees in mining   
and civil engineering and both an MSc in mineral economics and an MBA - was     
responsible for the development and execution of Optimum Coal`s project pipeline
prior to the company`s acquisition by Glencore International plc. He was also   
involved in business development and mine planning for the company.             
Karstel began his career in deep-level gold mining before moving into coal      
mining where he served both locally and internationally in various capacities   
for BHP Billiton, and subsequently with Xstrata Coal as General Manager:        
Technical Services and Business Development. Prior to joining Optimum Coal, he  
was Director: Business Development for Mmakau Mining and Chief Operating Officer
for Mmakau Coal.                                                                
Keaton Energy Non-executive Chairman Dr David Salter paid tribute to Miller for 
his "enormous" contribution to the company in its formative years and welcomed  
Karstel as "a worthy successor".                                                
"The Board of Directors is extremely grateful to Paul for his skill, dedication 
and energy in walking the `hard yards` with us over the past five years; he has 
contributed immeasurably to the establishment of a solid production platform and
we are pleased he remains available to us during the critical handover period.  
Few people succeed in leading a company from prospecting to meaningful          
production. Paul gave a commitment to the Board to do just that - and did it    
with aplomb, as our recent year-end results confirmed.                          
An exhaustive industry search led us to select Rowan as Paul`s replacement.     
Rowan brings a wealth of coal sector operational, leadership and business       
development experience to Keaton Energy.  We look forward to his leading the    
company through its next stage of growth and development."                      
6 June 2012                                                                     
Sponsor                                                                         
Nedbank Capital                                                                 
Date: 06/06/2012 13:00:02 Supplied by www.sharenet.co.za                     
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