The awards will recognise excellence in four categories:

-              CEO of the Year

-              New/emerging Leader of the Year

-              Explorer of the Year

-              Deal and/or Merger of the Year

The awards, for ASX-listed small-to-mid-cap companies, cover the period July 1, 2016, to June 30, 2017, with winners to be announced in July, 2017.

The 2017 MNN Annual Awards for Excellence are the first to be handed out by Australasia's leading independent mining investment news title.

The company leadership awards recognise standout value creation in the qualifying period; the New/Emerging Leader of the Year being for the CEO/MD who has been in their first CEO/MD role for 1-2 years.

The Explorer of the Year recognises a company/leadership team for a maiden resource(s)/reserve(s) report during the fiscal year in focus, for a new discovery.

The Deal and/or Merger of the Year is the MNN corporate development award recognising successful execution of a growth strategy, with associated realisation of value.

The awards will be judged by a panel of industry experts, to be announced next week.

More information on awards criteria and how to enter will be provided in the coming weeks.

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