The management changes are scheduled to take effect on September 12 following a visit by Scott to the company's operations in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea.

Burston has been managing director and CEO of Aurora since January 1994, following a distinguished career in the extractive industries, which included positions as CEO of Kalgoorlie Consolidated Gold Mines and managing director of Hamersley Iron.

Aurora's new managing director and CEO, 51-year-old Scott, is a chartered accountant with extensive experience in the mining industry. He had a 22 year career with CRA/Rio Tinto, where he held positions including general manager roles with CRA Finance and Rio Tinto, Acquisitions and Divestments.

For the past three years, he was vice president and Rio Tinto's site representative for the Freeport Joint Venture, reporting to the CEO of the RTZ Copper Group in London. His responsibilities with Freeport included overseeing all commercial aspects of Rio Tinto's investments in Freeport Copper & Gold, which operates the Grasberg copper-gold mine in West Papua, Indonesia.

In announcing Scott's appointment, Aurora's chairman, Rory Argyle, said that his financial and analytical skills made him an ideal successor for Burston, at a challenging time for the company.

“Under Ian Burston's stewardship, Aurora has established itself as an experienced and competent operator in South-East Asia,” Argyle said.

“Aurora has exciting potential in the Morobe Project in Papua New Guinea and its Mt Muro mine remains a solid low-cost producer. We have excellent assets and the board looks forward to working with Alan in expanding the company and rewarding the shareholders of Aurora Gold,” he said.

MORE: Burston hangs up his Aurora hat