On Wednesday, Toronto-based Barrick Gold said its chief financial officer and senior executive vice president Shaun Usmar, will leave the company to pursue a leading role in a new mine financing venture that is backed by Elliott Management, an U. S. hedge fund. The new venture which will be lead by Shaun Usmar is focused on royalty, streaming as well as other forms of investments related to the mining industry. Usmar had taken over as finance chief of Barrick around one year ago.

According to the company, Usmar will be succeeded by Catherine Raw, who presently leads the business performance. Raw joined Barrick last May and was the co-head of BlackRock Inc's flagship mining funds prior to joining the miner.

Usmar will leave the company on April 26 after Barrick's annual shareholder meeting. However, he will be available in an advisory capacity till two months after he leaves to ensure a seamless transition.

The new venture which Usmar will be heading is focused on streaming and other forms of mining industry investment options. Such streaming companies provide miners with upfront funds in exchange of a portion of the future output from the mine.