Harbidge was at Randgold when the Mark Bristow-led company was making big gold finds in Mali and Senegal, and then spent three years as senior vice president of exploration at Goldcorp before it was bought by Newmont Mining Corp.

"We are honoured to have attracted a candidate with such impressive experience and credentials, and we look forward to leveraging his technical expertise and project leadership experience as we continue to advance our discoveries and exploration at Tatogga," GT Gold executive chairman Ashwath Mehra said of the appointment, while paying tribute to Burleton.

"Under Steve's leadership, the company has grown quickly and beyond expectation and his hard work has ensured GT Gold is well capitalised and positioned for continued growth."

Burleton, who will continue as a consultant to GT Gold, said the company had "accomplished a great deal over the last year".

"The discovery of Saddle North, with the recent investment by Newmont Goldcorp, means we are well funded to further advance our exciting exploration programs. The next steps for GT Gold will be to continue delivering strong exploration results under the technical guidance of Paul Harbidge to further define and maximize the value of the Tatogga project, for all stakeholders."

Harbidge has been a geologist for more than 20 years and has a first-class honours degree in geology from Kingston University, London, and an MSc in mineral exploration and mining geology from Leicester University.