Lutz Klingmann resigned on Monday as chief executive of Golden Queen Mining Co. Ltd., which is currently preparing to open a gold and silver mine in the Antelope Valley. Thomas M. Clay, company chairman, has stepped in as interim CEO to replace Klingmann as head of the Vancouver, British Columbia firm. The Clay family is the largest shareholder in Golden Queen, a publicly traded company listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange in Canada and the OTC Market in the United States. “On behalf of the board of directors, I would like to thank Lutz for his leadership and commitment to the Soledad Mountain Project,” Clay said in a prepared statement. Golden Queen Mining Co. Ltd. and Gauss LLC are in a joint venture on the Soledad Mountain mine, just outside the desert community of Mojave. Golden Queen acquired the mine in 1985 and over the past dozen years has invested about $60 million in metallurgical testing and engineering work, environmental studies and extensive drill programs. The company is fully permitted to remove 14 million tons of rock material a year. Out of that an expected 74,000 ounces of gold should be extracted, as well as 781,000 ounces of silver. At today’s prices, the gold haul for the 15-year life of the mine would be more than $1.2 billion. Commissioning of the mine processing equipment is expected in the fourth quarter of the year. Also on Monday, Golden Queen reported its second quarter financials. The company had a net loss of $1.4 million (-1 cent a share) for the quarter ending June 30 compared with a loss of $705,843 (-2 cents) in the same period a year earlier. Golden Queen has no revenue. The widened net loss was attributed to an increase of interest expenses and closing fees paid during the second quarter.