Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) shares are sliding on Thursday as investors weigh the latest developments around the gold miner.
At the time of writing, the Northern Star share price is down 3% to $19.70.
Northern Star shares are still up around 4% this week, but today's fall has taken some momentum out of the move.
The ASX gold stock remains down 26% in 2026.
Here's the latest.
Image source: Getty Images
More boardroom movement
According to The Australian, Northern Star has appointed former Perseus Mining Ltd (ASX: PRU) boss Jeff Quartermaine to its board as a non-Executive Director.
Quartermaine has more than 35 years of mining experience and spent 15 years with Perseus, including as Chief Executive.
Northern Star told investors that Quartermaine brings "significant gold mining, processing and development experience" to the board.
The board change also comes while pressure is building behind the scenes.
US activist investor Elliott Investment Management has built a stake worth more than $1 billion and has been pushing for change, including board renewal and a wider strategic review.
The Australian also reported that Northern Star appears set to appoint two new board members with mining experience in the coming months.
Northern Star reshuffles at the top
Northern Star has been trying to clear up some leadership uncertainty.
The company recently named Suresh Vadnagra as its next Managing Director and Chief Executive. He is expected to replace Stuart Tonkin in October, with Chief Financial Officer Ryan Gurner stepping in as interim CEO until then.
Vadnagra is currently a senior executive at Glencore, where he oversees nickel and zinc industrial assets.
Northern Star has confirmed that Michael Ashforth will replace long-serving Chairman Michael Chaney after the company's annual general meeting in November.
At the same time, takeover speculation is sitting in the background.
The Australian noted that Northern Star has received takeover approaches, although they are understood to be opportunistic and short of what the company could accept.
Gold Fields has been floated as one of the more likely names to watch.
Production update stays in focus
The boardroom changes and takeover talk aren't the only things helping Northern Star this week.
The company also gave investors a better production update last week, which helped calm some of the concerns around the stock.
Northern Star said it remains on track for FY26 gold sales of 1.543 million ounces. That is within its recently downgraded guidance range.
Preliminary figures included 844,000 ounces from the wider Super Pit operations and 434,000 ounces from Yandal.
Still, there is a lot to work through. With Elliott applying pressure and takeover speculation brewing, the incoming CEO has quite a big job ahead.
