Thornton brings finance background and strong China connections, while James Gowans, former chief of the diamond giant's Canada unit brings mining experience.
A $40 swing in the gold price, wiping out an early morning jobs number sell-off shows short positions at four-month highs could be facing a big squeeze.
In Tracking the trends 2014, Deloitte uncovers the pressing trends facing the mining industry in the year ahead and offers strategies that companies can employ to adapt to changing industry dynamics.