He will also join the company's board on July 1 and continue to be responsible for operations.
Velloza joined Gem in May 2016 after leaving his position at general manager for BHP in Australia's Pilbara region.
During his 25-year career, he has also held senior operational management roles at De Beers. BHP and AngloGold Ashanti and has broad mining experience across operation in Southern and East Africa, Chile and Australia.