Marrone will continue to serve as chairman of the board. In his new role, Marrone will be accountable to the board, and serve to be a liaison between the board and senior management. He will continue to drive the company's strategic vision and serve as a guide and mentor to COO Daniel Racine, who has been promoted to the dual roles of Yamana president and CEO.

Racine joined Yamana in 2014 and, most recently, was the executive VP and COO of the company, responsible for overseeing Yamana's operations and development stage projects.

Yamana, which recently celebrated its 15th anniversary and with a market valuation of about C$3.8 billion, operates seven mines in Brazil, Argentina, Chile, and Canada, where it produces gold, silver and copper.

Yamana late in July reported second-quarter net earnings of US$12.4 million, up from a net loss of $42.8 million in the comparable quarter a year earlier.