Profiles Gallery
Capital Drilling ➔ Lepidico ➔
Nucleus ➔ Steinert ➔
Auteco ➔ TP Energy Group ➔
Bellevue ➔ MSA Labs ➔
MinAnalytical ➔ Capital ➔
First Graphene ➔ Atlantic Lithium ➔
Steinert ➔ Schlumberger ➔
Perth Mint ➔ Perth Mint ➔
Sarama Resources ➔ Minnovare ➔
Bellevue ➔ Downhole Surveys ➔
Blackstone ➔ Orexplore ➔
Downer ➔ Atlantic Lithium ➔
MinAnalytical ➔ Tietto ➔
Black Rock ➔
Capital Drilling’s continued evolution
has seen the company recently
change its name to Capital Limited. The company’s blast hole drilling teams achieve redrill
rates of less than 1%, well below industry standards
Capital Drilling changed its company name to Capital Limited CAPITAL LIMITED PROVIDES:
(Capital) in June 2020, to better reflect the expanded range of
• Exploration and production drilling
services it now offers.
The company provides load and haul services, fleet • Load and haul services
maintenance and geochemical analysis laboratories in
• Fleet maintenance
addition to its traditional exploration and production drilling
services, providing clients with a fully integrated mining • Geochemical analysis solutions
services offer.
In 2019, Capital increased its mine-site based services Capital’s load and haul services will complement the existing
to include Load and Haul and mine management. The production drilling services, including drill and blast, grade
By providing a fully integrated service, Capital can manage The Capital group of companies now gives clients the option
company’s first mining services contract was also awarded control, pre-splits, dewatering and underground grade
every stage of the process - from designing the blast to to work with a single service provider to supply all their
last year, at Allied Gold Corp’s Bonikro Gold Mine in Côte control drilling.
through to delivery of ore to the mill, delivering a number of needs from exploration programs to full-scale production.
d’Ivoire.
efficiencies for its clients. Clients will benefit from improved project management
Capital invested in new equipment to support its mining Capital can provide clients It is exploration drilling where the Capital story began and efficiencies, an experienced team who have been delivering
business and the fleet continues to rapidly expand. It now the company continues to provide a full range of exploration professional services across Africa for more than 15 years
includes CAT D9 dozers, CAT 16M grader, CAT 6020B with a more efficient, fully drilling services, including RAB, air core, diamond core and a partner with an uncompromising commitment to
mining shovel, CAT 340 excavator and CAT 785 haul trucks. and directional drilling, together with underground RC and safety.
integrated mining services
The company has also recruited a team of well credentialed diamond drilling. Capital has not only expanded its services recently, it has
professionals delivering significant contract mining expertise In 2017, the company completed a strategic acquisition also opened new premises in Perth and London to better
and further African experience for the division. solution support clients where their major regional headquarters are
of Canadian-based geochemical laboratory services,
located.
MSALABS. This gave the company access to a global
network of assay laboratories and capability to provide on- Capital has a long history of successfully expanding the
site laboratories for mining operations. MSALABS provides a services it offers to clients. The company has a culture of
complete range of geochemical analysis for both exploration ensuring professional execution and service delivery and it
and mining projects. is these high standards that have driven many of Capital’s
service extensions, often at their client’s request. It is also
As the company looks to further expand into complimentary
these high standards that will see the continued success
services, including broadening their mine-site based
of the company in its next phase as Capital Limited, a
service offer, it established MSM in 2019 to provide asset
complete mining services provider.
maintenance and labour hire, together with specialist mining
supplies.
Additionally, Well Force International complements
exploration drilling projects with a complete range of survey
and core orientation tool rental solutions, on-site surveying www.capdrill.com
and geophysical logging services, and HiTT, a unique
software solution for borehole management. info@capdrill.com
Capital Drilling’s continued evolution
has seen the company recently
change its name to Capital Limited. The company’s blast hole drilling teams achieve redrill
rates of less than 1%, well below industry standards
Capital Drilling changed its company name to Capital Limited CAPITAL LIMITED PROVIDES:
(Capital) in June 2020, to better reflect the expanded range of
• Exploration and production drilling
services it now offers.
The company provides load and haul services, fleet • Load and haul services
maintenance and geochemical analysis laboratories in
• Fleet maintenance
addition to its traditional exploration and production drilling
services, providing clients with a fully integrated mining • Geochemical analysis solutions
services offer.
In 2019, Capital increased its mine-site based services Capital’s load and haul services will complement the existing
to include Load and Haul and mine management. The production drilling services, including drill and blast, grade
By providing a fully integrated service, Capital can manage The Capital group of companies now gives clients the option
company’s first mining services contract was also awarded control, pre-splits, dewatering and underground grade
every stage of the process - from designing the blast to to work with a single service provider to supply all their
last year, at Allied Gold Corp’s Bonikro Gold Mine in Côte control drilling.
through to delivery of ore to the mill, delivering a number of needs from exploration programs to full-scale production.
d’Ivoire.
efficiencies for its clients. Clients will benefit from improved project management
Capital invested in new equipment to support its mining Capital can provide clients It is exploration drilling where the Capital story began and efficiencies, an experienced team who have been delivering
business and the fleet continues to rapidly expand. It now the company continues to provide a full range of exploration professional services across Africa for more than 15 years
includes CAT D9 dozers, CAT 16M grader, CAT 6020B with a more efficient, fully drilling services, including RAB, air core, diamond core and a partner with an uncompromising commitment to
mining shovel, CAT 340 excavator and CAT 785 haul trucks. and directional drilling, together with underground RC and safety.
integrated mining services
The company has also recruited a team of well credentialed diamond drilling. Capital has not only expanded its services recently, it has
professionals delivering significant contract mining expertise In 2017, the company completed a strategic acquisition also opened new premises in Perth and London to better
and further African experience for the division. solution support clients where their major regional headquarters are
of Canadian-based geochemical laboratory services,
located.
MSALABS. This gave the company access to a global
network of assay laboratories and capability to provide on- Capital has a long history of successfully expanding the
site laboratories for mining operations. MSALABS provides a services it offers to clients. The company has a culture of
complete range of geochemical analysis for both exploration ensuring professional execution and service delivery and it
and mining projects. is these high standards that have driven many of Capital’s
service extensions, often at their client’s request. It is also
As the company looks to further expand into complimentary
these high standards that will see the continued success
services, including broadening their mine-site based
of the company in its next phase as Capital Limited, a
service offer, it established MSM in 2019 to provide asset
complete mining services provider.
maintenance and labour hire, together with specialist mining
supplies.
Additionally, Well Force International complements
exploration drilling projects with a complete range of survey
and core orientation tool rental solutions, on-site surveying www.capdrill.com
and geophysical logging services, and HiTT, a unique
software solution for borehole management. info@capdrill.com
COST SAVINGS
VISIBILITY
OPTIMISATION
Johannesburg-based Nucleus Mining & Africa Logistics
is celebrating its 15th anniversary in 2019. From humble
beginnings, the company has grown organically to become
one of the most recognised and respected logistical
solutions providers on the African continent. Since day For chief executive Iain Clark, Nucleus has won respect and While Nucleus has traditionally focused on regions it knows well, the
one, the focus has always been on improving a customer’s recognition in the industry for maintaining a customer-first company welcomes all opportunities to expand its presence into new
competitive edge and their bottom line by continuously approach over the past 15 years, particular in more recent jurisdictions and its capabilities to new customers.
times when construction and development costs have been
“It’s about engaging with the right people in the right areas and where
adding value wherever possible. heavily scrutinised. we don’t have our own people we have got very good partners who
“We’re still a medium-sized business, but we compete in the market we can work with,” Clark said.
with the multinationals for projects, which is a real feather in our cap “That’s the key to working in Africa, making sure that you have the
that people see us in the same category as those huge multinationals,” right people on the ground to give you the relevant feedback on any
Clark said. potential changes to requirements for importation, for example.
“There are a number of benefits in dealing with a business of our size. “Over the last 18 months, we’ve probably become a lot more reliant
We are lucky enough that we can make decisions immediately and we on modern technology in terms of warehousing systems and track-
don’t have to go through board meetings to get decisions on what we ing interfaces for our customers. We’ve really stepped up our IT side
can and can’t do. We are still an owner-managed business. which I think is a really important part of where logistics is going.”
“We engage at all levels with our customers through having open dis- If there is one thing which Clark looks back on with more fondness
cussions. We like to work very closely with our customers in terms than anything else from the last 15 years it is the fact Nucleus has es-
of both pricing and strategy. We don’t have a fixed formula. How we sentially grown from “word of mouth”.
put our operations together is based purely on individual projects and “Often the suppliers and service providers to the mines we deal with
what their needs are.” come back to us and ask if we can help them in other areas,” Clark said.
While headquartered in South Africa, Nucleus has offices in Zambia, “We have had mostly organic growth from the mines we deal with
Mozambique and the DRC where the majority of its business come where out of 50 different suppliers, many of them come back to us
from. The company specialises in offering logistics solutions services seeking help with logistics into Tanzania or elsewhere. I see that as be-
for both the construction and operational aspects of a mine. ing quite a positive outcome for our business.
Earlier this year, Nucleus signed off on a full logistics programme for “We still very much believe in personal relationships. Africa is a big
the construction of Alphamin Resources Corp’s Bisie tin mine, north- place and there are many big multinational mining companies and ser-
eastern DRC. Finalisation of this contract took place while the country vice providers that operate there, many of whom operate in multiple
was undergoing major changes in government, including the election regions and projects. Nucleus offers high service levels and cost effec-
of a new president. tive logistics solutions.
Clark believes the contract was not impacted by the elections due to “Our business has grown substantially by word of mouth and industry
the ground work his company has put in place over several years. recommendations and we’re very proud of that.”
“In many African countries, the lay of the land changes constantly and
you’ve got to be aware of these situations and how they could poten-
tially affect you and your clients,” Clark said.
“We always strive to be ahead of the game. We get involved with pro-
jects sometimes 2-3 years before we start moving anything in country.
That’s why we try to work with our clients to understand their lo-
gistics needs right from day one when they’re still doing exploration
drilling out of small camps.
“So, by the time we’re moving thousands of tonnes into a particular
area, we’ve got the whole route planned, we know the area, we know
who the contacts are in the region and we even have our own logistics
manager out on the ground as well.”
Exposure to a number of logistics projects in key markets appears to Contact us
have prepared Nucleus for what has already been a busy year to date.
On top of completing work at Bisie, the company has been pressing
ahead with long-term project contracts and operational mines in the Stand 208B, Corner Malibongwe Drive
DRC and moving operational loads into Mozambique via the Balama and Ebsom Ave, Boundary Park, Northriding,
graphite mine where required. Johannesburg
Tel +27 (0)11 0281181
Clark is optimistic the company will add further projects to its broad Email info@nucleusml.co.za
scope of work over the coming months as sentiment continues to re-
turn to the African resources sector, especially from a construction www.nucleusml.co.za
perspective.
COST SAVINGS
VISIBILITY
OPTIMISATION
Johannesburg-based Nucleus Mining & Africa Logistics
is celebrating its 15th anniversary in 2019. From humble
beginnings, the company has grown organically to become
one of the most recognised and respected logistical
solutions providers on the African continent. Since day For chief executive Iain Clark, Nucleus has won respect and While Nucleus has traditionally focused on regions it knows well, the
one, the focus has always been on improving a customer’s recognition in the industry for maintaining a customer-first company welcomes all opportunities to expand its presence into new
approach over the past 15 years, particular in more recent jurisdictions and its capabilities to new customers.
competitive edge and their bottom line by continuously times when construction and development costs have been “It’s about engaging with the right people in the right areas and where
adding value wherever possible. heavily scrutinised. we don’t have our own people we have got very good partners who
“We’re still a medium-sized business, but we compete in the market we can work with,” Clark said.
with the multinationals for projects, which is a real feather in our cap “That’s the key to working in Africa, making sure that you have the
that people see us in the same category as those huge multinationals,” right people on the ground to give you the relevant feedback on any
Clark said. potential changes to requirements for importation, for example.
“There are a number of benefits in dealing with a business of our size. “Over the last 18 months, we’ve probably become a lot more reliant
We are lucky enough that we can make decisions immediately and we on modern technology in terms of warehousing systems and track-
don’t have to go through board meetings to get decisions on what we ing interfaces for our customers. We’ve really stepped up our IT side
can and can’t do. We are still an owner-managed business. which I think is a really important part of where logistics is going.”
“We engage at all levels with our customers through having open dis- If there is one thing which Clark looks back on with more fondness
cussions. We like to work very closely with our customers in terms than anything else from the last 15 years it is the fact Nucleus has es-
of both pricing and strategy. We don’t have a fixed formula. How we sentially grown from “word of mouth”.
put our operations together is based purely on individual projects and “Often the suppliers and service providers to the mines we deal with
what their needs are.” come back to us and ask if we can help them in other areas,” Clark said.
While headquartered in South Africa, Nucleus has offices in Zambia, “We have had mostly organic growth from the mines we deal with
Mozambique and the DRC where the majority of its business come where out of 50 different suppliers, many of them come back to us
from. The company specialises in offering logistics solutions services seeking help with logistics into Tanzania or elsewhere. I see that as be-
for both the construction and operational aspects of a mine. ing quite a positive outcome for our business.
Earlier this year, Nucleus signed off on a full logistics programme for “We still very much believe in personal relationships. Africa is a big
the construction of Alphamin Resources Corp’s Bisie tin mine, north- place and there are many big multinational mining companies and ser-
eastern DRC. Finalisation of this contract took place while the country vice providers that operate there, many of whom operate in multiple
was undergoing major changes in government, including the election regions and projects. Nucleus offers high service levels and cost effec-
of a new president. tive logistics solutions.
Clark believes the contract was not impacted by the elections due to “Our business has grown substantially by word of mouth and industry
the ground work his company has put in place over several years. recommendations and we’re very proud of that.”
“In many African countries, the lay of the land changes constantly and
you’ve got to be aware of these situations and how they could poten-
tially affect you and your clients,” Clark said.
“We always strive to be ahead of the game. We get involved with pro-
jects sometimes 2-3 years before we start moving anything in country.
That’s why we try to work with our clients to understand their lo-
gistics needs right from day one when they’re still doing exploration
drilling out of small camps.
“So, by the time we’re moving thousands of tonnes into a particular
area, we’ve got the whole route planned, we know the area, we know
who the contacts are in the region and we even have our own logistics
manager out on the ground as well.”
Exposure to a number of logistics projects in key markets appears to Contact us
have prepared Nucleus for what has already been a busy year to date.
On top of completing work at Bisie, the company has been pressing
ahead with long-term project contracts and operational mines in the Stand 208B, Corner Malibongwe Drive
DRC and moving operational loads into Mozambique via the Balama and Ebsom Ave, Boundary Park, Northriding,
graphite mine where required. Johannesburg
Tel +27 (0)11 0281181
Clark is optimistic the company will add further projects to its broad Email info@nucleusml.co.za
scope of work over the coming months as sentiment continues to re-
turn to the African resources sector, especially from a construction www.nucleusml.co.za
perspective.
Auteco nests on 1 moz
at Pickle Crow
Rather than dwell on a subdued response to the announcement of an inferred resource of
1 moz @ 11.3 g/t gold at the Pickle Crow project in the Uchi sub province of Ontario, Canada,
Auteco Minerals Ltd has forged ahead with a substantially expanded drilling programme
across the property.
“We’ve upped the drilling from 10,000m to 45,000m,
which we’re pretty happy about,” Auteco executive
chairman Ray Shorrocks said.
Despite a buoyant gold sector and a healthy appetite from
investors to back explorers, there are few companies in the
smaller end of town with the ability to act as decisively as
Auteco has in this instance.
In early July, Auteco’s $30.4 million placement at 13.5c/
share was done on the back of a maiden resource of
830,000oz gold @ 11.6 g/t.
“From our point of view, this raising has really shaped our
register and given us strength of capital to chase this asset
wholeheartedly,” Shorrocks said at the time.
The company has stayed true to its word with the beefed-
up drilling programme geared towards delivering another
resource upgrade at Pickle Crow in the first half of 2021.
Therefore, Auteco has two diamond drill rigs operating at
Pickle Crow, with a third mobilising this month with a total of
Ray Shorrocks
Auteco Minerals Ltd ASX:AUT Resource drilling highlights from Pickle Crow
Address: Suite 3, Level 3, 24 Outram Street, 10.7m @ 50.9 g/t from 5.49m
West Perth WA 6005 1.1m @ 150 g/t from 156.5m
Email: info@autecominerals.com.au 1.7m @ 55.5 g/t from 91.29m
Phone: +61 (8) 9220 9030 6.9m @ 17.7 g/t from 1.83m
1.2m @ 103.4 g/t from 20.24m
LinkedIn: Auteco Minerals Limited 1.5m @ 444.4 g/t from 22.65m
Twitter: @AutecoMinerals (includes 0.5 m @ 1,325.7 g/t from 23.65m)
Facebook: Auteco Minerals 2m @ 69.1 g/t from 23.7m
Market cap: $266 million 0.9m @ 878.7 g/t from 65.89m
Share price: 17c/share 9.9m @ 12.9 g/t from 66.2m
Key people: Ray Shorrocks (Executive Chairman), 2.6m @ 78.8 g/t from 37.08m
Sam Brooks (Executive Technical Director), Steve Parsons 1.2m @ 79.5 g/t from 104.8m
(Non-executive Director), Michael Naylor (Non-executive 2.2m @ 37.6 g/t from 117.43m
director), Nick Katris (Company Secretary),
Marcus Harden (Chief Geologist) Drilling highlights beyond the Pickle Crow
resource
Projects:
0.6m @ 99.4 g/t from 167.4m
Pickle Crow gold project (including 0.3m @ 181 g/t from 167.4m)
Uchi sub province of Ontario, Canada 1.6m @ 25.8 g/t from 95m
Limestone Well vanadium project (including 0.6m @ 65.2 g/t from 95.7m)
Murchison, Western Australia 1.6m @ 19.6 g/t from 372m
3m @ 7.37 g/t from 261m
Page 62 OCTOBeR 2020 aUSTRaLIa’S PaYDIRT
19 holes for 4,400m completed at the time of print. Pure Gold Mining Inc’s Madsen (2.6 moz @ 8.9 g/t) and First
Historical production of 1.5 moz @ 16 g/t gold gives Pickle Mining Gold Corp’s Springpole project (4.67 moz @ 1.04 g/t
Crow the status of being one of Canada’s highest grade indicated).
mines and the fast-pace nature in which Auteco has It is little wonder to Auteco that with a steely focus at Pickle
delivered a maiden resource (June 2020) and followed Crow, it is unearthing high-grade mineralisation in a number
up with a 20% increase in resources since suggests the of areas up to 250m outside the 1 moz gold resource
company has a grip on the geology. recently confirmed.
“Our results speak to the quality of the asset in addition to Such targets and other walk-up opportunities will be drilled
its size. This reconnaissance drilling in the Core Mine Trend this year as step-out drilling at Pickle Crow continued at the
has resulted in what looks like multiple, near surface, high- time of print.
grade early stage discoveries within a few hundred metres With winter approaching, Shorrocks said that would do little
of the current mine infrastructure,” Shorrocks said. to slow Auteco’s momentum.
“A lot of people don’t realise that our focus has been on “They [drillers] prefer winter because the ground is much
getting geological confidence around that headframe and more solid when it’s frozen over. Sometimes you can get
the old mine infrastructure and then slowly stepping out 2m of snow out there, but they are used to those conditions
from there. We have brownfields opportunities outside of and put the graders to good use,” Shorrocks said.
this area and then the regional play outside that, which is a “Even COVID hasn’t had much of an impact on us, of
pretty exciting time for us.”
course it has slowed a few things down like getting crews
Results from drilling within the Core Mine Trend have in from different areas and there are a lot more checks and
returned abundant visible gold and assays grading up to balances to achieve but our 24-man camp has adapted well
137.3 g/t, giving Auteco the belief that its geological ideas to all the protocols that need to be adhered to.”
and open-minded approach to evaluating old datasets
through the lens of traditional geological principles is the
playbook for Pickle Crow.
The latest resource update at Pickle Crow included drilling
done by Auteco plus historical information collated by the
company.
Pickle Crow has been bereft of any modern-day exploration
since it closed in 1966 even though there has been great
successes in the district by the likes of Evolution Mining
Ltd’s Red Lake (historic production of 25 moz gold @ plus-
20 g/t), Newmont Mining Corp’s Musselwhite (5.7 moz),
Auteco is earning into Pickle Crow via a two-stage process where
initially it can own a 51% in the project from First Mining Gold Corp.
Auteco can take its interest to 70% through a buy-in option and
acquire a further 10% in the future, subject to conditions.
autecominerals.com.au
Time to #Believe:
Bellevue sets
the PACE Steve Parsons
Few companies have asserted
themselves the way Bellevue Gold
Ltd has in the past three years.
Coming to market with the hope of reviving a forgotten about gold project in Work on the decline, preliminary surface infrastructure plus mining studies
Western Australia’s Leinster region, the company’s dream is quickly becoming and continued exploration to grow the current 2.3 moz @ 10 g/t gold resource
reality as first gold from the Bellevue gold project is in sight in 2022. at Bellevue, are part of the early-stage work programme designed to help the
Significantly, specialist underground mining contractor GBF Mining and Industrial company achieve production as quick as commercially possible.
Services Pty Ltd from the Macmahon Holdings Ltd stable, started Stage 1 works at A feasibility study on Bellevue is on track for completion late this year/early 2021,
Bellevue recently. as the company aims to keep pace with its discovery success on the back of over
Early works by GBF are centred around construction of a new portal which will open 240,000m of diamond drilling completed so far.
the way for access to historical underground workings and link up with the existing It is fair to say that the company’s strike rate of 75,000 oz gold discovered on
decline. a monthly basis at $18/oz since 2017 has borne a decent amount of fruit for
Underground activities will be made somewhat easier by the 28km of development shareholders who are revelling in Bellevue’s $1.02c/share price and market cap of
left behind when the mine was closed in 1997 after 800,000oz gold @ 15 g/t was $865 million.
produced. In Western Australia’s second biggest gold mining district outside of Kalgoorlie, the
Re-establishing the existing decline for mechanised use at Bellevue means that sky appears the limit for what could unfold across Bellevue’s 3,500sq km of ground
underground drilling platforms can be created allowing for accelerated infill and in Leinster.
exploration drilling Given that others had discounted the potential of the property when it closed
Completing such work now helps reduce costs ahead of an intended low capital- over 20 years ago, the ability of the current owners to find gold at a quick rate
intensive restart at Bellevue, with the refurbishment of the existing decline to be indicates the confidence and philosophies driving Bellevue’s success are a winning
used for future exploration and haulage. combination.
Page 38 OCTOBeR 2020 aUSTRaLIa’S PaYDIRT
Bellevue Gold Ltd (ASX:BGL) Key people:
Share price: $1.02 Steve Parsons (managing director),
Michael Naylor (executive director/company secretary),
Market cap: $865 million
Sam Brooks (chief geologist),
Address: Suite 3, Level 3, 24 Outram St West Perth, WA, 6005 Kevin Tomlinson (independent non-executive chairman),
Craig Jones (chief operating officer),
Phone: +61 (8) 6424 8077
Fiona Robertson (non-executive director),
Email: admin@bellevuegold.com.au Shannon Coates (non-executive director),
LinkedIn: @bellevuegold Luke Gleeson (head of corporate development),
Daina Del Borrello (GM people and company culture)
Facebook: @bellevuegold
Twitter: @bellevuegold
“One of the programs that has proved dear to us at the moment is at the
Leonora high school. The high school principal said that attendance was at such
a low rate and indicated that food was a problem. Therefore, we’ve started
providing lunch for the school which has seen attendance rates increase and
kids are getting an education. The program with the Leonora High School aligns
directly with everyone of our PACE core values”
Now more than ever, mining companies are being held to high account for the
impact they have on the surrounding communities and environment, factors
Parsons and the Bellevue team are warmly embracing.
While the questions are being asked on the ground, having completed a $100
million equity raising and $35 million share placement this year, Parsons is fully
aware of the expectations within the global investment community as well.
“ESG is the new paradigm in investing. Ten years ago, you’d say what does that
mean? I am telling you now it is super important. Every investor globally wants
to know what your policies are, what you have in place,” he said.
“Climate, community, corporate governance, environment are all super
important and the thing about Bellevue is that we have a clean slate. We are on
granted mining licences for an underground development and we are looking at
a whole bunch of options to make sure we get it right.
“Of course these things take time and making sure we are on the right path to
having a low carbon footprint and environmental footprint in developing an
underground gold mine the best we possibly can,” he said.
Having consolidated its bank balance to be well funded with $151 million,
indicates Bellevue has ticked the right boxes for all stakeholders and investors
“The mine closed because of a fault that the nickel company [previous owners] along the chain thus far.
thought killed the mineralisation. Over the fault is where we hit 7m @ 27 g/t; The company’s cash will see it through the completion of feasibility studies
theories change as does science,” Bellevue managing director Steve Parsons said. and development activities for Bellevue to unlock the full potential of one of
“You have to sell yourself and your thoughts, have ownership of what you’re doing Australia’s great historical high-grade gold mines.
that is important.”
Empowerment within the wider Bellevue organisation, which boasts 40% woman
leadership at board level and 36% woman participation overall, went another level
earlier this year.
“We came up with our core values with what we see and what the staff see as what
is important; what they really want to take on board and where they want to see the
company go and we came up with PACE,” Parsons said.
“We thought this was quite appropriate given we are working at quiet a rapid pace
with our discovery and the pace of turning this into a mine.”
Passion, Accountability, Community, Excellence – PACE – is the acronym
representing Bellevue’s drive now and what will take it into the future as a gold
mining company.
“Given we work in Western Australia in remote communities, we need our
stakeholders on side and support from them, so we like to support the community
as much as we can. There is a whole bunch of things we are doing at the moment
that we are very proud of,” Parsons said.
Market ready to sample
new MinAnalytical innovation
ten years after establishing itself as a leading player in
the assaying services industry MinAnalytical is heading
into its second decade as a pioneer in industry innovation
and technology while continuing to provide traditional
assaying services and excellent customer service.
Since its inception in October 2010, immensely from having the weight of
MinAnalytical has focused on delivering the entire Perenti group behind them.
clients the essentials of lab analysis; “It is a huge advantage for MinAnalytical,”
prompt, reliable, high-quality services James says. “It provides not only the
which can be trusted. Added to that balance sheet to support the business
mix is a commitment to innovation and but the customer base within the group MinAnAlyticAl
the support network of the large global – whether through Barminco, Ausdrill,
mining services company which African Mining Services or African A Perenti Global Ltd company,
created it. Underground Mining Services – and the MinAnalytical offers a
“Starting a new lab from a clean reputation to leverage from.” comprehensive range of
geochemical and precious
canvas with a healthy budget from a The ensuing decade has seen metal analyses to the mineral
strong parent company was fantastic,” MinAnalytical expand its presence in the exploration and mining
MinAnalytical’s Business Development Australian market where the company industry
Manager Gary Wheeler says. has developed a loyal client base. Addresses:
Having Perenti as its parent company “These are clients who have been with 50 Baile Rd, Canning Vale WA 6155
delivered MinAnalytical an immediate us for the whole journey and trust us,” 43 Great Eastern Hwy, Kalgoorlie WA
flying start and the company quickly Wheeler says. 6430
established itself by leveraging Perenti’s Tel: +61 8 6258 9600
international network of businesses to An emphasis on client relationships Email:
deliver additional value for clients in runs deep throughout Perenti – one of enquiries@minanalytical.com.au
terms of add on services. its five core principles is “Walk in their Key personnel: teresa Soanes
shoes” – and the experience within the (General Manager) Gary Wheeler
According to Perenti – Investments MinAnalytical team offers them a unique
Chief Executive Officer Donald insight into client needs. (Business Development Manager)
James, MinAnalytical’s clients benefit
Page 56 OCTOBeR 2020 aUSTRaLIa’S PaYDIRT
“It is a huge advantage for MinAnalytical,” James says.
“It provides not only the balance sheet to support the
business but the customer base within the group –
whether through Barminco, Ausdrill, African Mining
Services or African Underground Mining Services –
and the reputation to leverage from.”
Having started its existence with a enhance client outcomes in ways not
focus on doing the simple things possible with fire assay. It allows us
well, MinAnalytical is now confident to provide reliable information faster
of expanding its capabilities. Like and with cleaner safer outcomes. It
other companies in the wider Perenti is an opportunity to better integrate
group, MinAnalytical is committed to ourselves with clients by enhancing
technological innovation – Enabling their value creation.”
tomorrow is another of the company’s Trust will again be vital to clients’
core principles – and is delivering what adoption of the new technology.
it believes is a step-change in gold Since securing National Association
assay analysis techniques.
of Testing Authorities (NATA)
The Chrysos PhotonAssay technology accreditation in 2018 for PhotonAssay,
– originally developed by CSIRO MinAnalytical has spent two years
“We have to really know our clients, and brought to market by Chrysos familiarising clients with the assaying
not just who they are and what they’re Corporation – is a chemistry-free technique and its capabilities.
asking for, but what really matters to approach to gold assaying, offering a “With NATA accreditation we ensure
them,” MinAnalytical General Manager faster, safer and more environmentally- the quality of the process is spot
Teresa Soanes says. “At MinAnalytical friendly alternative to the conventional on and clients can understand the
we have a dedicated group of fire assay techniques. MinAnalytical decisions and processes. We make sure
professionals who have been with us and Chrysos have been refining the we maintain high standards,” Soanes
from the beginning. People like Dave technology for the last three years says. “Our clients are trialling our new
Martin (production manager), John across a variety of sample types and technology and are transitioning across
McGrath (commercial manager), Daryl particle sizes. The new technique to it when they’re comfortable in the
Harris (chief fire assayer), Thomas Dass has ultimately proved quicker, more absolute certainty of the quality of their
(senior laboratory technician) and reliable and as accurate as fire assaying results.
Gavin D’monte (spectroscopist) are but without the toxic waste. MinAnalytical’s investment in
an integral part of our business and James sees PhotonAssay as a vital part PhotonAssay and other innovations
have helped us develop the business of the group’s push to provide end- gives it a leading position in a new
into the successful, industry leader it is to-end services to clients through the generation of mineral analysis. After
today. That is a real advantage when mining cycle with the new technology building its reputation over 10 years, it
clients need someone they can trust to coexisting with the traditional suite is a role the team are ready to take.
help them on their journey. They can of services that MinAnalytical already
call us anytime, from anywhere, and offers. “We are taking a significant position
know we are happy to help.” “We aspire to be indispensable to our in the future of assaying as a leader
clients’ by delivering and innovator rather than a follower
enduring value and our clients will be the greatest
and certainty,” beneficiaries of that,” Soanes says.
James says. “Fire
assaying has been
the established
process for 500
years, and there is
still a purpose for
it, but we believe
PhotonAssay can
A world first:
Changing materials
for the better
What is PureGRAPH ?
®
First Graphene offers a range of high-quality
graphene nanoplatelet products under the
PureGRAPH® brand name. These products are
characterised by their large platelet size, high aspect It might have been perceived as a bold statement at the
ratio, low defect levels and are free of metallic
contaminants. time, but First Graphene Ltd’s early crow as the “world’s
This combination of features is possible due to leading graphene company” is holding court.
First Graphene’s game-changing manufacturing
processes. Strict controls ensure an optimised Despite some of the well-documented challenges brought about by the global
product with consistent characteristics and COVID-19 pandemic, First Graphene has continued to push the boundaries
repeatable results in every batch. in its bid to be recognised as the world’s leading supplier of high-performing
graphene products.
PureGRAPH® powders are easy to use and disperse Almost three years of hard work to establish that reputation culminated in June
readily in a wide range of solvents, polymer resins, with the company being accepted as an associate member of the prestigious EU
elastomers and water-based formulations and Graphene Flagship which comprises 170 research groups across 21 countries
each product shipment is quality assured with a and has an estimated budget of €1 billion.
certificate of analysis. First Graphene, through its UK subsidiary, is the first Australian entity to be
Three PureGRAPH® admitted to the consortium which is overseen by the Chalmers University of
graphene powders are Technology in Gothenburg, Sweden.
available in average In the past year First Graphene took giant strides towards confirming its
platelet sizes of 20µm, position as the world’s largest manufacturer of graphene products, including
10µm and 5µm with development of the trademarked PureGRAPH® graphene powders which are
tightly controlled platelet manufactured exclusively out of its 100 tpa commercial facility in the industrial
geometries. suburb of Henderson.
With those manufacturing capabilities now established, the company is looking
to further spread its wings and promote its brand within the broader industry,
as First Graphene managing director Craig McGuckin explains.
“Even when we deal with companies that come through our factory – and
some of the big mining companies do come through occasionally out of interest
– they’re surprised to discover that First Graphene has such an advanced
production facility located here in Perth, Australia,” McGuckin says.
“We branded ourselves the world’s leading graphene company, it was quite
a bold statement we made some years ago, but we’ve certainly worked our
firstgraphene.net way into that mantle in terms of being able to manufacture large quantities
of consistent quality graphene at a price that the industry can accommodate.
Graphene is the enabler to make most things better.
“Now we’re really wanting to step up and let the industry know we exist. We’re
here and available and open for business.”
Page 68 OCTOBeR 2020 aUSTRaLIa’S PaYDIRT
Why graphene?
First isolated and characterised by professors Andre Geim
and Konstantin Novoselov from the University of Manchester in
2004, graphene is a tightly packed layer of carbon atoms bonded
together in a hexagonal honeycomb lattice.
At just one atom in thickness, graphene is the thinnest material
known. It is 200 times stronger than steel, has an electrical
conductivity one million times that of copper and outperforms
diamond in terms of its thermal conductivity.
Graphene has a surface area even larger than that of the activated
carbon used to coat the plates of traditional supercapacitors,
enabling better electrostatic charge storage. Graphene-based
supercapacitors can store almost as much energy as lithium-ion
batteries, charge and discharge in seconds and maintain these
properties through tens of thousands of charging cycles.
In addition, graphene-based supercapacitors are lighter, more
deformable and can be stronger than their counterparts based on
activated carbon.
Promotion of the company’s strategy is just one aspect of what
is shaping as a busy year ahead for First Graphene with the team
also putting a priority on bedding down a number of promising
sales contracts.
In the last six months the company has signed separate supply
agreements with planarTECH (Holdings) Ltd and Aquatic Leisure “We’ve concentrated on the large potential usage areas like the
Technologies for 1 mtpa and 2.5 mtpa of PureGRAPH® powders, polyurethanes, the thermoplastics, the glass composites, rubbers,
respectively. concrete where you can get multiple tonnage contracts because that’s
Both contracts came on the back of First Graphene announcing it had entered what will ultimately turn you into a business that makes money.
into a landmark partnership with prolific work boot brand Steel Blue last “So, yes, there has been some fatigue, but you have to remember that
November. First Graphene has only seriously been making graphene for 2.5 years in
“COVID has naturally delayed some of these sales programmes, however, Henderson and probably even less than that in tonnage quantities.”
sales agreements have been signed and will eventuate in the latter end of this First Graphene remains a Tier 1 partner of the Graphene Engineering &
year,” McGuckin says. Innovation Centre in Manchester, UK, where most of the company’s high-
“Steel Blue will be bringing out a PureGRAPH® branded boot later in the year, end science and R&D is carried out.
something that will be a huge step change in safety boot wear. Probably the McGuckin believes it is only be a matter of time before the company’s
first one will introduce our graphene in the scuff cap and then it will work its product offering becomes the first-choice selection for the diverse range
way into the sole and into the metatarsal guard and then eventually maybe of industries it can service.
into a composite cap to replace the steel cap which we think will lighten the “We’ve put ourselves up there with probably three other companies in the
boot up by around 250g.” world for graphene manufacture and that’s something we should be very
First Graphene continues to evaluate opportunities to optimise the use of proud of, especially in this climate where everyone is talking about the
graphene in a range of composites, elastomers and rubbers and, in more importance of local manufacture and supporting manufacture which is
recent times, concrete. Australian made,” he says.
The company confirmed via a technical paper in August that graphene “It’s also worth pointing out that we don’t see the Henderson facility as
additives improve strength, reduce materials usage and potentially increase being the end point; we strongly believe this is just the starting point
longevity of some cement grouts and concrete. because we have proof of concept of large scale production here at
Last month the company also reported that successful laboratory and Henderson that we believe will lead into future factories than can do
commercial-scale testing supported the integration of PureGRAPH® in the thousands of tonnes.
rubber compounds of mining screen media and wear-liner materials. Futures “We don’t see any reason why a factory of the future won’t have the
testing will look at improved dispersion and fire-retardancy aspects. capacity to do 1,000 tpa or even 10,000 tpa.”
First Graphene’s achievements come at a time when graphene is anything
but the flavour of the month. While McGuckin acknowledged that interest in
the sector has waned somewhat, he highlighted that there was still plenty of
support from investors who have closely followed graphene’s development in
recent years. First Graphene Ltd (ASX: FGR)
“Considering it was only first isolated in 2004 and there’s been close to €1 1 Sepia Close, Henderson WA 6166 +61 1300 660 448
billion spent in the UK and EU with the graphene flagship, to say there’s been a
fatigue coming into the marketplace would be fair, but that’s not unusual with Web: www.firstgraphene.net Email: info@firstgraphene.net
a new product,” McGuckin says. Twitter: @First_Graphene
“It’s important to remember that there are many types of graphene and one Key people: Warwick Grigor (non-executive chairman), Craig
type of graphene won’t do everything, so you have to be mindful of that. What McGuckin (managing director), Peter Youd (executive director, chief
we’ve been concentrating on is areas of large usage. There’s no point just financial officer & company secretary), Dr Andy Goodwin (senior
concentrating on sensors, for instance, because 1kg will do 500,000 sensors scientific advisor & non-executive director), Paul Ladislaus (chief
and there’s no business model in that. technology officer), Neil Armstrong (senior process manager)
STEINERT
sorts out
industry
success
There is currently nothing History would suggest the most successful ore sorting operations
hotter in mining circles than over the years have been tied to the base metals sector and one of
the best-known case studies on record is leading nickel producer
gold and iron ore - a fact Western Areas Ltd.
not lost on the team at Western Areas used revolutionary ore sorting technology from STEINERT
STEINERT Australia. to convert 170,000t of previously disregarded material into low-cost feed
for processing at its Forrestania nickel operations.
Since then a number of other base metals companies have followed suite
and deployed STEINERT ore sorting machines. Therefore, it is no surprise
that several gold and iron ore players are lining up for the chance to see
whether the value of their projects can be boosted through an investment
in ore sorting.
Pantoro Ltd successfully pioneered ore sorting for gold producers two
years ago when the unheralded miner installed a STEINERT ore sorter as
part of a processing plant upgrade at its Nicolsons mine.
With the price of gold trading at unprecedented levels, other producers
are keen to get in on the action, according to STEINERT Australia managing
director Johan van Zyl.
“We have done well in excess of 100 individual trials for different
companies over the last year or so and the vast majority of those were for
gold producers,” van Zyl says.
“Because the gold price is so high, a lot of people are now investigating
what technologies are out there to ensure their projects are more robust
when it comes to leaner times. We certainly think there’s a benefit for the
gold producers to look into using ore sorters, regardless of the point in the
commodity cycle.”
Another gold company which has recognised the benefits of ore sorting
is Novo Resources Corp. The Canadian-based explorers have purchased a
www.steinert.com.au 1m wide STEINERT KSS | XT CLI sensor sorter for upcoming field trials at
the Purdy’s Reward, Comet Well and 47K concessions in the Pilbara.
Page 44 OCTOBeR 2020 aUSTRaLIa’S PaYDIRT
The machine is being manufactured in Cologne, Germany and
remains on track for delivery to site before the end of the year.
Novo captured the market’s imagination in late 2017 with its
discovery of a potential conglomerate-style deposit just outside
of Karratha.
“The orebody spans over vast areas, it’s not concentrated in one
deep pocket where you can just go and mine in one space, even
though, as far as I understand, it’s not very deep underground,”
van Zyl said.
“It’s not an exceptionally high-grade area either, but it’s easy to
get to and you can easily recover the gold nuggets with an ore
sorter. ore sorting into their flowsheets, often at the request of
“STEINERT are incredibly excited about this opportunity. I end-users,” van Zyl said.
believe Novo’s plan is to run the ore sorter for 12-18 months and
then look to further expanding their infrastructure.” “There’s also a couple of small engineering companies who are
now specialising in building ore sorting plants, so that’s quite a
The resurgence of the iron ore price has also spilled over to big change in ideology from a couple of years ago.”
STEINERT with two of the company’s ore sorting machines
selected to play a key role in the processing of existing iron ore
stockpiles at the Frances Creek mining centre, about 250km
south of Darwin, Northern Territory. Gideon van Wyk (WA Regional Manager) will be
It is the first time STEINERT ore sorters have been contracted to STEINERT Australia’s representative at Diggers & Dealers.
a commercial iron ore operation in Australia. Please contact Gideon on +61 488 900 450 or
“This is a totally dry process, different to any other iron ore vanwyk@steinert.com.au to arrange a meeting
if in Kalgoorlie.
operation in the country, being that it is the only one using ore
sorters to commercially produce iron ore,” van Zyl says. Non-attending delegates are encouraged to contact
Peter Fenby (Senior Business Development Mining)
“What makes this really interesting is that up until now most on +61 417 437 230 or fenby@steinert.com.au or
of the successful operations using ore sorting has always been Johan van Zyl (Managing Director) on +61 400 987 860
high-value base metal operations. It’s a really exciting time for or vanzyl@steinert.com.au
all concerned.
“I think over the longer term there will be a lot of iron ore
producers that keep an eye on that project to see how it’s going. AbouT STEINERT AuSTRAlIA
We’ve done trials in the past with the large consortiums, but With a rich history dating back 130 years, this German family-
they always felt ore sorters didn’t quite have the throughputs owned business is a world leader in sensor sorting technology
required to make it commercially viable. Now that it’s been and magnetic separation for the mining, waste and recycling
proven, it will be interesting to see if they come back for another sectors.
STEINERT’s Australian headquarters and manufacturing facility
look.” in Melbourne, Victoria and test facility in Bibra Lake, Perth bring
STEINERT has also been contracted to supply all the dry drum cutting-edge technology to the Australian market. Our team of
and dewatering drum magnetic separators for Fortescue experts in mining, waste and resource recovery work alongside
Metals Group Ltd’s Iron Bridge project in WA. It is the largest specialist service engineers to support you in a rapidly changing
order the company’s Australian division has ever received. industry.
Our extended capabilities include the supply of products and the
Growing interest in ore sorting opportunities prompted customer service in Australia for Allmineral, specialising in gravity
STEINERT to establish a second Australian office and testing separation using wet/dry jigging and classification technology.
facility in the Perth suburb of Bibra Lake early last year. For more information please go to www.steinert.com.au
“We have invested a significant amount of money into
growing our service capability locally in Australia,” van Zyl
says. “We are now fully operational and independent
from our parent company in Germany, as far as our
test plants and R&D is concerned.”
While the uptake of ore sorters has been slower than
van Zyl would have liked – notwithstanding the
challenges of operating through a global health
pandemic – he believes interest in the technology
is as strong as ever.
“In the last 18 months to two years, we’ve seen
more engineering houses starting to incorporate
aUSTRaLIa’S PaYDIRT OCTOBeR 2020 Page 45
Proudly taking
Australian
precious metals
to the world for
120 years
Through our trusted products and services we develop the
markets and create the demand for Australian precious metals.
From refining and assaying Australian gold to manufacturing
bullion bars and coins, and offering secure storage solutions
and innovative digital gold platforms, we’re making gold and
silver accessible assets to own.
The Perth Mint
- Refined to perfection
A sponsor of the
Diggers & Dealers Mining Forum for 20 years.
perthmint.com/refine
Page 50 OCTOBeR 2020 aUSTRaLIa’S PaYDIRT
MINT0128B-DPS_420x297mm Perth Mint DiggersDealers col press.indd 1 7/6/19 1:34 pm
After more than two decades in the gold “In addition to refining “At the moment, I think WA is the flag bearer for
refining business, The Perth Mint general services, we produce the gold industry and what it actually does for
communities. Taking iron ore out of it, where
an extensive range
Proudly taking continues to see things like never before. coins, and offer various Backed by a successful 120-year history, The
would WA be without gold?”
of bullion bars and
manager refining Nathan Edwards
investment options
Perth Mint’s standing as a trusted refiner is well
including gold-backed
established, which Edwards says is an advantage
exchange traded
Australian “I have seen a lot of cycles from when gold was products listed on the ASX and NYSE, depository of being aligned with the State Government.
He said that being government-owned alleviated
$US250/oz in the early 2000s through to now.
accounts and a digital trading app, GoldPass, each
some of the financial strains other refiners
allowing people to buy gold as a store of wealth,”
I don’t think we conceived that the gold price
around the world have faced in the past.
Edwards said.
would be sitting at almost $US2,000/oz,” Edwards
precious metals said. In the scheme of the precious metals sector, gold “You need to manage your metal properly as it
is no different to a gold mine where you must
A buoyant gold price has sparked widespread
is regarded as the ultimate safe-haven asset and
understand how much metal is going in and how
preferred to the oft-overlooked silver.
activity across the entire gold chain, of which The
much metal is going out; you can’t lose any of
Perth Mint’s refinery is an integral link.
History indicates that when the gold price runs,
that metal,” Edwards said.
to the world for Gold from Alaska, Africa to outback Western the silver price follows on the upward trajectory “Assay integrity is imperative, which also goes
and while that is the case now, there was a lag in
Australia is refined at The Perth Mint and while
back to our government guarantee. A lot of our
household gold heavyweights are clients of
positive sentiment towards the latter in the latest
clients aren’t diversified miners so all of their cash
the State-owned establishment, the current
bull-run.
flow goes through our refinery. That means we
environment is seeing a raft of new source feed
120 years supplied to the refinery. “Our gold processing capacity is extensive so need to get it right because if assays aren’t on
we’ve recently embarked on expanding our silver
point, it can create a cash flow concern.
processing plant. While it has not yet translated
“Depending on the cycle, some miners may go
“If you look at it from that perspective, a refinery
into higher silver volumes coming through,
for lower grade dirt because it is more profitable
is a critical part of a mining company’s entire
to do so in times of high prices, but that doesn’t
silver so there is plenty of scope there for that to
necessarily translate into higher volumes from Australia has the largest known reserves of operation yet people don’t often think of it in
that way.
our existing customers,” Edwards said. increase,” Edwards said.
“What it does mean is that there are a number “Most of the supply at the moment is generated “The Perth Mint is the only Australian refiner
Through our trusted products and services we develop the of junior operations starting up while others are as a by-product of concentrates and from mines accredited by the five commodity exchanges in
coming online, which is what happens when in north-west Queensland. Mines in south and London, New York, Shanghai, Tokyo and Dubai, so
markets and create the demand for Australian precious metals. prices are sustained.” central America, particularly Mexico, are also big producers expect us to undergo rigorous testing
Regardless of price cycles, The Perth Mint miners of silver with their output going through of our standards each year so they can be assured
that we are giving them 100% return on their
From refining and assaying Australian gold to manufacturing refinery’s services thrive on producing a European or Australian smelters. We do get the metal,” he said.
bullion bars and coins, and offering secure storage solutions minimum 99.5% gold and 99.9% silver products product from them, but in terms of actual mined The Perth Mint’s sustained level of excellence
dore, our expectation is that silver prices need
that are tradeable in international markets, while
and innovative digital gold platforms, we’re making gold and the 99.5% and 99.9% 1kg and 400/oz gold bars are to be sustained for reserves to be mined. Once is maintain by adhering to its core values and
embracing technology and innovation to ensure
popular value-added investment products. there is price stability, we’ll probably see more
silver accessible assets to own. “The benefit of The Perth Mint is that we operate operations come to fruition.” its offerings are delivered with the utmost
attention to industry best practice and ensured
across the complete gold supply chain from mine Reinforcing its capabilities in silver refining will safety.
to market. enhance The Perth Mint’s growth aspirations as a
global refiner. While “keeping his cards close to his chest” as
to exactly what The Perth Mint is working on,
Unrivalled customer service and
business integrity are the pillars of Edwards said the last 2 to 3 years had seen
The Perth Mint, with the organisation automation practices widely explored at the
supremely aware of its obligation refinery.
to create and maintain its own “Ultimately, we want to see the entire process,
reputation as well as contribute to including the production of a finished gold
that of the entire Australian gold bar, boxed and bound for market, to be fully
industry. automated and handled only by robotics,”
Edwards said.
“Our services create income for
the State, jobs for more than 400 “The great thing about this advancement in
Western Australians, and we help manufacturing is that we have an engineering
to promote brand WA in the global team inhouse with the capabilities to create
community. these bespoke solutions.
“We are an integral part of the gold “With these greater efficiencies, we will reinforce
industry in this country, so if we are our prominent standing in the industry and
successful on the international stage continue to deliver a superior level of customer
A sponsor of the
then it is a positive outcome for the service and product quality that are second to
none.”
broader gold sector,” Edwards said.
Diggers & Dealers Mining Forum for 20 years.
The Perth Mint general manager refining Nathan Edwards
perthmint.com/refine
aUSTRaLIa’S PaYDIRT OCTOBeR 2020 Page 51
MINT0128B-DPS_420x297mm Perth Mint DiggersDealers col press.indd 1 7/6/19 1:34 pm
An ASX listing, an updated resource and the launch of
feasibility work; if everything goes to plan, Sarama Resources
Inc could become one of the West African gold stories of 2022
and beyond.
Establishing
Burkina Faso’s
Sarama Resources Ltd
TSX-V: SWA
ASX: Proposed listing 2021 next gold district
Head office: Suite 8, 245 Churchill Avenue Subiaco WA 6008
Australia
Phone: +61 8 9363 7600
Fax: +61 8 9382 4309
Email: info@saramaresources.ca An ASX listing, an updated resource and the launch of feasibility work;
Twitter: @SaramaResources if everything goes to plan, Sarama Resources could become one of
LinkedIn: Sarama Resources the West African gold stories of 2022 and beyond.
Key people: Simon Jackson (non-executive chairman); Sarama is a long-term participant in the West African exploration
Andrew Dinning (managing director); Adrian Byass scene, having delineated 2.5 moz gold on its Sanutura Project in south-
(non-executive director); Steve Zaninovich west Burkina Faso since listing on the TSX in 2010.
(non-executive director) However, having seen progress at Sanutura stall for several years due
Market cap: $C31 million to a poorly performing JV, the company managed to successfully re-
Share price: 34c/share gain control and has chosen to reinvigorate itself, refreshing the board
Projects: Sanutura – Houndé and Boromo Greenstone Belts, and subsequently choosing to dual list on the ASX.
south-west Burkina Faso
Resources: 9.4mt @ 1.9 g/t for 600,000oz (indicated) plus For chief executive Andrew Dinning, the move amounts to a resetting
43.6mt @ 1.4 g/t for 1.9 moz (inferred) reported at for the company.
cut-off grades ranging 0.2-1.6 g/t “There was a natural progression to a restructured board. Because of
Bondi: 4.1mt @ 2.1 g/t for 282,000oz gold (measured the global pandemic it was becoming increasingly difficult to operate
and indicated) plus 2.5mt @ 1.8 g/t Au for with a board split between Canada and Australia,” Dinning explains.
149,700oz (inferred), reported at a 0.5 g/t cut-off “Ultimately, it has proven a circuit breaker for the company. It has led
Koumandara: Banfora Belt, south-west Burkina Faso to a revising of the company strategy, a recent capital raising and an
Karankasso JV: Endeavour Mining Corp/ Sarama 20% participating update to the resource at Sanutura.”
interest
Resources: 12.74mt @ 1.73 g/t for 709,000oz gold
resource update out.”
In parallel, the company will also begin
metallurgical work on transitional material in
anticipation of starting a feasibility study in
the latter part of 2021.
Sarama’s plan is to focus its project
economics on oxide ounces, allowing it to
simplify mining and processing and also
target a quick payback.
“With a 1 moz oxide starter resource, we
should be able to build and payback the
Adrian Byass and Steve Zaninovich have
joined the Sarama board this year. Both are mine with just the oxides which are free
Perth-based and well-versed in West Afri- digging and easy processing with high
can gold developments, experience which recoveries,” Dinning says. “It is a similar
Sanutura will benefit from. approach to what Perseus Mining has done
at its Sissingué gold mine in the Ivory Coast.
Sanutura – which means gold bull in the “We already have a good idea of what the
local Douala language – is the new name flowsheet would look like; it comes down
of Sarama’s combined projects in the highly to right-sizing it. It is always a trade-off North American investors have been
prospective southern Houndé Belt (formerly between throughput, capex and grade reluctant to back junior gold plays in West
the South Houndé and ThreeBee projects). and where you find the greatest value per Africa in recent years. Meanwhile the
Collectively they now boast a mining con- tonne.” ASX has displayed strong support for the
strained resource of 2.5 moz gold, up from region with established producers such as
the 2016 global resource of 2.1 moz gold. Once payback is achieved there will be a Perseus Mining Ltd and Resolute Mining
The upgrade also included an increase in natural transition point where it will make Ltd performing well, new arrivals such as
oxide and transitional material to 0.9 moz sense for Sarama to introduce the sulphide West African Resources Ltd posting big
gold. In addition to this, the Bondi Deposit is ore into the processing stream, however gains and a growing gang of junior explor-
waiting in the wings which has a historical depending on throughput settled on, the ers enjoying strong market support.
resource of over 0.4 moz gold. company does not see this transition hap-
With a further $C1.6 million raised in recent pening for at least 6-7 years. Dinning is already seeing signs of this senti-
ment.
months, Sarama is intent on lifting that “If you can get something paid off inside two
figure still further. years, it begins to open up your options for “The appetite for the IPO is good, the story
“The ultimate aim is to reach a combined 3 when you put sulphides through the circuit has been well received and we are sup-
ported by Euroz-Hartleys,” he says.
because you are no longer considering
moz gold resource in the next update, with payback, etc.
the aim to push well through 1 moz of ox- The company had planned to finalise the
ides and transitional which would easily be “The aim is to get at least six years of oxide IPO process by November but with the
enough to justify a CIL plant,” Dinning says. production before we have to upgrade the Christmas period looming, it has chosen
“From there we will do a feasibility study circuit.” to push the listing back to early in the new
with the first phase of production focussing Given the recent success of ASX-listed year. Dinning is confident the Australian
on the oxides and transitional.” West African gold plays, Dinning expects capital raising will provide Sarama with
further impetus.
The company has several options to realise the Australian market to quickly warm to the
that goal, all of which will focus on easy-to- Sarama story. “We are looking to raise $8-10 million which
win oxide ounces. “Our value, as a TSX-listed company, is will be put to work straight away on the
Sarama also has regional targets on its miles off that of our peers on the ASX,” he oxide targets as well as Bondi,” he says.
1,500sq km land package at Sanutura, says. “We have a lot of ounces with plenty A bulging bank balance, growing resource
including the Bamako 2 Property – where a of upside and line-of-sight on development. and the start of feasibility work; Sarama
hit of 8m @ 18 g/t gold is yet to be followed They’re the things Australian investors like could look a very different company at the
up – and the Bondi Deposit which contains to see in a gold company.” beginning of 2022.
a historical resource in excess of 0.4 moz
gold that Dinning is eager to formalise and
also grow.
“2021 is all about pulling in the high prob-
ability, high value ounces, upgrading the
resource and doing the technical work so
we can roll into a feasibility study,” he says.
While the company is yet to set a date for
the start of feasibility work, Dinning believes
the current exploration season will be long
enough to give the company the drilling data
it needs.
“We expect to materially grow the total
resource and to convert a lot of the inferred saramaresources.com
material into indicated which will enable us
to get moving on feasibility work. So, it will
probably be Q3 2021 before we get the
Booth number: E08 Project: Bellevue, near Leinster, Western Australia
Company: Bellevue Gold Ltd (ASX:BGL) Surrounding mines: Darlot and Agnew (Gold Fields Ltd); Jundee
(Northern Star Resources Ltd); Thunderbox (Saracen Minerals Holding
Key personnel: Non-executive chairman Ray Shorrocks, managing Ltd); Sons of Gwalia (St Barbara Ltd)
director Steve Parsons, non-executive director and company secretary
Michael Naylor History: 800,000oz produced @ 15 g/t gold (1986-1997)
12-month share price range: 17c-68c Current: 4mt for 1.53 moz @ 11.8 g/t gold (resource), including 800,000t
@ 22 g/t for 550,000oz at Viago Lode (as at 5/2/19)
Market cap: $312 million
Discovery cost: $15/oz
Shareholders: Board, management and advisors 12%; 1832 Asset
Management LP 11%; Tolga Kumova 9%; Macquarie Bank Ltd 4%; other Milestones ahead: Resource upgrade scheduled for July, followed by
global institutions and sophisticated investors 34%; retail 30% more step-out resource expansion drilling as well as infill and resource
conversion drilling. Another resource upgrade at the end of 2019, with the
Cash balance: $28 million (at the end of March quarter) first look at some mining studies scheduled for early 2020
Analyst coverage: Macquarie Bank; Cannacord Genuity; Patersons
Securities Ltd; Sprott Capital Partners; Eagle Research Advisory
Top 5 hits from Viago Lode to date:
Belle of the ball glitters “At well above 10 g/t gold, our grade is very forgiving and as such we’d expect the capital
4.3m @ 58.5 g/t 3m @ 85.9 g/t 6.4m @ 27.9 g/t 3.35m @ 37.4 g/t 6.9m @ 18 g/t costs and operating costs once we get up and running to be at the lower end. Depending on
Top 5 hits from Tribune Lode to date: size of the plant, the capital costs should be well and truly manageable.”
Australia’s best new high-grade As one of the most globally significant projects emerging in the gold space, Bellevue will
gold discovery – Bellevue – has continue to attract attention from big-pocketed suitors keen to increase their interest in what
Parsons and Co. are doing.
quickly grown in stature. The recent spate of top-end M&A has resulted in a new-look global gold sector which is
still taking shape. An asset such as Bellevue may prove a valuable addition to some of
the emerging gold groups but Parsons is confident the team can go all the way down the
development path at Bellevue.
“Every mining company is going to have their own view on the world in terms of what is
accretive, what style of deposit they are after, whether it is a high-grade exploration project
that is growing or one that is in production,” Parsons said.
“Australia, Canada and the US are certainly low-risk and are very much in favour. Following
5m @ 22.9 g/t 7m @ 27.4 g/t 12m @ 12 g/t 10.1m @ 29 g/t 5m @ 27.3 g/t those recent very big transactions, the CEOs of those companies have been talking about
from 41m
from 93m
from 25m
from 188.5m
from 68m
offloading assets and there are a lot of mid–tier companies sitting there with very good
ideas about assets which may be coming out of the majors so there may be a rush on those.
“In one respect that has been really good for us because we have been able to focus on what
A mere 12 months ago, Steve Parsons and the Bellevue Gold Ltd team $5.5 million a quarter for the next 12 months and continue step-out drilling in order to grow new discovery about 600m below surface directly below the old mine. We are very excited we are good at; adding ounces very cheaply, growing the resource and demonstrating as big
had no resource to speak but now boast a world-class project in the the resource base as well as infill drilling to convert into a higher category resource. and want to follow up on that immediately.” a deposit as we can,” he said.
making and people can’t stop talking about it. In recent times, Bellevue confirmed two new major drill targets bearing visible gold at Considering its success to date, few will be prepared to back against Bellevue adding At the other end of the sector, there is a hive of activity in Australia’s gold exploration space.
the Viago and Tribune lodes. Depth extensions below the historic Bellevue lode were also meaningful ounces to its portfolio quickly, allowing it to begin demonstrating the scale of While it will be a hard task replicating another Bellevue, more discoveries are set to be
Better still, the 4mt @ 11.8 g/t for 1.53 moz gold resource appears to be just the beginning reported as well as a brand new flat-lying Viago lookalike west of the Tribune lode. the project. unveiled, according to Parsons.
for Bellevue, near Leinster, Western Australia. Highlights from the most recent step-out extensional drilling included: 3.2m @ 17.2 g/t gold Away from the shine of the drill bit, Bellevue has started de-risking the project with mining “There’s a lot of exploration going on, even some of the bigger companies have said how
“The resource just keeps getting better and better the more holes we put in to it. The and 2.7m @ 22.6 g/t from Tribune lode; 3.6m @ 12.2 g/t Tribune South extension; 0.3m studies planned for release in early 2020. much they are going to spend on the brownfields and even greenfields exploration in WA
amazing thing is that as we keep stepping out the high grade lodes continue to extend. We @ 218.5 g/t Tribune North extension; 3.5m @ 13.4 g/t Viago lode; 3.2m @ 13.8 g/t Viago The Bellevue project is already covered by a granted mining licence, so ticking off flora and particularly,” he said.
have five drill rigs turning and will soon grow the 1.5 moz resource, hopefully at a similar North extension and 1.5m @ 17.5 g/t at the new ‘Viago look-a-like’ parallel lode. fauna study work, power and water access are items the company is addressing. “That is really good for the industry and I think you are going to see some new discoveries
rate and grade as we have done over the previous 12 months,” Bellevue managing director “We are cashed up so it is going to be quite an aggressive exploration programme ahead for A straightforward path to production appears on the cards and given the extreme grade on come out in the next 12-18 months and hopefully a few mines getting up and running and
Steve Parsons said. us. With five drill rigs turning we will look to have a resource upgrade out in early July . We offer, Bellevue is unlikely to encounter the problems other West Australian gold plays have doing really well.”
“Bellevue is moving towards being one of the better new high-grade gold discoveries will then be looking to carry on step-out expansion drilling to grow the resource as well as run into in recent times. For Bellevue itself, further enthusiasm for gold exploration can only be a good thing.
globally. The grade is outstanding, well above 10 g/t gold, and there are very few gold to infill that resource and convert into the measured and indicated category, ultimately for “If you are going to build a mine, this is the mine you want to build; grade can be very
projects globally above that 10 g/t mark. In terms of scale, we are moving towards 2 moz in reserves,” Parsons said. forgiving as everyone will tell you in the gold space,” Parsons said. “It has certainly been an amazing past 12 months for Bellevue having come from being such
resources this year. It is certainly going to be much bigger than that again 12 months from “A large portion of the budget will be going to exploration step-out drilling and adding “If you are trying to get a mine up and running around 1.0 g/t gold, which a lot of a small company with a few good exploration ideas to now having one of the best new high-
now and, all these ounces we are adding are from stepping out, we haven’t drilled deeper; it further ounces to the resource. I’d expect by the end of this year to be coming out with companies are these days, there is less room for error, there are additional costs and grade gold discoveries. We will be looking to back ourselves for the next 12 months as we
is all from the top 500m, so the depth potential is also incredible.” another resource upgrade. We have just started doing that and it looks like we have another the like. are cashed up and committed to drilling more holes and substantially add to our high-grade
gold resource base,” Parsons said.
A cash balance of $28 million (March quarter) is enough for Bellevue to burn at a rate of
Booth number: E08 Project: Bellevue, near Leinster, Western Australia
Company: Bellevue Gold Ltd (ASX:BGL) Surrounding mines: Darlot and Agnew (Gold Fields Ltd); Jundee
(Northern Star Resources Ltd); Thunderbox (Saracen Minerals Holding
Key personnel: Non-executive chairman Ray Shorrocks, managing Ltd); Sons of Gwalia (St Barbara Ltd)
director Steve Parsons, non-executive director and company secretary
Michael Naylor History: 800,000oz produced @ 15 g/t gold (1986-1997)
12-month share price range: 17c-68c Current: 4mt for 1.53 moz @ 11.8 g/t gold (resource), including 800,000t
@ 22 g/t for 550,000oz at Viago Lode (as at 5/2/19)
Market cap: $312 million
Discovery cost: $15/oz
Shareholders: Board, management and advisors 12%; 1832 Asset
Management LP 11%; Tolga Kumova 9%; Macquarie Bank Ltd 4%; other Milestones ahead: Resource upgrade scheduled for July, followed by
global institutions and sophisticated investors 34%; retail 30% more step-out resource expansion drilling as well as infill and resource
conversion drilling. Another resource upgrade at the end of 2019, with the
Cash balance: $28 million (at the end of March quarter) first look at some mining studies scheduled for early 2020
Analyst coverage: Macquarie Bank; Cannacord Genuity; Patersons
Securities Ltd; Sprott Capital Partners; Eagle Research Advisory
Top 5 hits from Viago Lode to date:
Belle of the ball glitters “At well above 10 g/t gold, our grade is very forgiving and as such we’d expect the capital
4.3m @ 58.5 g/t 3m @ 85.9 g/t 6.4m @ 27.9 g/t 3.35m @ 37.4 g/t 6.9m @ 18 g/t costs and operating costs once we get up and running to be at the lower end. Depending on
Top 5 hits from Tribune Lode to date: size of the plant, the capital costs should be well and truly manageable.”
Australia’s best new high-grade As one of the most globally significant projects emerging in the gold space, Bellevue will
gold discovery – Bellevue – has continue to attract attention from big-pocketed suitors keen to increase their interest in what
Parsons and Co. are doing.
quickly grown in stature. The recent spate of top-end M&A has resulted in a new-look global gold sector which is
still taking shape. An asset such as Bellevue may prove a valuable addition to some of
the emerging gold groups but Parsons is confident the team can go all the way down the
development path at Bellevue.
“Every mining company is going to have their own view on the world in terms of what is
accretive, what style of deposit they are after, whether it is a high-grade exploration project
that is growing or one that is in production,” Parsons said.
“Australia, Canada and the US are certainly low-risk and are very much in favour. Following
5m @ 22.9 g/t 7m @ 27.4 g/t 12m @ 12 g/t 10.1m @ 29 g/t 5m @ 27.3 g/t those recent very big transactions, the CEOs of those companies have been talking about
from 41m
from 93m
from 25m
from 188.5m
from 68m
offloading assets and there are a lot of mid–tier companies sitting there with very good
ideas about assets which may be coming out of the majors so there may be a rush on those.
“In one respect that has been really good for us because we have been able to focus on what
A mere 12 months ago, Steve Parsons and the Bellevue Gold Ltd team $5.5 million a quarter for the next 12 months and continue step-out drilling in order to grow new discovery about 600m below surface directly below the old mine. We are very excited we are good at; adding ounces very cheaply, growing the resource and demonstrating as big
had no resource to speak but now boast a world-class project in the the resource base as well as infill drilling to convert into a higher category resource. and want to follow up on that immediately.” a deposit as we can,” he said.
making and people can’t stop talking about it. In recent times, Bellevue confirmed two new major drill targets bearing visible gold at Considering its success to date, few will be prepared to back against Bellevue adding At the other end of the sector, there is a hive of activity in Australia’s gold exploration space.
the Viago and Tribune lodes. Depth extensions below the historic Bellevue lode were also meaningful ounces to its portfolio quickly, allowing it to begin demonstrating the scale of While it will be a hard task replicating another Bellevue, more discoveries are set to be
Better still, the 4mt @ 11.8 g/t for 1.53 moz gold resource appears to be just the beginning reported as well as a brand new flat-lying Viago lookalike west of the Tribune lode. the project. unveiled, according to Parsons.
for Bellevue, near Leinster, Western Australia. Highlights from the most recent step-out extensional drilling included: 3.2m @ 17.2 g/t gold Away from the shine of the drill bit, Bellevue has started de-risking the project with mining “There’s a lot of exploration going on, even some of the bigger companies have said how
“The resource just keeps getting better and better the more holes we put in to it. The and 2.7m @ 22.6 g/t from Tribune lode; 3.6m @ 12.2 g/t Tribune South extension; 0.3m studies planned for release in early 2020. much they are going to spend on the brownfields and even greenfields exploration in WA
amazing thing is that as we keep stepping out the high grade lodes continue to extend. We @ 218.5 g/t Tribune North extension; 3.5m @ 13.4 g/t Viago lode; 3.2m @ 13.8 g/t Viago The Bellevue project is already covered by a granted mining licence, so ticking off flora and particularly,” he said.
have five drill rigs turning and will soon grow the 1.5 moz resource, hopefully at a similar North extension and 1.5m @ 17.5 g/t at the new ‘Viago look-a-like’ parallel lode. fauna study work, power and water access are items the company is addressing. “That is really good for the industry and I think you are going to see some new discoveries
rate and grade as we have done over the previous 12 months,” Bellevue managing director “We are cashed up so it is going to be quite an aggressive exploration programme ahead for A straightforward path to production appears on the cards and given the extreme grade on come out in the next 12-18 months and hopefully a few mines getting up and running and
Steve Parsons said. us. With five drill rigs turning we will look to have a resource upgrade out in early July . We offer, Bellevue is unlikely to encounter the problems other West Australian gold plays have doing really well.”
“Bellevue is moving towards being one of the better new high-grade gold discoveries will then be looking to carry on step-out expansion drilling to grow the resource as well as run into in recent times. For Bellevue itself, further enthusiasm for gold exploration can only be a good thing.
globally. The grade is outstanding, well above 10 g/t gold, and there are very few gold to infill that resource and convert into the measured and indicated category, ultimately for “If you are going to build a mine, this is the mine you want to build; grade can be very
projects globally above that 10 g/t mark. In terms of scale, we are moving towards 2 moz in reserves,” Parsons said. forgiving as everyone will tell you in the gold space,” Parsons said. “It has certainly been an amazing past 12 months for Bellevue having come from being such
resources this year. It is certainly going to be much bigger than that again 12 months from “A large portion of the budget will be going to exploration step-out drilling and adding “If you are trying to get a mine up and running around 1.0 g/t gold, which a lot of a small company with a few good exploration ideas to now having one of the best new high-
now and, all these ounces we are adding are from stepping out, we haven’t drilled deeper; it further ounces to the resource. I’d expect by the end of this year to be coming out with companies are these days, there is less room for error, there are additional costs and grade gold discoveries. We will be looking to back ourselves for the next 12 months as we
is all from the top 500m, so the depth potential is also incredible.” another resource upgrade. We have just started doing that and it looks like we have another the like. are cashed up and committed to drilling more holes and substantially add to our high-grade
gold resource base,” Parsons said.
A cash balance of $28 million (March quarter) is enough for Bellevue to burn at a rate of
prices but we believe that by the time we are ready to restart it
the nickel price will be much higher. It is marginal at $US10,000/t,
but I am pretty happy that it works at today’s prices. We don’t
want to rush into anything; we want to make sure that we fully
understand the geology before we turn it on again,” he said.
Blackstone’s first order of business is to run an IP survey over the
disseminated sulphide zones to identify high-grade targets for
possible drilling activities to start in July.
In its former life, the Tak Khoa nickel project was characterised
by narrow vein mining of massive sulphide veins at the Ban Phuc
underground.
Blackstone’s early synopsis is that a bulk tonnage disseminated
Blackstone plugs into Vietnam sulphide orebody at mineable grades could be exploited via
open pit or continued underground operations at Ban Phuc.
“Our focus is on exploration to start with and at the same time
we want to understand what the mining scenario looks like. In the
meantime, we want to know what the downstream processing
opportunity looks like, with a big focus on the metallurgy and
converting it from a concentrate into a battery product whether
that is a hydroxide or a sulphate,” Williamson said.
“In the next 6-12 months we will do an IP survey and focus on the
An advanced high-grade nickel sulphide mine, west of Hanoi, high-grade zones within the disseminated zones for drilling. We
has compelled Blackstone Minerals Ltd to venture into Vietnam. are chasing 1% nickel, but over very broad widths, to produce a
maiden resource in the next 6-12 months.
Company: Blackstone Minerals Ltd Project: Ta Khoa, 160km west of Hanoi, Country: Vietnam
“The fact that we have bought an existing mine where all put pressure on margins and essentially forced a blanket on (ASX:BSX) Son La province
the hard work has been done by previous owners, plus it production. Mining status: Currently 22 open cut
is a fully permitted mine with a production facility in place, “We believe that we can remove that tariff on concentrates Key personnel: Non-executive chairman Commodity: Nickel sulphide mines and 23 underground mines
gives us confidence that we can easily switch the mine back by going downstream and producing a final battery product, Hamish Halliday; managing director Scott History: Discovered in 1945. Last mined operating
on at the right time,” Blackstone managing director Scott particularly with a large battery player from Asia or Korea,” Williamson; technical director Andrew from 2013-2016 for 975,000t @ 2.4% nickel Future strategy: Mining Master Plan
Williamson said. Williamson said. Radonjic; non-executive director Steve and 1% copper mined for production of 2020-2035 approved in 2018. Ban Phuc
Blackstone has a two-year timeframe in which to execute an By delivering a downstream dream of producing nickel and Parsons 20,700t nickel and 10,1000t copper mine specifically identified in plan paving
option to purchase the Ta Khoa nickel-copper-cobalt-cobalt-PGE cobalt products for the lithium-ion battery market, Blackstone Top 20 shareholders: 60%. Board and Infrastructure: Internationally designed the way for favourable permitting and
project in Vietnam’s Son La province, 160km west of the capital. can reduce tariffs due to the Government from 20% to 5%. management (24%); Deutsche Balaton 450,000 tpa processing plant connected to approvals processes
(12%); Colestar Management (7%);
Ban Phuc was the key deposit last mined between 2013 and “That really helps the economics of a potential mine or Goldbridge Mining (7%) hydro grid power existing; 250-man camp; Mining licence: A Mining Licence grant
2016, with a total 975,000t @ 2.4% nickel and 1% copper mined development scenario. The previous owners would have got fully permitted tailings facility. Sealed roads fee recently halved under amended terms
for production of 20,700t nickel and 10,1000t copper. caught up on that tariff and would not have seen the opportunity to Hai Phong port, 350km away for new nickel mines
AMR Nickel Ltd (90%) and local partner COXAMA operated the from the battery market to go downstream with a large partner.
mine, which is now on care-and-maintenance after flat-lining “They closed this mine at around $US10,000/t nickel as opposed
nickel prices and a hefty government tariff on concentrates to $US12,000/t currently. You could probably turn it on at these “That will feed into initial studies on mining, metallurgy and generated revenue of $US213 million and contributed $US65
downstream processing. It will be a big couple of years, firstly million to government over the course of its existence.
focusing on exploration and then development. After 2-3 years Ban Phuc’s recent history has been marred by a depressed nickel
we may be able to re-start the mine with the right partner,” he price environment but the growing narrative around nickel’s
said. importance to the EV revolution is dramatically reshaping the
To kick-start the path back to production at Ban Phuc, Blackstone industry.
completed a two tranche placement to raise $2 million which was To this end, having the likes of LG and local private automotive
well supported by institutional investors in Europe and Australia. start-up manufacturer VinFast headquartered in Hanoi,
The cash injection will also allow for work to continue at within striking distance of Ta Khoa, means there are potential
Blackstone’s BC cobalt project, Canada and Silver Swan South relationships for Blackstone to foster in country.
nickel-gold project, Kalgoorlie. “There has been a really good response to the option to acquire
Williamson said the company would continue to refine existing the project and we are still focused on battery metals. Through
and create new targets in BC with further geochem and soil the relationships we built with battery end-users we quickly
sampling programmes, however, it would need funding partners understood that they don’t just need cobalt; they need nickel
with big pockets to really surge ahead. and they prefer nickel sulphides,” Williamson said.
“We don’t think that the sentiment towards cobalt fits that asset “The jurisdiction has also been well received, no one we have
in the current market. We will refine it, we will find more targets spoken to have any real issues with Vietnam. Meanwhile, the
and have it ready for drilling when sentiment changes,” he said. sentiment and response to nickel has been very positive. The
“With Silver Swan South being a nickel sulphide and gold play, nickel price is doing the right things as LME warehouse levels
there is a chance that we could drill that sometime in the next are falling. In 12 months’ time I think we will be looking at a very
six months. But, we would have to weigh that up with Vietnam. improved sentiment and I think we are going to see some very
Vietnam is high priority.” exciting times in nickel in the next 12-18 months.”
In Vietnam, the presence of potential end-users for its nickel
product has further motivated Blackstone to push on at
Ban Phuc, which has attracted $US136 million in investment,
prices but we believe that by the time we are ready to restart it
the nickel price will be much higher. It is marginal at $US10,000/t,
but I am pretty happy that it works at today’s prices. We don’t
want to rush into anything; we want to make sure that we fully
understand the geology before we turn it on again,” he said.
Blackstone’s first order of business is to run an IP survey over the
disseminated sulphide zones to identify high-grade targets for
possible drilling activities to start in July.
In its former life, the Tak Khoa nickel project was characterised
by narrow vein mining of massive sulphide veins at the Ban Phuc
underground.
Blackstone’s early synopsis is that a bulk tonnage disseminated
Blackstone plugs into Vietnam sulphide orebody at mineable grades could be exploited via
open pit or continued underground operations at Ban Phuc.
“Our focus is on exploration to start with and at the same time
we want to understand what the mining scenario looks like. In the
meantime, we want to know what the downstream processing
opportunity looks like, with a big focus on the metallurgy and
converting it from a concentrate into a battery product whether
that is a hydroxide or a sulphate,” Williamson said.
“In the next 6-12 months we will do an IP survey and focus on the
An advanced high-grade nickel sulphide mine, west of Hanoi, high-grade zones within the disseminated zones for drilling. We
has compelled Blackstone Minerals Ltd to venture into Vietnam. are chasing 1% nickel, but over very broad widths, to produce a
maiden resource in the next 6-12 months.
Company: Blackstone Minerals Ltd Project: Ta Khoa, 160km west of Hanoi, Country: Vietnam
“The fact that we have bought an existing mine where all put pressure on margins and essentially forced a blanket on (ASX:BSX) Son La province
the hard work has been done by previous owners, plus it production. Mining status: Currently 22 open cut
is a fully permitted mine with a production facility in place, “We believe that we can remove that tariff on concentrates Key personnel: Non-executive chairman Commodity: Nickel sulphide mines and 23 underground mines
gives us confidence that we can easily switch the mine back by going downstream and producing a final battery product, Hamish Halliday; managing director Scott History: Discovered in 1945. Last mined operating
on at the right time,” Blackstone managing director Scott particularly with a large battery player from Asia or Korea,” Williamson; technical director Andrew from 2013-2016 for 975,000t @ 2.4% nickel Future strategy: Mining Master Plan
Williamson said. Williamson said. Radonjic; non-executive director Steve and 1% copper mined for production of 2020-2035 approved in 2018. Ban Phuc
Blackstone has a two-year timeframe in which to execute an By delivering a downstream dream of producing nickel and Parsons 20,700t nickel and 10,1000t copper mine specifically identified in plan paving
option to purchase the Ta Khoa nickel-copper-cobalt-cobalt-PGE cobalt products for the lithium-ion battery market, Blackstone Top 20 shareholders: 60%. Board and Infrastructure: Internationally designed the way for favourable permitting and
project in Vietnam’s Son La province, 160km west of the capital. can reduce tariffs due to the Government from 20% to 5%. management (24%); Deutsche Balaton 450,000 tpa processing plant connected to approvals processes
(12%); Colestar Management (7%);
Ban Phuc was the key deposit last mined between 2013 and “That really helps the economics of a potential mine or Goldbridge Mining (7%) hydro grid power existing; 250-man camp; Mining licence: A Mining Licence grant
2016, with a total 975,000t @ 2.4% nickel and 1% copper mined development scenario. The previous owners would have got fully permitted tailings facility. Sealed roads fee recently halved under amended terms
for production of 20,700t nickel and 10,1000t copper. caught up on that tariff and would not have seen the opportunity to Hai Phong port, 350km away for new nickel mines
AMR Nickel Ltd (90%) and local partner COXAMA operated the from the battery market to go downstream with a large partner.
mine, which is now on care-and-maintenance after flat-lining “They closed this mine at around $US10,000/t nickel as opposed
nickel prices and a hefty government tariff on concentrates to $US12,000/t currently. You could probably turn it on at these “That will feed into initial studies on mining, metallurgy and generated revenue of $US213 million and contributed $US65
downstream processing. It will be a big couple of years, firstly million to government over the course of its existence.
focusing on exploration and then development. After 2-3 years Ban Phuc’s recent history has been marred by a depressed nickel
we may be able to re-start the mine with the right partner,” he price environment but the growing narrative around nickel’s
said. importance to the EV revolution is dramatically reshaping the
To kick-start the path back to production at Ban Phuc, Blackstone industry.
completed a two tranche placement to raise $2 million which was To this end, having the likes of LG and local private automotive
well supported by institutional investors in Europe and Australia. start-up manufacturer VinFast headquartered in Hanoi,
The cash injection will also allow for work to continue at within striking distance of Ta Khoa, means there are potential
Blackstone’s BC cobalt project, Canada and Silver Swan South relationships for Blackstone to foster in country.
nickel-gold project, Kalgoorlie. “There has been a really good response to the option to acquire
Williamson said the company would continue to refine existing the project and we are still focused on battery metals. Through
and create new targets in BC with further geochem and soil the relationships we built with battery end-users we quickly
sampling programmes, however, it would need funding partners understood that they don’t just need cobalt; they need nickel
with big pockets to really surge ahead. and they prefer nickel sulphides,” Williamson said.
“We don’t think that the sentiment towards cobalt fits that asset “The jurisdiction has also been well received, no one we have
in the current market. We will refine it, we will find more targets spoken to have any real issues with Vietnam. Meanwhile, the
and have it ready for drilling when sentiment changes,” he said. sentiment and response to nickel has been very positive. The
“With Silver Swan South being a nickel sulphide and gold play, nickel price is doing the right things as LME warehouse levels
there is a chance that we could drill that sometime in the next are falling. In 12 months’ time I think we will be looking at a very
six months. But, we would have to weigh that up with Vietnam. improved sentiment and I think we are going to see some very
Vietnam is high priority.” exciting times in nickel in the next 12-18 months.”
In Vietnam, the presence of potential end-users for its nickel
product has further motivated Blackstone to push on at
Ban Phuc, which has attracted $US136 million in investment,
mineraltechnologies.com “We can deliver an end-to-end service to our customers in each of the Foster says QCC and Downer’s construction business is capable of
sectors in which we operate. These sectors include beneficiated iron
managing everything from metallurgical test work to plant design,
downergroup.com ore, mineral sands, coal and other minerals where our expertise can be equipment supply and commissioning.
used to add value,” Foster says. “We have strong capability both in an engineering sense and in a
Downer is also exploring further collaborative opportunities with its construction sense in the coal sector,” he says.
joint venture partner Ausenco. Together they are jointly delivering the “We’ve taken an active position on a number of opportunities that are
Carrapateena copper gold project for OZ Minerals in South Australia. currently in play. We are absolutely focused on leveraging our CHPP
Fine solutions for engineering “I’m pleased to say that the relationship between ourselves and design capability through QCC combined with our CHPP construction
Ausenco is strong and we are exploring other opportunities of working
experience to deliver successful coal projects to customers.
and construction together across other commodities such as copper and other key base “Through challenging times, we do the same things that everybody
metals where Ausenco’s design expertise and Downer’s construction
else does however the part I think we have done well is to ensure the
expertise brings a value-add offering to customers backed up by a core team of key experience is maintained. We have a strong focus on
solid relationship,” Foster says. innovation and using digital technology to improve the value extraction
“Downer is focused on not just construction projects, but also longer- of our process plants.
term service contracts bringing a spread of revenue streams to the “Our orebody evaluation expertise combined with our inhouse process
group which helps de-risk the business.” technology and plant designs, which we build and supply turnkey,
Downer and QCC has a long track record of successful coal handling provide the perfect platform for delivering next generation process
and preparation plant (CHPP) design and construct projects in the plants. This orebody, geo-metallurgy, auto process optimisation
coal sector. QCC’s capability has been maintained during the past technology is what will bring the difference going forward.
industry downturn and is now well positioned to add significant value “Digital technology also plays an important part in project delivery
to projects through its coal quality, process design and plant design including engineering, procurement and construction. We are focused
capability. on using digital technology for real time project management enabling
“Our people are our most important asset and I’m pleased to say that very effective progress tracking on all fronts.”
we have retained our key people during the last down cycle, something
which some of our competitors couldn’t do,” Foster says.
Downer is bringing its beneficiation
design and structural mechanical
piping (SMP) and electrical and Next generation process plants
instrumentation (E&I) construction
expertise to the resurgent Western Downer’s process and engineering businesses – By capturing data in real time, plant operators can – either remotely or
Australian iron ore sector where Snowden, Mineral Technologies and QCC Resources onsite – sift, analyse and essentially “mine the data” to make informed
decisions and propose changes for immediate implementation.
several major players have unveiled – are designing next generation plants which
plans for sustaining capacity incorporate multiple sources of data aimed at Downer’s first step in this direction is via an engagement with
Roy Hill, with assistance from the METS Ignited grant, where the
projects. improving operational efficiencies of its mineral primary objective is automation of the gravity circuits in an iron ore
processing facilities. beneficiation plant.
In a nutshell, next generation plants seek to link soft, hard and
Current plant designs do not facilitate all sensors and data working together, equipment data to drive improvements and continually optimise
typically only using data from individual sensors within the plant to control process plants in real time.
specific functions such as pump speeds and flotation air.
Beneficiation of fine iron ore is an area where Downer’s Mineral Mineral Technologies is helping to kick goals in the iron ore space
Technologies business excels and is looking to grow. The group’s with several successful innovative beneficiation projects in the Next generation plants will integrate all data available to the plant, including
Mining, Energy and Industrial (MEI) business is taking lessons learnt Canadian and Brazilian iron ore sectors. One example was identifying manual inputs, geo-metallurgical data, laboratory test work, load-carrying
sensors, drill hole data and plant instrumentation.
from working on North American iron ore operations to new customers and implementing engineering innovations to the HC33 and WW6E
globally with a focus on improving value extraction efficiencies. spirals at ArcelorMittal’s Mont Wright iron ore mine in Canada to
Andrew Foster, Executive General Manager, Engineering and meet its specific beneficiation requirements.
Construction for Downer MEI, says several of the fine physical Mineral Technologies has also transferred expertise from its proven
separation innovations developed by the group are opening up new minerals sands projects to plant design and construction for iron ore
opportunities for efficiencies in the iron ore sector, including in Western projects in Australia.
Australia. Foster says Downer delivers results for customers across all stages
“Our expertise in iron ore beneficiation we believe will become more of a project lifecycle, including bankable orebody evaluation services,
and more relevant because of the increasing importance of grade to mine planning, clever process solutions, innovative plant design
Chinese iron ore customers driven by environmental concerns,” he and operations and maintenance services. Downer contracts under
says. various models including construct only, engineering, procurement,
“Western Australia Iron Ore (WAIO) is a key focus for us where our SMP construction management (EPCM), design and construct or full- Andrew Foster
and E&I construction capability has relevance. This combined with the blown EPC delivery depending on the risk profile.
beneficiation expertise, proprietary technology of Mineral Technologies Downer’s mining consulting and software arm, Snowden, is
and design capability of Downer’s QCC business brings a service recognised globally as leaders in the estimation and review of
offering to WAIO customers that is unmatched by our competitors mineral resources and ore reserve evaluation to support the mine
here in Western Australia. We bring innovative value extraction and development process, underpinned by innovation in resource
project delivery certainty backed up by a Tier 1 contractor, Downer.” estimation, mine optimisation and mine value chain reconciliation.
mineraltechnologies.com “We can deliver an end-to-end service to our customers in each of the Foster says QCC and Downer’s construction business is capable of
sectors in which we operate. These sectors include beneficiated iron
managing everything from metallurgical test work to plant design,
downergroup.com ore, mineral sands, coal and other minerals where our expertise can be equipment supply and commissioning.
used to add value,” Foster says. “We have strong capability both in an engineering sense and in a
Downer is also exploring further collaborative opportunities with its construction sense in the coal sector,” he says.
joint venture partner Ausenco. Together they are jointly delivering the “We’ve taken an active position on a number of opportunities that are
Carrapateena copper gold project for OZ Minerals in South Australia. currently in play. We are absolutely focused on leveraging our CHPP
Fine solutions for engineering “I’m pleased to say that the relationship between ourselves and design capability through QCC combined with our CHPP construction
Ausenco is strong and we are exploring other opportunities of working
experience to deliver successful coal projects to customers.
and construction together across other commodities such as copper and other key base “Through challenging times, we do the same things that everybody
metals where Ausenco’s design expertise and Downer’s construction
else does however the part I think we have done well is to ensure the
expertise brings a value-add offering to customers backed up by a core team of key experience is maintained. We have a strong focus on
solid relationship,” Foster says. innovation and using digital technology to improve the value extraction
“Downer is focused on not just construction projects, but also longer- of our process plants.
term service contracts bringing a spread of revenue streams to the “Our orebody evaluation expertise combined with our inhouse process
group which helps de-risk the business.” technology and plant designs, which we build and supply turnkey,
Downer and QCC has a long track record of successful coal handling provide the perfect platform for delivering next generation process
and preparation plant (CHPP) design and construct projects in the plants. This orebody, geo-metallurgy, auto process optimisation
coal sector. QCC’s capability has been maintained during the past technology is what will bring the difference going forward.
industry downturn and is now well positioned to add significant value “Digital technology also plays an important part in project delivery
to projects through its coal quality, process design and plant design including engineering, procurement and construction. We are focused
capability. on using digital technology for real time project management enabling
“Our people are our most important asset and I’m pleased to say that very effective progress tracking on all fronts.”
we have retained our key people during the last down cycle, something
which some of our competitors couldn’t do,” Foster says.
Downer is bringing its beneficiation
design and structural mechanical
piping (SMP) and electrical and Next generation process plants
instrumentation (E&I) construction
expertise to the resurgent Western Downer’s process and engineering businesses – By capturing data in real time, plant operators can – either remotely or
Australian iron ore sector where Snowden, Mineral Technologies and QCC Resources onsite – sift, analyse and essentially “mine the data” to make informed
decisions and propose changes for immediate implementation.
several major players have unveiled – are designing next generation plants which
plans for sustaining capacity incorporate multiple sources of data aimed at Downer’s first step in this direction is via an engagement with
Roy Hill, with assistance from the METS Ignited grant, where the
projects. improving operational efficiencies of its mineral primary objective is automation of the gravity circuits in an iron ore
processing facilities. beneficiation plant.
In a nutshell, next generation plants seek to link soft, hard and
Current plant designs do not facilitate all sensors and data working together, equipment data to drive improvements and continually optimise
typically only using data from individual sensors within the plant to control process plants in real time.
specific functions such as pump speeds and flotation air.
Beneficiation of fine iron ore is an area where Downer’s Mineral Mineral Technologies is helping to kick goals in the iron ore space
Technologies business excels and is looking to grow. The group’s with several successful innovative beneficiation projects in the Next generation plants will integrate all data available to the plant, including
Mining, Energy and Industrial (MEI) business is taking lessons learnt Canadian and Brazilian iron ore sectors. One example was identifying manual inputs, geo-metallurgical data, laboratory test work, load-carrying
sensors, drill hole data and plant instrumentation.
from working on North American iron ore operations to new customers and implementing engineering innovations to the HC33 and WW6E
globally with a focus on improving value extraction efficiencies. spirals at ArcelorMittal’s Mont Wright iron ore mine in Canada to
Andrew Foster, Executive General Manager, Engineering and meet its specific beneficiation requirements.
Construction for Downer MEI, says several of the fine physical Mineral Technologies has also transferred expertise from its proven
separation innovations developed by the group are opening up new minerals sands projects to plant design and construction for iron ore
opportunities for efficiencies in the iron ore sector, including in Western projects in Australia.
Australia. Foster says Downer delivers results for customers across all stages
“Our expertise in iron ore beneficiation we believe will become more of a project lifecycle, including bankable orebody evaluation services,
and more relevant because of the increasing importance of grade to mine planning, clever process solutions, innovative plant design
Chinese iron ore customers driven by environmental concerns,” he and operations and maintenance services. Downer contracts under
says. various models including construct only, engineering, procurement,
“Western Australia Iron Ore (WAIO) is a key focus for us where our SMP construction management (EPCM), design and construct or full- Andrew Foster
and E&I construction capability has relevance. This combined with the blown EPC delivery depending on the risk profile.
beneficiation expertise, proprietary technology of Mineral Technologies Downer’s mining consulting and software arm, Snowden, is
and design capability of Downer’s QCC business brings a service recognised globally as leaders in the estimation and review of
offering to WAIO customers that is unmatched by our competitors mineral resources and ore reserve evaluation to support the mine
here in Western Australia. We bring innovative value extraction and development process, underpinned by innovation in resource
project delivery certainty backed up by a Tier 1 contractor, Downer.” estimation, mine optimisation and mine value chain reconciliation.
NEW REVOLUTION
IN ASSAYING “Embracing a technology-driven future is a
central pillar in the group’s long-term strategy
as we look to deliver both enduring value and
certainty to all our customers. Mark Norwell
Some of the gold industry’s biggest names
are making the switch to MinAnalytical’s
revolutionary photon-assaying technique.
MinAnalytical – an Ausdrill Ltd company – has exclusive rights to We expect that momentum will grow once we’ve finished the
the Chrysos Corporation PhotonAssay machine within Australia commissioning of our Kalgoorlie operation.”
which is considered a faster, safer and more environmentally- Kalgoorlie was selected as the ideal location for MinAnalytical’s
friendly alternative to conventional fire assaying techniques for second business unit because of its immediate proximity to a
gold analysis. high number of gold operations seeking rapid turnaround of assay
Since the Chrysos machine was officially launched 12 months samples.
ago, MinAnalytical has obtained National Association of Testing The Kalgoorlie facility is expected to come online later this month,
Authorities (NATA) accreditation for the technology, in accordance with MinAnalytical planning to add a second machine to its newly
with ISO/IEC-17025 testing requirements. minted regional centre before the end of the year.
More than 100,000 commercial samples have been analysed Last month MinAnalytical executed a heads of agreement with
since the accreditation was rubber-stamped last August and Chrysos for exclusive use of the PhotonAssay technology in
MinAnalytical is now on the cusp of launching a second business Australia, excluding Victoria, although the company has an option
unit in Kalgoorlie to complement its existing facility in Canning to consider commercial opportunities in that state as they arise.
Vale, Perth. “This technology is a massive coup for us because it gives us
Validation of the PhotonAssay technology was aided by six major something our competitors haven’t got, but on top of that we
gold producers which submitted samples from 11 different sites do have the appetite to grow and expand the business globally,”
across three Australian states. Wheeler said.
MinAnalytical general manager Gary Wheeler said PhotonAssay “We’re not quite the Romans yet, we’re not out to conquer the
was quickly gaining broader market acceptance. world, but we’re starting in our own backyard where we’ve got
“We have several customers using the technology routinely and exclusivity and we’ve done the homework. We feel the benefits
there’s a number of those customers that have reported that data and reward from the last two years are getting the exclusivity of
to the ASX with their JORC compliant reports,” Wheeler said. that technology and delivering this service to our customers.”
“We believe this is the biggest breakthrough in mineral assaying The PhotonAssay technology was initially developed by CSIRO
since the discovery of fire. I know it sounds quite bold to say, but and Chrysos before Ausdrill partnered with Chrysos to develop
there is no doubt this will have a huge transformational impact on the commercial application.
the industry.” Ausdrill managing director Mark Norwell said the strategic
NATA accreditation was received after MinAnalytical completed partnership with Chrysos was an example of how the group and its
a series of extensive benchmark tests against the traditional fire businesses were leveraging technology to make a real difference
assaying process, including round-robin proficiency testing by an for its clients. Chrysos PhotonAssay provides a unique, chemistry-free Unlike the low-energy X-rays used in conventional assay
TM
independent entity. “Embracing a technology-driven future is a central pillar in the approach to material analysis. It hits samples with high- methods like XRF, the X-ray beam used to excite the samples
MinAnalytical has also spent the past year working to fully group’s long-term strategy as we look to deliver both enduring energy X-rays, causing short-lived excitation of atomic nuclei and the resulting elemental signature gamma-rays are very
automate the PhotonAssay machine from front-end to back-end value and certainty to all our customers,” Norwell said. of targeted elements. These excited nuclei then give off a penetrating, meaning that large samples can be measured.
in a bid to optimise efficiency and sample handling. That process “The PhotonAssay technology is the result of really listening to our characteristic signature that can be detected and used to A true bulk reading is returned, independent of the chemical
is now in the advanced engineering stage prior to commissioning customers’ needs and walking in their shoes to understand what calculate metal grade. or physical form of the sample. Rock chips, powdered or
later this year. we can do to help them enable their future. X-rays are produced using a device called an electron crushed samples, and solutions or slurries can be directly
“We believe this technology has the ability to give customers what “Our aim is to continue to foster a real tech culture amongst our accelerator. Similar accelerators are commonly used in analysed.
they’re not getting at the moment and that’s a very robust, highly people so we can fully realise some of the exciting technology- hospital radiotherapy units and for industrial sterilisation of
responsive and high quality analytical service,” Wheeler said. driven projects we are investing in across the group.” products such as medical supplies. The PhotonAssay X-ray
“We’ve ticked a number of boxes to ensure the technology works source contains no radioactive material.
and now we’re starting to get some momentum with customers.
NEW REVOLUTION
IN ASSAYING “Embracing a technology-driven future is a
central pillar in the group’s long-term strategy
as we look to deliver both enduring value and
certainty to all our customers. Mark Norwell
Some of the gold industry’s biggest names
are making the switch to MinAnalytical’s
revolutionary photon-assaying technique.
MinAnalytical – an Ausdrill Ltd company – has exclusive rights to We expect that momentum will grow once we’ve finished the
the Chrysos Corporation PhotonAssay machine within Australia commissioning of our Kalgoorlie operation.”
which is considered a faster, safer and more environmentally- Kalgoorlie was selected as the ideal location for MinAnalytical’s
friendly alternative to conventional fire assaying techniques for second business unit because of its immediate proximity to a
gold analysis. high number of gold operations seeking rapid turnaround of assay
Since the Chrysos machine was officially launched 12 months samples.
ago, MinAnalytical has obtained National Association of Testing The Kalgoorlie facility is expected to come online later this month,
Authorities (NATA) accreditation for the technology, in accordance with MinAnalytical planning to add a second machine to its newly
with ISO/IEC-17025 testing requirements. minted regional centre before the end of the year.
More than 100,000 commercial samples have been analysed Last month MinAnalytical executed a heads of agreement with
since the accreditation was rubber-stamped last August and Chrysos for exclusive use of the PhotonAssay technology in
MinAnalytical is now on the cusp of launching a second business Australia, excluding Victoria, although the company has an option
unit in Kalgoorlie to complement its existing facility in Canning to consider commercial opportunities in that state as they arise.
Vale, Perth. “This technology is a massive coup for us because it gives us
Validation of the PhotonAssay technology was aided by six major something our competitors haven’t got, but on top of that we
gold producers which submitted samples from 11 different sites do have the appetite to grow and expand the business globally,”
across three Australian states. Wheeler said.
MinAnalytical general manager Gary Wheeler said PhotonAssay “We’re not quite the Romans yet, we’re not out to conquer the
was quickly gaining broader market acceptance. world, but we’re starting in our own backyard where we’ve got
“We have several customers using the technology routinely and exclusivity and we’ve done the homework. We feel the benefits
there’s a number of those customers that have reported that data and reward from the last two years are getting the exclusivity of
to the ASX with their JORC compliant reports,” Wheeler said. that technology and delivering this service to our customers.”
“We believe this is the biggest breakthrough in mineral assaying The PhotonAssay technology was initially developed by CSIRO
since the discovery of fire. I know it sounds quite bold to say, but and Chrysos before Ausdrill partnered with Chrysos to develop
there is no doubt this will have a huge transformational impact on the commercial application.
the industry.” Ausdrill managing director Mark Norwell said the strategic
NATA accreditation was received after MinAnalytical completed partnership with Chrysos was an example of how the group and its
a series of extensive benchmark tests against the traditional fire businesses were leveraging technology to make a real difference
assaying process, including round-robin proficiency testing by an for its clients. Chrysos PhotonAssay provides a unique, chemistry-free Unlike the low-energy X-rays used in conventional assay
TM
independent entity. “Embracing a technology-driven future is a central pillar in the approach to material analysis. It hits samples with high- methods like XRF, the X-ray beam used to excite the samples
MinAnalytical has also spent the past year working to fully group’s long-term strategy as we look to deliver both enduring energy X-rays, causing short-lived excitation of atomic nuclei and the resulting elemental signature gamma-rays are very
automate the PhotonAssay machine from front-end to back-end value and certainty to all our customers,” Norwell said. of targeted elements. These excited nuclei then give off a penetrating, meaning that large samples can be measured.
in a bid to optimise efficiency and sample handling. That process “The PhotonAssay technology is the result of really listening to our characteristic signature that can be detected and used to A true bulk reading is returned, independent of the chemical
is now in the advanced engineering stage prior to commissioning customers’ needs and walking in their shoes to understand what calculate metal grade. or physical form of the sample. Rock chips, powdered or
later this year. we can do to help them enable their future. X-rays are produced using a device called an electron crushed samples, and solutions or slurries can be directly
“We believe this technology has the ability to give customers what “Our aim is to continue to foster a real tech culture amongst our accelerator. Similar accelerators are commonly used in analysed.
they’re not getting at the moment and that’s a very robust, highly people so we can fully realise some of the exciting technology- hospital radiotherapy units and for industrial sterilisation of
responsive and high quality analytical service,” Wheeler said. driven projects we are investing in across the group.” products such as medical supplies. The PhotonAssay X-ray
“We’ve ticked a number of boxes to ensure the technology works source contains no radioactive material.
and now we’re starting to get some momentum with customers.
A mong those accomplishments were production of a 99.3% second year and up to 90,000t in the third year. This deal is significant in
concentrate at commercial scale from a ground-breaking pilot that no graphite developer to date has signed a single offtake agreement
plant run and a recently completed DFS for Black Rock’s Mahenge graphite for 90,000t.
project, about 370km south-west of Dar es Salaam. Chinese battery producer Qingdao Fujin Graphite Company Ltd has also
However, for experienced mining engineer de Vries, the biggest thrill came signed up for 15,000 tpa of sized graphite concentrate for up to three
during the compilation of the DFS when his in-country team were unafraid years, meaning Black Rock has now placed about 44% of the proposed
to challenge his thinking on certain points. steady-state production of 250,000 tpa from Mahenge.
“To me, this means barriers to communication don’t exist, our people are “We’ve been working in that space for a while now and effectively once the
engaged, they have a ‘fire in the belly’, a hunger to win and feel they can first lot came in, the phone rang pretty hot for a couple of days,” de Vries
contribute to a project in their country,” de Vries said. said. “I’m confident there are more offtake agreements we’re going to be
“Another way of looking at this is the development of our culture. Our coming up with between now and Christmas.”
people own and define the culture and are fearless in questioning how we Aiding Black Rock’s bid to develop Mahenge is a strategic cooperation
might make the business stronger for longer.” agreement with major Chinese machinery outfit Yantai Jinyuan Machinery
Black Rock is now charging towards construction of Mahenge after Ltd, part of the Yantai Jinyuan Group.
releasing a robust DFS for the project in October, followed by the execution Yantai has committed to supplying process plant machinery and related
of two offtake agreements with reputable Chinese groups. infrastructure for Mahenge as well as help source $US40 million in project
Integrated graphite producer Heilongjiang Baho Graphite Company Ltd finance from Chinese groups.
has agreed to purchase 30,000t of blended graphite concentrate during Perth-based CPC Engineering, which built Syrah Resources Ltd’s
the first year of production before lifting its allocation to 50,000t in the Balama process plant in Mozambique, will also form part of the Mahenge
PAGE 48 DECEMBER 2018 - JANUARY 2019 AUSTRALIA’S PAYDIRT
Office: Level 9, 190 St Georges Terrace, Perth, Key people: Richard Crookes (non-executive chairman), John de
Western Australia 6000 Vries (managing director and CEO), Gabriel Chiappini (non-executive
Tel: +61 8 9320 7550 director and company secretary), Raymond Hekima (vice-president
Web: info@blackrockmining.com.au corporate, Tanzania), Anthony Hall (head of strategy)
construction team. through the investment community, while opening up a whole new market
“Yantai have built four plants in China in the last 10 years and CPC have for graphite hopefuls.
built one plant for Syrah. Put that together and that’s five plants – more De Vries acknowledged that his company needed to undertake an
than just about anybody else, so we’ve got experience on our side,” de apprenticeship in the battery space – the Fujin agreement is only just
Vries said. the beginning, he says – before it could become the master of its own
“If you’re looking to be an investor in this space, having that experience craft. However, there is no denying the electric revolution is an enticing
of knowing what works and knowing what doesn’t work and why is proposition for Black Rock.
fundamentally important to success and provides a great level of comfort. “Everybody is monumentally excited about EVs, but at the moment I don’t
“Most of us know we would have to go to China to secure the componentry own a Tesla. However, I do own a rechargeable toothbrush, so I get excited
at some point in time, and going with a single source means it just about toothbrushes because more people own toothbrushes than Teslas.
simplifies the execution. Plus, we’re going with a group who has done it a Inside every toothbrush is a Tesla wanting to get out,” de Vries said.
few times before.” “You need to be focused on the mining side and producing the best
Black Rock was recently granted environmental approval for staged possible concentrate you can. So, I’m not going to compromise my mine
development of Mahenge, beginning with 83,000t of product and or my balance sheet to try and run a mine to make a battery plant work. It’s
increasing to up to 250,000 tpa over five years. An application for a mining not the tail wagging the dog here. We’re focusing on the things we need
licence has been submitted to Tanzanian authorities and could be awarded to get right and running a mine is one of them. Again, that’s us playing the
before Christmas. long game.”
De Vries said the company’s “crawl, walk, run” approach to business
would be key to Mahenge’s successful development.
“We’ve deliberately played a long game here and we’ve taken a very
strategic approach to how we’re going to develop the project,” he Location: 370km south-west of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
said. “You need to be much more deliberate, much more focused and
methodical about developing your project, but we’ve got the right people Resources: 212mt @ 7.8% TGC
to do it, we’ve got the right geology which is pretty tough to replicate and Reserves: 70mt @ 8.5% TGC
we’ve got the right geography which I think is even tougher to replicate.” Reserve life: 23 years
Black Rock’s “crawl, walk, run” strategy is also applicable to how the Life-of-mine: 32 years
company is approaching the fledgling battery space which has swept
Total life-of-mine concentrate production: 6.6mt
Average steady state production rate: 250,000 tpa
Phase one throughput: 83,000 tpa
Capex for phase one: $US115 million (including 10% contingency)
Capex for phases two and three: $US153.7 million
(including 15% contingency)
Post-tax NPV, unlevered at 10%: US$895 million
Post-tax, unlevered: 42.8%
Life-of-Mine C1 Costs: $US401/t FOB Dar es Salaam
Life-of-Mine AISC: $US473/t FOB Dar es Salaam
AUSTRALIA’S PAYDIRT DECEMBER 2018 - JANUARY 2019 PAGE 49
Lepidico flows Having already defined a unique
route to lithium carbonate
into hydroxide production from micas and
phosphates, Lepidico Ltd is on the
verge of another breakthrough in
and carbonate processing, this time in the lithium
hydroxide space.
markets Lepidico offers something unique to both lithium
equity investors and to the lithium industry.
lithium sulphate as an intermediate compound,” Walsh says. “So, Max and lithium carbonate via L-Max ,” Walsh says.
TM
TM
LOH-Max should be applicable to all of them and we believe it While Lepidico intends to apply the L-Max technology for its
TM
TM
could produce significant capex savings over the conventional Phase 1 Plant Project which sources lepidolite from Portugal, the
technology. The indications are that it will also have lower horizons for LOH-Max are much wider.
TM
operating costs and it will eliminate the disposal risk of sodium “It is broadening the technological suite we offer,” Walsh says.
sulphate.” “L-Max is a solution to quite a specialist area – lithium micas
TM
“We are cautious about the IP so will only share the process and phosphates – but LOH-Max has much broader application
TM
chemistry under confidentiality agreements but we have started into spodumene and sedimentary hosted deposits; basically any
talking about the processes conceptually to a number of groups, operation which is making lithium sulphate as the intermediate
which have shown interest. It is early days and there is more test compound in the conversion plant.”
work needed.” Further breakthroughs on the LOH-Max process could afford
TM
Aiding Lepidico’s ability to further refine the LOH-Max process Lepidico further leverage in a lithium market, where the supply
TM
will be its fully functioning pilot plant in the Perth suburb of chain is still being developed and is undergoing unprecedented
Belmont. growth. While most other ASX-listed lithium companies have
The plant is being built to take L-Max testing to small industrial focused on defining and building projects capable of producing
TM
scale. The innovative L-Max process – also developed with lithium mineral concentrates, Lepidico could find itself inserted
TM
Strategic Metallurgy – leaches lithium from non-conventional further up the value chain.
and relatively uncontested sources such as lithium micas and “I think Lepidico offers something unique to both lithium equity
phosphates.
Lepidico has built a reputation as one of the burgeoning produce lithium carbonate without producing a sodium sulphate investors and to the industry” Walsh says.
Australian lithium industry’s most dynamic performers, by-product. The process utilises common use, inexpensive reagents and has
formalising its patented L-Max process to produce lithium “Subsequent feedback from several prospective customers was proved energy efficient in lab-scale testing.
TM
carbonate from lithium micas and lithium phosphates. that lithium hydroxide was their preferred chemical, so Strategic Walsh says the construction of the pilot plant will allow Lepidico
TM
The company is on the cusp of commissioning an L-Max pilot Metallurgy set aside the lithium carbonate research work and to both demonstrate the technical viability of L-Max and LOH-
TM
TM
plant in Perth, Western Australia to further define the process went searching for a solution to produce lithium hydroxide that Max , reduce scale-up risk for the Phase 1 commercial plant and
flowsheet but over the course of the last 12 months, Lepdicio has didn’t produce sodium sulphate as a by-product.” also provide material for further product development, particularly
identified further hydrometallurgical opportunities. The result is the LOH-Max process, which Walsh describes as for by-products such as amorphous silica and SoP fertiliser.
TM
“In mid-2018, we were undertaking a group level risk review – “an elegant solution” to produce the much sought-after lithium “We are building the pilot plant now and will be commissioning
including mining and processing projects,” Lepidico managing hydroxide product. from April with operations starting in May,” Walsh says. “It is
TM
director Joe Walsh says. “While we were confident we could “Strategic Metallurgy developed the LOH-Max process and the first time we will have continuous operation of the L-Max
TM
reach an offtake agreement for the sodium sulphate by-product Lepidico entered into an exclusive use agreement with worldwide technology using industrial equipment. Previously, everything had
generated from the Phase 1 plant in the early years, our analysis marketing rights,” Walsh says. been done at the lab scale. It will give us further proof of process,
showed that the market is mature and contract in the years to Although understandably guarded about the chemistry behind the providing certainty on the flowsheet and also allow us to produce
come, resulting in demand drying up. process, Lepidico is confident the LOH-Max process will deliver samples to help us continue our product development.”
TM
“This would present a significant disposal risk to the company.” both capital and cost savings in hard rock lithium conversion The plant is also planned to be augmented to include the LOH-
TM
Lepidico and metallurgical consultant Strategic Metallurgy Pty Ltd plants. Max process at the back-end of the flowsheet.
began searching for alternative processes which could be applied “All of the currently proposed conversion plants in Western “We are trying to work out how to include the process into our
at the L-Max process intermediate product, lithium sulphate, to Australia appear to be using sulphur-based chemistry with pilot plant so we can produce both lithium hydroxide using LOH-
TM
PAGE 36 MARCH 2019 AUSTRALIA’S PAYDIRT AUSTRALIA’S PAYDIRT MARCH 2019 PAGE 37
Lepidico flows Having already defined a unique
route to lithium carbonate
into hydroxide production from micas and
phosphates, Lepidico Ltd is on the
verge of another breakthrough in
and carbonate processing, this time in the lithium
hydroxide space.
markets Lepidico offers something unique to both lithium
equity investors and to the lithium industry.
lithium sulphate as an intermediate compound,” Walsh says. “So, Max and lithium carbonate via L-Max ,” Walsh says.
TM
TM
LOH-Max should be applicable to all of them and we believe it While Lepidico intends to apply the L-Max technology for its
TM
TM
could produce significant capex savings over the conventional Phase 1 Plant Project which sources lepidolite from Portugal, the
technology. The indications are that it will also have lower horizons for LOH-Max are much wider.
TM
operating costs and it will eliminate the disposal risk of sodium “It is broadening the technological suite we offer,” Walsh says.
sulphate.” “L-Max is a solution to quite a specialist area – lithium micas
TM
“We are cautious about the IP so will only share the process and phosphates – but LOH-Max has much broader application
TM
chemistry under confidentiality agreements but we have started into spodumene and sedimentary hosted deposits; basically any
talking about the processes conceptually to a number of groups, operation which is making lithium sulphate as the intermediate
which have shown interest. It is early days and there is more test compound in the conversion plant.”
work needed.” Further breakthroughs on the LOH-Max process could afford
TM
Aiding Lepidico’s ability to further refine the LOH-Max process Lepidico further leverage in a lithium market, where the supply
TM
will be its fully functioning pilot plant in the Perth suburb of chain is still being developed and is undergoing unprecedented
Belmont. growth. While most other ASX-listed lithium companies have
The plant is being built to take L-Max testing to small industrial focused on defining and building projects capable of producing
TM
scale. The innovative L-Max process – also developed with lithium mineral concentrates, Lepidico could find itself inserted
TM
Strategic Metallurgy – leaches lithium from non-conventional further up the value chain.
and relatively uncontested sources such as lithium micas and “I think Lepidico offers something unique to both lithium equity
phosphates.
Lepidico has built a reputation as one of the burgeoning produce lithium carbonate without producing a sodium sulphate investors and to the industry” Walsh says.
Australian lithium industry’s most dynamic performers, by-product. The process utilises common use, inexpensive reagents and has
formalising its patented L-Max process to produce lithium “Subsequent feedback from several prospective customers was proved energy efficient in lab-scale testing.
TM
carbonate from lithium micas and lithium phosphates. that lithium hydroxide was their preferred chemical, so Strategic Walsh says the construction of the pilot plant will allow Lepidico
TM
The company is on the cusp of commissioning an L-Max pilot Metallurgy set aside the lithium carbonate research work and to both demonstrate the technical viability of L-Max and LOH-
TM
TM
plant in Perth, Western Australia to further define the process went searching for a solution to produce lithium hydroxide that Max , reduce scale-up risk for the Phase 1 commercial plant and
flowsheet but over the course of the last 12 months, Lepdicio has didn’t produce sodium sulphate as a by-product.” also provide material for further product development, particularly
identified further hydrometallurgical opportunities. The result is the LOH-Max process, which Walsh describes as for by-products such as amorphous silica and SoP fertiliser.
TM
“In mid-2018, we were undertaking a group level risk review – “an elegant solution” to produce the much sought-after lithium “We are building the pilot plant now and will be commissioning
including mining and processing projects,” Lepidico managing hydroxide product. from April with operations starting in May,” Walsh says. “It is
TM
director Joe Walsh says. “While we were confident we could “Strategic Metallurgy developed the LOH-Max process and the first time we will have continuous operation of the L-Max
TM
reach an offtake agreement for the sodium sulphate by-product Lepidico entered into an exclusive use agreement with worldwide technology using industrial equipment. Previously, everything had
generated from the Phase 1 plant in the early years, our analysis marketing rights,” Walsh says. been done at the lab scale. It will give us further proof of process,
showed that the market is mature and contract in the years to Although understandably guarded about the chemistry behind the providing certainty on the flowsheet and also allow us to produce
come, resulting in demand drying up. process, Lepidico is confident the LOH-Max process will deliver samples to help us continue our product development.”
TM
“This would present a significant disposal risk to the company.” both capital and cost savings in hard rock lithium conversion The plant is also planned to be augmented to include the LOH-
TM
Lepidico and metallurgical consultant Strategic Metallurgy Pty Ltd plants. Max process at the back-end of the flowsheet.
began searching for alternative processes which could be applied “All of the currently proposed conversion plants in Western “We are trying to work out how to include the process into our
at the L-Max process intermediate product, lithium sulphate, to Australia appear to be using sulphur-based chemistry with pilot plant so we can produce both lithium hydroxide using LOH-
TM
PAGE 36 MARCH 2019 AUSTRALIA’S PAYDIRT AUSTRALIA’S PAYDIRT MARCH 2019 PAGE 37
Steinert offers Pantoro was one of several miners to extoll the virtues of ore
sorting at Diggers & Dealers, marking a step-change from the
scepticism which has long surrounded the technology.
to sort out “We have had a few people say to us ‘it didn’t work in the 90s
so why would it work now?’ But, you just have to consider
the computing technology advances since then to realise the
industry differences,” Cmrlec said. “We have gone back to samples from 6-7 years ago using the
Speaking following Pantoro’s March quarterly results were
multiple sensor technology and haven’t found an ore yet that we
announced, Cmrlec was confident further success could be
generated by the STEINERT sorter. can’t process. It opens up lots of possibilities for customers.”
While junior miners have been the most enthusiastic adopters of
“Ore sorting has continued to operate as expected on site and will ore sorting technology, van Zyl envisages a time when all miners
positively contribute to production increases as additional ore feed will look to utilise the process.
is able to be sourced,” he said. “The ore sorter will come into its “Initially it was small miners looking to unlock latent value who
own as we ramp up production from both Nicolsons and Wagtail.” adopted the technology but as the larger miners see its success
Such is the interest from industry, STEINERT has expanded its test they take interest. I think within 10 years it will be standard
facilities in the Perth suburb of Bibra Lake. technology in all new processing flowsheets.”
“We were struggling to keep up,” van Zyl says. “But now we have a
brand new machine in our Bibra Lake facility which will be capable
of testing at full production rates, allowing us to give customers “The smaller gold miners are looking
a much better feel for the benefits they can enjoy from the at the benefits of removing waste
technology.” from their run-of-mine production
Australian miners are traditionally cautious adopters of new
technology but STEINERT is prepared to walk clients through the and our technology… has the
various steps to identify the full benefits of ore sorting. potential to unlock value. It can help
“We have two machines for hire so if companies still don’t have a turn marginal orebodies into very
good feel for the benefits, especially if they have variable ore types,
they can rent a unit for a few months at a time,” van Zyl says. “Our profitable ones.”
Australian miners’ adoption Australian mining has always had a complicated relationship with ore team can help the client fine-tune the process, working on the
of ore sorting technology sorting but the major advances of the last decade mean the technology is machines algorithms to identify the optimal settings for specific At Diggers and Dealers Peter Fenby and Gideon van Wyk will be
ore types.”
much changed since the early trials of the 1970s and 1980s.
available for meetings. Please contact on: Peter Fenby – Senior Business
continues to grow and “Unfortunately, those early attempts at ore sorting were unsuccessful and STEINERT is also receiving interest from companies eager to Development Mining (+61 417 437 230/fenby@steinert.com.au) and
Steinert Australia is at the it put people off so it has taken a long time for people to come around improve economics prior to development. Gideon van Wyk – WA Regional Manager (+61 488 900 450/vanwyk@
steinert.com.au)
heart of the revolution. again. But, we have seen a huge uptake in the last three years, especially in “We are generating interest from companies still in the About STEINERT Australia
development phase which is something we welcome because we
high-value commodities such as gold but also in nickel and lithium as well,”
STEINERT Australia managing director Johan van Zyl says. can definitely help in that pre-production period,” van Zyl says. “If
STEINERT Australia’s headquarters on the east coast of Australia, Melbourne-
STEINERT’s entry point into the Australia resources market was via low- companies develop a flow sheet which includes ore sorting from based Bayswater, has the manufacturing facilities for all of the magnetic
grade stockpiles with the sorting technology capable of removing waste the start it can only benefit us both.” separation requirements it is known for, as well as supplying the latest in
before processing, resulting in upgraded material going through the plant. Introducing ore sorting can also have benefits which extend sensor sorting equipment from Germany. The Western Australian office
At the Flying Fox nickel mine in Western Australia, Western Areas Ltd was beyond increased head grades. and test centre base that provides sensor sorting technologies for the mining
able to produce a low-cost ore feed for the mill from 170,000t of previously “There are many economic benefits when introducing the regions around Australia, alongside our long-standing magnetic separation
disregarded low-grade material, allowing the company to achieve its blended process,” van Zyl says. “Rejecting waste material frees up capacity agent on the west coast – Sanwest (www.sanwest.com.au/sanwest_product_
grade of 4-5% nickel. in the plant and allows operators to increase mining rates. There category/magnets). Our extended capabilities include the supply of products
and the customer service in Australia for two other well-known German brands
While application in low-grade stockpiles is still growing van Zyl is also seeing is also a direct cost benefit resulting from less tailings, less energy in the mineral processing industry – HAZEMAG (sizers, roll crushers, hammer mills,
a shift towards miners using STEINERT ore sorters in conventional flow sheets. consumption and less haulage, especially if you do in-pit sorting impact roll crushers, dryers, roller screens, apron feeders, chain conveyors) and
“The smaller gold miners are looking at the benefits of removing waste at satellite deposits. allmineral (specialising in gravity separation using wet/dry jigging technology
from their run-of-mine production and our technology really helps with “We have developed a tool to help customers calculate the (alljig & allair), classification technology (allflux).
that,” he says. “It has the potential to unlock value throughout an operation financial benefit they can receive from introducing the ore For more information please go to www.steinert.com.au
by reducing upfront waste. It can help turn marginal orebodies into very sorter. We will go through existing models, find out what sort
profitable ones.” of upgrade we can get and include cash flow generation to
All new technology needs an early supporter and STEINERT has found its show the savings and what increased mining rates would
do to projected cash flow.”
champion in the shape of gold producer Pantoro Ltd and the remarkable
success it has enjoyed by applying ore sorting on its Nicolsons mine in WA. While mining has been slower to adopt ore sorting,
Pantoro installed the STEINERT ore sorter as part of a wider processing plant industries such as waste management and metals recycling
upgrade and has reaped the benefits over the last 18 months, according to have become increasingly reliant on its technological
managing director Paul Cmrlec. advances. Van Zyl said the company’s experience in other
sectors placed it at the forefront of R&D in sorting.
“It was installed to remove waste from the mill feed and has resulted in 40-
60% of the feed being removed as waste,” Cmrlec said at last year’s Diggers “Our sensing technology is well known and we can sort
& Dealers. “That means more gold being milled without increasing mill using a combination of sensors in one machine – using
capacity.” NIR, induction, x-ray transmission, x-ray fluorescence,
Colour and 3D detection. It is a significant advantage
www.steinert.com.au of the STEINERT machines.
Steinert offers Pantoro was one of several miners to extoll the virtues of ore
sorting at Diggers & Dealers, marking a step-change from the
scepticism which has long surrounded the technology.
to sort out “We have had a few people say to us ‘it didn’t work in the 90s
so why would it work now?’ But, you just have to consider
the computing technology advances since then to realise the
industry differences,” Cmrlec said. “We have gone back to samples from 6-7 years ago using the
Speaking following Pantoro’s March quarterly results were
multiple sensor technology and haven’t found an ore yet that we
announced, Cmrlec was confident further success could be
generated by the STEINERT sorter. can’t process. It opens up lots of possibilities for customers.”
While junior miners have been the most enthusiastic adopters of
“Ore sorting has continued to operate as expected on site and will ore sorting technology, van Zyl envisages a time when all miners
positively contribute to production increases as additional ore feed will look to utilise the process.
is able to be sourced,” he said. “The ore sorter will come into its “Initially it was small miners looking to unlock latent value who
own as we ramp up production from both Nicolsons and Wagtail.” adopted the technology but as the larger miners see its success
Such is the interest from industry, STEINERT has expanded its test they take interest. I think within 10 years it will be standard
facilities in the Perth suburb of Bibra Lake. technology in all new processing flowsheets.”
“We were struggling to keep up,” van Zyl says. “But now we have a
brand new machine in our Bibra Lake facility which will be capable
of testing at full production rates, allowing us to give customers “The smaller gold miners are looking
a much better feel for the benefits they can enjoy from the at the benefits of removing waste
technology.” from their run-of-mine production
Australian miners are traditionally cautious adopters of new
technology but STEINERT is prepared to walk clients through the and our technology… has the
various steps to identify the full benefits of ore sorting. potential to unlock value. It can help
“We have two machines for hire so if companies still don’t have a turn marginal orebodies into very
good feel for the benefits, especially if they have variable ore types,
they can rent a unit for a few months at a time,” van Zyl says. “Our profitable ones.”
Australian miners’ adoption Australian mining has always had a complicated relationship with ore team can help the client fine-tune the process, working on the
of ore sorting technology sorting but the major advances of the last decade mean the technology is machines algorithms to identify the optimal settings for specific At Diggers and Dealers Peter Fenby and Gideon van Wyk will be
ore types.”
much changed since the early trials of the 1970s and 1980s.
available for meetings. Please contact on: Peter Fenby – Senior Business
continues to grow and “Unfortunately, those early attempts at ore sorting were unsuccessful and STEINERT is also receiving interest from companies eager to Development Mining (+61 417 437 230/fenby@steinert.com.au) and
Steinert Australia is at the it put people off so it has taken a long time for people to come around improve economics prior to development. Gideon van Wyk – WA Regional Manager (+61 488 900 450/vanwyk@
steinert.com.au)
heart of the revolution. again. But, we have seen a huge uptake in the last three years, especially in “We are generating interest from companies still in the About STEINERT Australia
development phase which is something we welcome because we
high-value commodities such as gold but also in nickel and lithium as well,”
STEINERT Australia managing director Johan van Zyl says. can definitely help in that pre-production period,” van Zyl says. “If
STEINERT Australia’s headquarters on the east coast of Australia, Melbourne-
STEINERT’s entry point into the Australia resources market was via low- companies develop a flow sheet which includes ore sorting from based Bayswater, has the manufacturing facilities for all of the magnetic
grade stockpiles with the sorting technology capable of removing waste the start it can only benefit us both.” separation requirements it is known for, as well as supplying the latest in
before processing, resulting in upgraded material going through the plant. Introducing ore sorting can also have benefits which extend sensor sorting equipment from Germany. The Western Australian office
At the Flying Fox nickel mine in Western Australia, Western Areas Ltd was beyond increased head grades. and test centre base that provides sensor sorting technologies for the mining
able to produce a low-cost ore feed for the mill from 170,000t of previously “There are many economic benefits when introducing the regions around Australia, alongside our long-standing magnetic separation
disregarded low-grade material, allowing the company to achieve its blended process,” van Zyl says. “Rejecting waste material frees up capacity agent on the west coast – Sanwest (www.sanwest.com.au/sanwest_product_
grade of 4-5% nickel. in the plant and allows operators to increase mining rates. There category/magnets). Our extended capabilities include the supply of products
and the customer service in Australia for two other well-known German brands
While application in low-grade stockpiles is still growing van Zyl is also seeing is also a direct cost benefit resulting from less tailings, less energy in the mineral processing industry – HAZEMAG (sizers, roll crushers, hammer mills,
a shift towards miners using STEINERT ore sorters in conventional flow sheets. consumption and less haulage, especially if you do in-pit sorting impact roll crushers, dryers, roller screens, apron feeders, chain conveyors) and
“The smaller gold miners are looking at the benefits of removing waste at satellite deposits. allmineral (specialising in gravity separation using wet/dry jigging technology
from their run-of-mine production and our technology really helps with “We have developed a tool to help customers calculate the (alljig & allair), classification technology (allflux).
that,” he says. “It has the potential to unlock value throughout an operation financial benefit they can receive from introducing the ore For more information please go to www.steinert.com.au
by reducing upfront waste. It can help turn marginal orebodies into very sorter. We will go through existing models, find out what sort
profitable ones.” of upgrade we can get and include cash flow generation to
All new technology needs an early supporter and STEINERT has found its show the savings and what increased mining rates would
do to projected cash flow.”
champion in the shape of gold producer Pantoro Ltd and the remarkable
success it has enjoyed by applying ore sorting on its Nicolsons mine in WA. While mining has been slower to adopt ore sorting,
Pantoro installed the STEINERT ore sorter as part of a wider processing plant industries such as waste management and metals recycling
upgrade and has reaped the benefits over the last 18 months, according to have become increasingly reliant on its technological
managing director Paul Cmrlec. advances. Van Zyl said the company’s experience in other
sectors placed it at the forefront of R&D in sorting.
“It was installed to remove waste from the mill feed and has resulted in 40-
60% of the feed being removed as waste,” Cmrlec said at last year’s Diggers “Our sensing technology is well known and we can sort
& Dealers. “That means more gold being milled without increasing mill using a combination of sensors in one machine – using
capacity.” NIR, induction, x-ray transmission, x-ray fluorescence,
Colour and 3D detection. It is a significant advantage
www.steinert.com.au of the STEINERT machines.
www.tpenergygroup.com
Bringing energy With the region tightly held, TP Energy Hutchison’s familiarity with the region plus the new age “The follow-up down-hole EM was very supportive of the drill
holes and we are very confident this has potential to turn into
appears to be making the most of its
technology and fine-tuned techniques being carved has TP
real estate at Kathleen Valley with two Energy in a strong position to reveal the true potential of something of reasonable scale,” Hutchison said.
holes drilled to date confirming the Kathleen Valley, north of Leinster. Given surrounding mines in the region occur at depths of about
to Kathleen Valley company is in the right address. “The ground has always been unavailable because it was an 400m, mineralisation struck at Kathleen Valley at 60-100m
below surface is providing much encouragement for TP Energy.
A 4m composite sample at the top of
area of cultural significance, which has now been resolved
the KVRC001 intersection returned with the Traditional Owners. It is in the right area, near a main “It is open in all directions and has considerable width, so we
2.51 g/t gold and also included 13m highway, power, gas and accommodating infrastructure; if are confident it is not a small system,” the company has stated.
Exploration has been revived in the Kathleen Valley region from 132-145m @ 1.65 g/t gold, 3.05 g/t you were going to make a discovery it is in the right address,”
of Western Australia courtesy of successes by Bellevue silver and 1.75% zinc, while KVRC002 Hutchison said.
returned 12m from 109-121m for 0.51 g/t “It has been devoid of exploration for 20 plus years since
Gold Ltd and Liontown Resources Ltd. gold, 3.67 g/t silver and 1.15% zinc. Barrick Gold last explored the ground. There’s no favourable
While the results warrant follow up outcropping units, no structural exposure and based on Best intervals for each of the metals in KVRC002 include 3m @ 1.03
g/t gold from 114-117m (including 1m @ 1.33 g/t from 115m); 12m @
and the company is primed to pull the walking the ground you can’t see it [mineralisation]. But, 3.67 g/t silver from 109-121m ( including 1m @ 20.7 g/t silver from
Joining the party is TP Energy Group trigger on a third hole, a decision on geophysics and EM has allowed us to make the breakthroughs 114m) 2m @ 3.88% zinc from 119-121m (including 1m @ 6.18% from
Ltd which has entered the mineral rich how the private entity will enter the we have and Kathleen Valley has everything to make a project 119m) and 1m @ 0.46% lead from 114-115m
area on the back of a postage stamp- public sphere is in the making. work.”
sized land package where a blind zinc- In the meantime, TP Energy has Furthermore, Hutchison said the board was genuine in its
gold-silver VMS-style system has been compiled a team of well-known industry ambitions and determined to achieve what they set out to do.
discovered at Kathleen Valley. people headed by the likes of Arthur As the company plots its next steps, DHTEM results have
TP Energy’s Kathleen Valley project Darivas (Director and Chief Executive backed up the two-hole drilling programme
maybe located within one of the world’s Officer), while the technical clout is suggesting that there is potential for a significant
most prolific mineral belts worth an being delivered by Ian Plimer, Russel mineralised system at Kathleen Valley.
estimated $US100 billion, however, the Mortimer from Southern Geoscience
7sq km holding the company holds has and Ashley Hood.
been bereft of exploration for over 20 A boon for the company has been
years. acquiring the services of West Australian
During this period the likes of BHP Ltd geologist Neil Hutchison to its expert
and Western Areas Ltd have kept the advisory board.
region alight with their respective nickel Hutchison played an integral role in
exploits, while Bellevue and Liontown the development of the Cosmos nickel
have generated significant exploration project while at Jubilee Mines, which
momentum in recent times. was subject to acquisition by Xstrata.
TP Energy’s presence in a prolific
belt commodity rich belt of
Western Australia
Best intervals for each of the metals within the KVRC001 mineralised zone included 11m @ 1.9
g/t gold from 132-143m (including 1m @ 4.04 g/t from 140m); 9m @ 4.01 g/t silver from 136-145m
(including 1m @ 7.38 g/t from 140m); 5m @ 3.88% zinc from 137-142m (including 1m @ 8.82% zinc
from 137m) and 7m @ 0.1% copper from 137-144m (including 1m @ 0.2% from 137m)
www.tpenergygroup.com
Bringing energy With the region tightly held, TP Energy Hutchison’s familiarity with the region plus the new age “The follow-up down-hole EM was very supportive of the drill
holes and we are very confident this has potential to turn into
appears to be making the most of its
technology and fine-tuned techniques being carved has TP
real estate at Kathleen Valley with two Energy in a strong position to reveal the true potential of something of reasonable scale,” Hutchison said.
holes drilled to date confirming the Kathleen Valley, north of Leinster. Given surrounding mines in the region occur at depths of about
to Kathleen Valley company is in the right address. “The ground has always been unavailable because it was an 400m, mineralisation struck at Kathleen Valley at 60-100m
below surface is providing much encouragement for TP Energy.
A 4m composite sample at the top of
area of cultural significance, which has now been resolved
the KVRC001 intersection returned with the Traditional Owners. It is in the right area, near a main “It is open in all directions and has considerable width, so we
2.51 g/t gold and also included 13m highway, power, gas and accommodating infrastructure; if are confident it is not a small system,” the company has stated.
Exploration has been revived in the Kathleen Valley region from 132-145m @ 1.65 g/t gold, 3.05 g/t you were going to make a discovery it is in the right address,”
of Western Australia courtesy of successes by Bellevue silver and 1.75% zinc, while KVRC002 Hutchison said.
returned 12m from 109-121m for 0.51 g/t “It has been devoid of exploration for 20 plus years since
Gold Ltd and Liontown Resources Ltd. gold, 3.67 g/t silver and 1.15% zinc. Barrick Gold last explored the ground. There’s no favourable
While the results warrant follow up outcropping units, no structural exposure and based on Best intervals for each of the metals in KVRC002 include 3m @ 1.03
g/t gold from 114-117m (including 1m @ 1.33 g/t from 115m); 12m @
and the company is primed to pull the walking the ground you can’t see it [mineralisation]. But, 3.67 g/t silver from 109-121m ( including 1m @ 20.7 g/t silver from
Joining the party is TP Energy Group trigger on a third hole, a decision on geophysics and EM has allowed us to make the breakthroughs 114m) 2m @ 3.88% zinc from 119-121m (including 1m @ 6.18% from
Ltd which has entered the mineral rich how the private entity will enter the we have and Kathleen Valley has everything to make a project 119m) and 1m @ 0.46% lead from 114-115m
area on the back of a postage stamp- public sphere is in the making. work.”
sized land package where a blind zinc- In the meantime, TP Energy has Furthermore, Hutchison said the board was genuine in its
gold-silver VMS-style system has been compiled a team of well-known industry ambitions and determined to achieve what they set out to do.
discovered at Kathleen Valley. people headed by the likes of Arthur As the company plots its next steps, DHTEM results have
TP Energy’s Kathleen Valley project Darivas (Director and Chief Executive backed up the two-hole drilling programme
maybe located within one of the world’s Officer), while the technical clout is suggesting that there is potential for a significant
most prolific mineral belts worth an being delivered by Ian Plimer, Russel mineralised system at Kathleen Valley.
estimated $US100 billion, however, the Mortimer from Southern Geoscience
7sq km holding the company holds has and Ashley Hood.
been bereft of exploration for over 20 A boon for the company has been
years. acquiring the services of West Australian
During this period the likes of BHP Ltd geologist Neil Hutchison to its expert
and Western Areas Ltd have kept the advisory board.
region alight with their respective nickel Hutchison played an integral role in
exploits, while Bellevue and Liontown the development of the Cosmos nickel
have generated significant exploration project while at Jubilee Mines, which
momentum in recent times. was subject to acquisition by Xstrata.
TP Energy’s presence in a prolific
belt commodity rich belt of
Western Australia
Best intervals for each of the metals within the KVRC001 mineralised zone included 11m @ 1.9
g/t gold from 132-143m (including 1m @ 4.04 g/t from 140m); 9m @ 4.01 g/t silver from 136-145m
(including 1m @ 7.38 g/t from 140m); 5m @ 3.88% zinc from 137-142m (including 1m @ 8.82% zinc
from 137m) and 7m @ 0.1% copper from 137-144m (including 1m @ 0.2% from 137m)
Faster Assay Results From a Growing
Global Network
MSALABS, a global geochemical analysis laboratory company, has a
global partnership agreement with Chrysos Corporation (Chrysos) for the
deployment of their groundbreaking PhotonAssay units around the world.
FASTER, SAFER AND MORE ACCURATE RAPID LABORATORY EXPANSION
Development of the regional geochemical testing laboratory MSALABS is continuing to expand its geographic footprint,
hub in Saudi Arabia, a partnership with Modern Mining with a several new laboratories due to commence operations
Testing Company Limited, is also progressing well and will be in the second half of this year.
the company’s first laboratory in the Middle East.
In addition to new laboratories at Shanta Gold’s West Kenya
TM
Chrysos PhotonAssay is the groundbreaking assay Project in Kenya and Val d’Or which opened earlier this year,
MSALABS Val d’Or laboratory in Canada MSALABS Bulyanhulu laboratory in Tanzania
technology providing more accurate analysis of gold, silver, MSALABS will commission four new commercial labs Marsa
copper and other elements. It dramatically improves the Alam (Egypt), Bougouni (Mali), Timmins (Canada) and Kankan
all-important turnaround time for results, which are available (Guinea) and an on-site lab at Kibali (DRC) by the end of the MAINTAINING VITAL HIGH-QUALITY CONTACT
STANDARDS
in hours, not days or weeks, and is a significantly more year.
For more information, please contact your local MSALABS
environmentally-friendly alternative to fire assay on-site and in
The new labs will increase analysis capabilities and capacity Providing high-quality sample preparation and analysis representative:
the laboratory.
across multiple services providing benefits for explorers and results to ensure clients get quality data for their decision East Africa and MENA:
The PhotonAssay technology delivers multiple benefits to miners across these regions. making are of utmost importance to MSALABS. The company Stephen Southern - stephen.southern@msalabs.com
exploration and mining companies. By keeping pace with has both ISO 17025 (Testing and Calibration Laboratories)
The Marsa Alam lab will be the first commercial Fire Assay lab
the dynamic nature of these operations, it enhances timely, accreditation and ISO 9001 (Quality Management Systems) West Africa:
in Egypt, which will have a significant impact on the efficiency
critical decision making, while improving operational, ESG certification and has recently completed ISO 14001 Francis Donkor-Baah - francis.donkor-baah@msalabs.com
of programs in the region, where geologists will now have
and bottom-line outcomes. (Environmental Management) and ISO 45001 (Health and Americas:
the data to make their decisions on the next hole without
Safe Management) audits. It continually participates in Dave Kwok – david.kwok@msalabs.com
The global partnership with Chrysos sees MSALABS guessing or waiting for results.
industry Proficiency Testing with AMIS, CDN Resource,
deploying units across its worldwide laboratory operations, Global Business Development:
In Mali, the new Bougouni lab will provide sample preparation Geostats, Oreas, PTP-MAL, Qotho and Rocklabs.
having established the first unit outside Australia at Barrick’s George Siasios – george.siasios@msalabs.com
services and Lithium capability supporting growth of Lithium
Bulyanhulu Gold Mine in Tanzania in October last year. The As part of MSALABS’ continuous improvement initiaitves, the
mining in the area, while the Kankan lab in Guinea will provide
company now has a unit operating at its new laboratory hub lab in Langley, Canada, has successfully extended the
sample preparation and Fire Assay services. The hub lab
in Val d’Or, Canada and at the Morila Gold Mine in Mali. accredited scope with 28 additional methods, also available
in Yamoussoukro will support all labs in the region with
MSALABS will soon install a further three units including at to African customers. It is also in the process of rolling out
additional services and capacity.
their Yamoussoukro lab in Cote d’Ivoire, Barrick’s Kibali Gold accreditation status to labs in Africa over the next 18 months.
Mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and in With the rapid expansion underway in West Africa, the
Timmins, Canada. company has also welcomed a new General Manager for the
region. Francis Donker-Baah recently joined the company and
will be leading this ongoing growth in the laboratory network MSALABS rapid expansion of its laboratory
The PhotonAssay method is an and installation of further Chrysos units in the future. network across Africa and Canada will
environmentally friendly replacement expand the range of services and capacity
for fire assay - it delivers more accurate available to clients in those regions.
results, faster and safer.
www.msalabs.com
Faster Assay Results From a Growing
Global Network
MSALABS, a global geochemical analysis laboratory company, has a
global partnership agreement with Chrysos Corporation (Chrysos) for the
deployment of their groundbreaking PhotonAssay units around the world.
FASTER, SAFER AND MORE ACCURATE RAPID LABORATORY EXPANSION
Development of the regional geochemical testing laboratory MSALABS is continuing to expand its geographic footprint,
hub in Saudi Arabia, a partnership with Modern Mining with a several new laboratories due to commence operations
Testing Company Limited, is also progressing well and will be in the second half of this year.
the company’s first laboratory in the Middle East.
In addition to new laboratories at Shanta Gold’s West Kenya
TM
Chrysos PhotonAssay is the groundbreaking assay Project in Kenya and Val d’Or which opened earlier this year,
MSALABS Val d’Or laboratory in Canada MSALABS Bulyanhulu laboratory in Tanzania
technology providing more accurate analysis of gold, silver, MSALABS will commission four new commercial labs Marsa
copper and other elements. It dramatically improves the Alam (Egypt), Bougouni (Mali), Timmins (Canada) and Kankan
all-important turnaround time for results, which are available (Guinea) and an on-site lab at Kibali (DRC) by the end of the MAINTAINING VITAL HIGH-QUALITY CONTACT
STANDARDS
in hours, not days or weeks, and is a significantly more year.
For more information, please contact your local MSALABS
environmentally-friendly alternative to fire assay on-site and in
The new labs will increase analysis capabilities and capacity Providing high-quality sample preparation and analysis representative:
the laboratory.
across multiple services providing benefits for explorers and results to ensure clients get quality data for their decision East Africa and MENA:
The PhotonAssay technology delivers multiple benefits to miners across these regions. making are of utmost importance to MSALABS. The company Stephen Southern - stephen.southern@msalabs.com
exploration and mining companies. By keeping pace with has both ISO 17025 (Testing and Calibration Laboratories)
The Marsa Alam lab will be the first commercial Fire Assay lab
the dynamic nature of these operations, it enhances timely, accreditation and ISO 9001 (Quality Management Systems) West Africa:
in Egypt, which will have a significant impact on the efficiency
critical decision making, while improving operational, ESG certification and has recently completed ISO 14001 Francis Donkor-Baah - francis.donkor-baah@msalabs.com
of programs in the region, where geologists will now have
and bottom-line outcomes. (Environmental Management) and ISO 45001 (Health and Americas:
the data to make their decisions on the next hole without
Safe Management) audits. It continually participates in Dave Kwok – david.kwok@msalabs.com
The global partnership with Chrysos sees MSALABS guessing or waiting for results.
industry Proficiency Testing with AMIS, CDN Resource,
deploying units across its worldwide laboratory operations, Global Business Development:
In Mali, the new Bougouni lab will provide sample preparation Geostats, Oreas, PTP-MAL, Qotho and Rocklabs.
having established the first unit outside Australia at Barrick’s George Siasios – george.siasios@msalabs.com
services and Lithium capability supporting growth of Lithium
Bulyanhulu Gold Mine in Tanzania in October last year. The As part of MSALABS’ continuous improvement initiaitves, the
mining in the area, while the Kankan lab in Guinea will provide
company now has a unit operating at its new laboratory hub lab in Langley, Canada, has successfully extended the
sample preparation and Fire Assay services. The hub lab
in Val d’Or, Canada and at the Morila Gold Mine in Mali. accredited scope with 28 additional methods, also available
in Yamoussoukro will support all labs in the region with
MSALABS will soon install a further three units including at to African customers. It is also in the process of rolling out
additional services and capacity.
their Yamoussoukro lab in Cote d’Ivoire, Barrick’s Kibali Gold accreditation status to labs in Africa over the next 18 months.
Mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and in With the rapid expansion underway in West Africa, the
Timmins, Canada. company has also welcomed a new General Manager for the
region. Francis Donker-Baah recently joined the company and
will be leading this ongoing growth in the laboratory network MSALABS rapid expansion of its laboratory
The PhotonAssay method is an and installation of further Chrysos units in the future. network across Africa and Canada will
environmentally friendly replacement expand the range of services and capacity
for fire assay - it delivers more accurate available to clients in those regions.
results, faster and safer.
www.msalabs.com
“Capital is one of the most
professional companies in this
business. They are doing a
great job of looking after their
employees and educating
them, giving benefits to locals
working in Egypt. They are
Building Value for Local Communities developing Africa and Africans
in the best interests of the
mining industry in this part of
Capital Limited (Capital) commenced drilling in Tanzania, in 2005. While the Ambassador Ami Ramadhan Mpungwe Khaled Mortagy chairs Capital’s Egyptian the world.”
chairs Capital’s Tanzanian subsidiary CMS subsidiary Capital Drilling (Egypt) Ltd
company has expanded across Africa since then, it continues to place the highest (Tanzania) Limited and its JV Training Khaled Mortagy
Academy, IACA
priority on the development and eduction of its National employees and ensuring its
operations contribute to the local communities where it operates.
PROFILE well as the Certificate of Recognition business which he sold to Compass
AFRICAN PERSPECTIVE
Providing employment opportunities, education and career by the Organisation of African Unity Group PLC, the largest foodservice
development pathways for local employees ensures AMBASSADOR AMI (OAU) for his “Important Contribution company in the world. He continued to
Capital ensures that it involves highly respected African RAMADHAN MPUNGWE
that sustained value can be delivered throughout local in facilitating the Inter-Rwandese work as MENA Manager for Compass,
business professionals within its organisation to provide
communities and economies. negotiations, culminating in the Arusha honing his corporate expertise and
advice and input on its operations, policies and procedures to Chairman of CMS (Tanzania) Limited
The company employs a range of initiatives to do this, provide the best outcomes for the local communities. and IACA Training Academy Peace Agreement of 4th August 1993” skills and continuing his success by
expanding their market share in Egypt
including its National Labour Development plan, incorporating After 25 years of distinguished
The company’s Tanzanian subsidiary, CMS (Tanzania) Limited Ambassador Mpungwe is the from 2% to nearly 60% and revenue
a ‘Manager as Coach’ program to develop suitable skills service, Ambassador Mpungwe took
is chaired by retired diplomat, Ambassador Ami Ramadhan Chairperson of Capital’s Tanzanian from £3.3 million to £500 million.
and qualifications to enable locals to replace expatriate a voluntary retirement to join the
Mpungwe, who also has extensive business interests across subsidiary, CMS (Tanzania) Limited,
employees across its operations. Private Sector where he has been Khaled is also a strong supporter of
a range of industries. a Joint Venture with local company
As a result of these programs, 89% of Capital’s employees CK Washirika. He is also Chairperson involved in a range of industries the professional Egyptian football
Additionally, the Egyptian subsidiary, Capital Drilling (Egypt)
are from local areas where it works, with up to 92% in its for Capital’s Joint Venture training including telecommunications, digital leagues and is a high-profile Board
Ltd, is chaired by Khaled Mortagy, a highly successful
Middle East North Africa (MENA) operations. academy, International Apprenticeship entertainment, freight, beverages, member and Treasurer of the Al Ahly
entrepreneur in the region. sugar, sustainable forestry, mining, Soccer Club. The club is one of the
and Competency Academy (IACA)
ESTABLISHING INTERNATIONALLY Ambassador Mpungwe and Khaled Mortagy which provides technical trades energy and banking. He has also held oldest in the Egyptian Premier League
ACCREDITED TRAINING FACILITIES training and internationally recognised Chairperson roles for the Tanzanian and the most successful Egyptian
provide invaluable direction and perspective qualifications for Tanzanians. Chamber of Mines, University of team in international competition
While Capital offers internal employment opportunities, it Dodoma Endowment Fund and today.
to ensure Capital realises its objectives
has expanded its commitment to developing local skills Ambassador Mpungwe is a highly been involved on the Council of the
of adding sustainable value to local He also undertakes a variety of
in mining and other industries through formalising a joint accomplished career diplomat University of Dar es Salaam.
communities who became Tanzania’s First High philanthropic work with local
venture partnership with International Apprenticeship and
Competency Academy (IACA) in Tanzania to provide technical Commissioner to South Africa in communities, and regularly provides
trades training and qualifications for Tanzanians. 1994. Prior to that, he held several PROFILE meals for those in need on the streets
high-profile diplomatic roles including of Cairo.
The Academy will offer apprenticeship programs and KHALED MORTAGY
Personal Assistant to the President As reflected by these contributions
accreditation for Levels 1-3 Technical Trades qualifications at
of the United Republic of Tanzania; Chairman of Capital Drilling (Egypt) to Egyptian society, Khaled is firmly
its network of technical training centres,
Private Secretary to the Chief aligned to Capital’s philosophy
Ltd
Courses offered by IACA will be accredited by the Secretary, Secretary to the Cabinet of working to benefit the local
Khaled Mortagy is Chairperson of
Engineering, Construction, Industry Training Board (ECITB) and Head of the Civil Service, and communities in Egypt through
Capital’s Egyptian subsidiary Capital
UK under its partnership with Safety Works. For the first Director of Africa and Middle East in employment and education. He
Drilling (Egypt) Ltd. He has been
time in the country, this will provide graduates with an the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the also values the company’s efforts
involved with Capital Egypt since
internationally recognised trade skill and international United Republic of Tanzania. in working closely with Government
its inception in 2005, assisting the
standard competency levels. authorities to grow the mining sector
His diplomatic contributions have company establish its operations in
Courses will also be accredited by the Tanzanian regulator, been recognised with the award of the the country and continuing to leverage and attract investors to the country.
namely National Council for Technical Education (NACTE) and ‘Order of Good Hope’, South Africa’s his expertise and profile to support its
Vocational Education Training Authority (VETA). Importantly, highest Award granted to foreign ongoing business development. info@capdrill.com
these centres will also offer skills assessment of the prior citizens for his service in liberating
learnings of thousands of existing Tanzanian trades people. South Africa and promoting closer ties Khaled is a highly successful www.capdrill.com
between Tanzania and South Africa, as entrepreneur. He founded a catering
“Capital is one of the most
professional companies in this
business. They are doing a
great job of looking after their
employees and educating
them, giving benefits to locals
working in Egypt. They are
Building Value for Local Communities developing Africa and Africans
in the best interests of the
mining industry in this part of
Capital Limited (Capital) commenced drilling in Tanzania, in 2005. While the Ambassador Ami Ramadhan Mpungwe Khaled Mortagy chairs Capital’s Egyptian the world.”
chairs Capital’s Tanzanian subsidiary CMS subsidiary Capital Drilling (Egypt) Ltd
company has expanded across Africa since then, it continues to place the highest (Tanzania) Limited and its JV Training Khaled Mortagy
Academy, IACA
priority on the development and eduction of its National employees and ensuring its
operations contribute to the local communities where it operates.
PROFILE well as the Certificate of Recognition business which he sold to Compass
AFRICAN PERSPECTIVE
Providing employment opportunities, education and career by the Organisation of African Unity Group PLC, the largest foodservice
development pathways for local employees ensures AMBASSADOR AMI (OAU) for his “Important Contribution company in the world. He continued to
Capital ensures that it involves highly respected African RAMADHAN MPUNGWE
that sustained value can be delivered throughout local in facilitating the Inter-Rwandese work as MENA Manager for Compass,
business professionals within its organisation to provide
communities and economies. negotiations, culminating in the Arusha honing his corporate expertise and
advice and input on its operations, policies and procedures to Chairman of CMS (Tanzania) Limited
The company employs a range of initiatives to do this, provide the best outcomes for the local communities. and IACA Training Academy Peace Agreement of 4th August 1993” skills and continuing his success by
expanding their market share in Egypt
including its National Labour Development plan, incorporating After 25 years of distinguished
The company’s Tanzanian subsidiary, CMS (Tanzania) Limited Ambassador Mpungwe is the from 2% to nearly 60% and revenue
a ‘Manager as Coach’ program to develop suitable skills service, Ambassador Mpungwe took
is chaired by retired diplomat, Ambassador Ami Ramadhan Chairperson of Capital’s Tanzanian from £3.3 million to £500 million.
and qualifications to enable locals to replace expatriate a voluntary retirement to join the
Mpungwe, who also has extensive business interests across subsidiary, CMS (Tanzania) Limited,
employees across its operations. Private Sector where he has been Khaled is also a strong supporter of
a range of industries. a Joint Venture with local company
As a result of these programs, 89% of Capital’s employees CK Washirika. He is also Chairperson involved in a range of industries the professional Egyptian football
Additionally, the Egyptian subsidiary, Capital Drilling (Egypt)
are from local areas where it works, with up to 92% in its for Capital’s Joint Venture training including telecommunications, digital leagues and is a high-profile Board
Ltd, is chaired by Khaled Mortagy, a highly successful
Middle East North Africa (MENA) operations. academy, International Apprenticeship entertainment, freight, beverages, member and Treasurer of the Al Ahly
entrepreneur in the region. sugar, sustainable forestry, mining, Soccer Club. The club is one of the
and Competency Academy (IACA)
ESTABLISHING INTERNATIONALLY Ambassador Mpungwe and Khaled Mortagy which provides technical trades energy and banking. He has also held oldest in the Egyptian Premier League
ACCREDITED TRAINING FACILITIES training and internationally recognised Chairperson roles for the Tanzanian and the most successful Egyptian
provide invaluable direction and perspective qualifications for Tanzanians. Chamber of Mines, University of team in international competition
While Capital offers internal employment opportunities, it Dodoma Endowment Fund and today.
to ensure Capital realises its objectives
has expanded its commitment to developing local skills Ambassador Mpungwe is a highly been involved on the Council of the
of adding sustainable value to local He also undertakes a variety of
in mining and other industries through formalising a joint accomplished career diplomat University of Dar es Salaam.
communities who became Tanzania’s First High philanthropic work with local
venture partnership with International Apprenticeship and
Competency Academy (IACA) in Tanzania to provide technical Commissioner to South Africa in communities, and regularly provides
trades training and qualifications for Tanzanians. 1994. Prior to that, he held several PROFILE meals for those in need on the streets
high-profile diplomatic roles including of Cairo.
The Academy will offer apprenticeship programs and KHALED MORTAGY
Personal Assistant to the President As reflected by these contributions
accreditation for Levels 1-3 Technical Trades qualifications at
of the United Republic of Tanzania; Chairman of Capital Drilling (Egypt) to Egyptian society, Khaled is firmly
its network of technical training centres,
Private Secretary to the Chief aligned to Capital’s philosophy
Ltd
Courses offered by IACA will be accredited by the Secretary, Secretary to the Cabinet of working to benefit the local
Khaled Mortagy is Chairperson of
Engineering, Construction, Industry Training Board (ECITB) and Head of the Civil Service, and communities in Egypt through
Capital’s Egyptian subsidiary Capital
UK under its partnership with Safety Works. For the first Director of Africa and Middle East in employment and education. He
Drilling (Egypt) Ltd. He has been
time in the country, this will provide graduates with an the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the also values the company’s efforts
involved with Capital Egypt since
internationally recognised trade skill and international United Republic of Tanzania. in working closely with Government
its inception in 2005, assisting the
standard competency levels. authorities to grow the mining sector
His diplomatic contributions have company establish its operations in
Courses will also be accredited by the Tanzanian regulator, been recognised with the award of the the country and continuing to leverage and attract investors to the country.
namely National Council for Technical Education (NACTE) and ‘Order of Good Hope’, South Africa’s his expertise and profile to support its
Vocational Education Training Authority (VETA). Importantly, highest Award granted to foreign ongoing business development. info@capdrill.com
these centres will also offer skills assessment of the prior citizens for his service in liberating
learnings of thousands of existing Tanzanian trades people. South Africa and promoting closer ties Khaled is a highly successful www.capdrill.com
between Tanzania and South Africa, as entrepreneur. He founded a catering
CHARGING
THE CHANGE
“We said to ourselves ‘let’s employ the
whole team out of Ghana’ so we can show
support to the community”
A major resource upgrade and rampant spodumene concentrate “It takes off pressure of raising capital and mineralogy. The project is unique because it Lithium developers are coming under
is non dilutive to existing shareholders,
increased scrutiny for their performance
is so simple - that’s what drives the value.”
prices are about to transform the economics of Atlantic Lithium allowing us to focus on delivering results. Completion of the PFS will pave the way for across the ESG spectrum but Kolff is
confident Ewoyaa can deliver on every level.
Piedmont has been very supportive and
Ltd’s Ewoyaa project in Ghana, making it one of the most highly Atlantic Lithium is running the programmes the mining licence application to begin; a “The project has an extremely low
and study,” Kolff says. “They help us with
process which could take 12 months.
sought-after development assets in the global lithium space. learnings from their own project, so it is great Key to success in the approvals process will environmental impact and, because it is
essentially a dense media separation project,
to have them as a partner. It is in their interest
be winning the support of the community.
to see us succeed too.” Kolff believes Atlantic Lithium is already well it will be a lower power consumer,” he says.
advanced in this area. “We have grid power adjacent, largely
As well as calling on the Piedmont “For any project, community and social hydro and two 20MW solar plants 40km
experience, Atlantic Lithium can lean on performance is one of the most important away, so green energy is going to be a big
the lithium knowledge of Noel O’Brien and operational factors,” he says. “We said to tick with investors.
Atlantic Lithium – listed on AIM under the operation producing 300,000 tpa premium Steve Zaninovich.
Key Details ticker AIM: ALL and planning a listing spodumene concentrate, Life of Mine
on ASX – has already proven Ewoyaa’s revenues exceeding US$3.43bn, Post-tax “Both gentlemen have commissioned DMS “The project is unique because it is so simple -
AIM: ALL economic credentials with a robust Scoping NPV 8 of US$789m and an IRR of 194% lithium projects before and that is rare in
Study, released in 2021. Following a major over 11.4 years, on the back of a $70 million the lithium space, where a lot is driven by that’s what drives the value”
OTC: ALLIF drilling campaign last year, however, the capex investment. mineralogy.”
Website: www.atlanticlithium.com.au Company will release a PFS this quarter
LinkedIn: Atlantic Lithium Limited based on a significantly larger resource, Kolff says the updated study will likely In that regard, Atlantic Lithium is already ourselves ‘let’s employ the whole team out “It has been a challenging six months
while looking to further grow the resource to deliver an increased mine life and improved enjoying the advantages that Ewoyaa is of Ghana’ so we can show support to the since former CEO Vincent Mascolo sadly
Twitter: @AtlanticLithium
plug into a DFS next year. economics. presenting. community. Other than one expat on site, passed away, but the team is determined
the majority of the workforce come from to fulfil his vision and see the project reach
“The Scoping Study was completed last year “In terms of throughput, mine life will be “The metallurgical testwork has repeated the local community. There are not many production. I’ve been involved with several
and that is now being rolled into the PFS,” longer but 2 mtpa seems the sweet spot at very well on almost four times the sample operations which can say that.” projects in Africa and, with the support of the
An improvement to Interim CEO Len Kolff says. “The two major this stage. 37,000m of drilling is currently size. The process so far has been in line with Government, I think we are well on-track to
achieve our goal.”
underway, which will grow the resource,
expectations, which is testament to the simple
changes are the resource – up from 21Mt to
the economics and 30.1Mt – and the spodumene concentrate define measured resources and improve
confidence ahead of the DFS. There is
pricing used. It will be much higher than the
technical aspects $US900/t used in the Scoping Study - that already more than 20Mt in the Indicated
category, and the programme will infill the
is looking very conservative now. They’re
of Ewoyaa could economics.” Measured, as well as exploration step-
the two biggest levers on the project’s
first 1.5 years of planned production to
elevate it to the top of An improvement to the economics and out drilling which will hopefully add more
tonnes.”
technical aspects of Ewoyaa could elevate
the pegmatite lithium it to the top of the pegmatite lithium Atlantic Lithium is supported by NASDAQ-
development pack. development pack. listed Piedmont Lithium Ltd, which is backing “Green energy is going to be a big
the company through to production by
The December 2021 updated Scoping Study funding studies and $US70 million of capex.
indicated the project could host a 2 mtpa tick with investors”
CHARGING
THE CHANGE
“We said to ourselves ‘let’s employ the
whole team out of Ghana’ so we can show
support to the community”
A major resource upgrade and rampant spodumene concentrate “It takes off pressure of raising capital and mineralogy. The project is unique because it Lithium developers are coming under
increased scrutiny for their performance
is non dilutive to existing shareholders,
is so simple - that’s what drives the value.”
prices are about to transform the economics of Atlantic Lithium allowing us to focus on delivering results. Completion of the PFS will pave the way for across the ESG spectrum but Kolff is
Piedmont has been very supportive and
confident Ewoyaa can deliver on every level.
Ltd’s Ewoyaa project in Ghana, making it one of the most highly Atlantic Lithium is running the programmes the mining licence application to begin; a “The project has an extremely low
and study,” Kolff says. “They help us with
process which could take 12 months.
sought-after development assets in the global lithium space. learnings from their own project, so it is great Key to success in the approvals process will environmental impact and, because it is
be winning the support of the community.
essentially a dense media separation project,
to have them as a partner. It is in their interest
to see us succeed too.” Kolff believes Atlantic Lithium is already well it will be a lower power consumer,” he says.
advanced in this area. “We have grid power adjacent, largely
As well as calling on the Piedmont “For any project, community and social hydro and two 20MW solar plants 40km
experience, Atlantic Lithium can lean on performance is one of the most important away, so green energy is going to be a big
the lithium knowledge of Noel O’Brien and operational factors,” he says. “We said to tick with investors.
Atlantic Lithium – listed on AIM under the operation producing 300,000 tpa premium Steve Zaninovich.
Key Details ticker AIM: ALL and planning a listing spodumene concentrate, Life of Mine
on ASX – has already proven Ewoyaa’s revenues exceeding US$3.43bn, Post-tax “Both gentlemen have commissioned DMS “The project is unique because it is so simple -
AIM: ALL economic credentials with a robust Scoping NPV 8 of US$789m and an IRR of 194% lithium projects before and that is rare in
Study, released in 2021. Following a major over 11.4 years, on the back of a $70 million the lithium space, where a lot is driven by that’s what drives the value”
OTC: ALLIF drilling campaign last year, however, the capex investment. mineralogy.”
Website: www.atlanticlithium.com.au Company will release a PFS this quarter
LinkedIn: Atlantic Lithium Limited based on a significantly larger resource, Kolff says the updated study will likely In that regard, Atlantic Lithium is already ourselves ‘let’s employ the whole team out “It has been a challenging six months
while looking to further grow the resource to deliver an increased mine life and improved enjoying the advantages that Ewoyaa is of Ghana’ so we can show support to the since former CEO Vincent Mascolo sadly
Twitter: @AtlanticLithium
plug into a DFS next year. economics. presenting. community. Other than one expat on site, passed away, but the team is determined
the majority of the workforce come from to fulfil his vision and see the project reach
“The Scoping Study was completed last year “In terms of throughput, mine life will be “The metallurgical testwork has repeated the local community. There are not many production. I’ve been involved with several
and that is now being rolled into the PFS,” longer but 2 mtpa seems the sweet spot at very well on almost four times the sample operations which can say that.” projects in Africa and, with the support of the
An improvement to Interim CEO Len Kolff says. “The two major this stage. 37,000m of drilling is currently size. The process so far has been in line with Government, I think we are well on-track to
underway, which will grow the resource,
achieve our goal.”
expectations, which is testament to the simple
changes are the resource – up from 21Mt to
the economics and 30.1Mt – and the spodumene concentrate confidence ahead of the DFS. There is
define measured resources and improve
pricing used. It will be much higher than the
technical aspects $US900/t used in the Scoping Study - that category, and the programme will infill the
already more than 20Mt in the Indicated
is looking very conservative now. They’re
of Ewoyaa could the two biggest levers on the project’s first 1.5 years of planned production to
Measured, as well as exploration step-
economics.”
elevate it to the top of An improvement to the economics and out drilling which will hopefully add more
tonnes.”
the pegmatite lithium technical aspects of Ewoyaa could elevate Atlantic Lithium is supported by NASDAQ-
it to the top of the pegmatite lithium
development pack. development pack. listed Piedmont Lithium Ltd, which is backing “Green energy is going to be a big
the company through to production by
The December 2021 updated Scoping Study funding studies and $US70 million of capex.
indicated the project could host a 2 mtpa tick with investors”
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“A big well done to everyone involved in the of 675 “permanent” post tensioned reduction in carbon foot print. PMMs We look forward to working together
drilling program - the demonstration of proof ground anchors, 60 m deep at 30° are capable of delivering flows of to achieve your goals.
of concept for drilling long lateral wells. This in the mine wall. up to 300 L/s and 900 kW power.
type of drilling has never been done before,
and some thought it was not achievable.” Our digital team successfully develops
a coordinated automated water data
Confidential Client management system.
Devi, Haitham, Meretta, Adam, Kurt
and Gabriela warmly welcome you
CONTACT US Level 5 Telethon Avenue, Perth 6000 WA E: kdavey@slb.com P: +61 8 6208 3622 www.slb.com
MINING SOLUTIONS
Unlock the full potential of your resource with world class mining solutions.
We offer a range of technology driven solutions from exploration to production
which leverage our unique capabilities in geophysics, structural geology,
geochemistry, complex fluids, and digital modelling - to help you deliver mineral
discoveries, sustainable low cost mining and efficient project delivery.
Schlumberger is a project and technology How We Can Help
company with over 96 years of history in
providing customised products and service Carbon Capture and Sequestration
excellence for the resources sector. Supporting clients with their climate change
goals by delivering over 50 Carbon Capture Schlumberger successfully custom “Our people are
Operating for 20 years in Australia, and right and Sequestration projects worldwide. Trenchless Construction
here in Perth we are providing mining services Schlumberger advisory brings deep designs a carbon dioxide, corrosion working with
on technically challenging mining projects with Underground Mining experience in trenchless construction resistant cement Evercrete to withstand
turn-key solutions for resource development for complex infrastructure in rail, high levels of magnesium in brine and customers globally
supported by digital solutions. Assisting a tier 2 miner to develop and implement utilities, marine and energy industries. soil temperatures of 113 degC.
a complex block cave mining model. Schlumberger to optimise asset
With exploration budgets reaching a record digital expertise was sought out to develop a digital We provided advisory services for Dewatering Solutions
of AUD 1.9B in 2021, successful emerging twin of the mining operation to drive efficient and a complex infrastructure project An Indonesian mine was having performance and
mining companies need to be innovative safe mining operations. in New Zealand to overcome their a challenging time replacing their sustainability by
and focussed to make exciting new mineral challenges with drilling to move conventional industrial pumps which
discoveries whilst navigating shortages in Our feasibility study unlocked value for mine forward during construction. failed 2 to 6 weeks due to the inability combining deep
drilling rigs. Along with customised solutions expansion with faster underground construction to handle high temperatures. The domain knowledge
for your geophysical analysis, drilling needs opportunity and AUD 150M reduction in capital cost. Custom Fluids remote location of the site required
and digital modelling, we offer a range of Cloud Based Analytics An open pit mine site in PNG was the Indonesian Airforce to fly them in. and data science
tools and technologies, including real time struggling with the long-term
seismic, XRD and XRF mineral analysis at our Our digital team are assisting clients starting with durability of cement in the stressed Our high temperature rated electric expertise with
laboratory in Jandakot. a blank sheet of paper to map out their operations bond zone of ground anchors submersible pumps (ESP) arrived, advanced AI and
with a full cloud-based analytics tool. installed, and commissioned safely
at the interface with aggressive within 5 days, saving about AUD 2M
Innovative Drilling soil conditions. per year on replacement costs of one digital solutions.”
A mine expansion in Papua New Guinea (PNG) is The mine comprises a high wall conventional pump. Schlumberger
currently limited by the speed at which the ore body design, 200 to 300 m high in a section
can be cooled to a safe temperature for mining. of the existing open pit within the Schlumberger develops latest REDA
Schlumberger provides a customised drilling caldera of a recently extinct volcano. Permanent Magnet Motor (PMM)
solution which mitigates the issue. for bore pumps with proven energy
The sloping pit wall will comprise savings of 25% and a significant Thank you for reading our article.
“A big well done to everyone involved in the of 675 “permanent” post tensioned reduction in carbon foot print. PMMs We look forward to working together
drilling program - the demonstration of proof ground anchors, 60 m deep at 30° are capable of delivering flows of to achieve your goals.
of concept for drilling long lateral wells. This in the mine wall. up to 300 L/s and 900 kW power.
type of drilling has never been done before,
and some thought it was not achievable.” Our digital team successfully develops
a coordinated automated water data
Confidential Client management system.
Devi, Haitham, Meretta, Adam, Kurt
and Gabriela warmly welcome you
CONTACT US Level 5 Telethon Avenue, Perth 6000 WA E: kdavey@slb.com P: +61 8 6208 3622 www.slb.com
It may have a history dating reliability and integrity.
back more than 120 years In the modern era, however, stakeholders, investors
and customers require so much more and in recent
but innovation remains at years The Perth Mint has bolstered its ESG and
technological credentials.
Proudly taking reputation. Sustainability at its core
the heart of The Perth Mint’s
The Perth Mint
Last year The Perth Mint launched its inaugural
sustainability commitment which articulates the
Last year, The Perth Mint distributed pure gold, silver
Australian - Refined to and platinum bullion bars and coins to a staggering vision “to be the sustainability benchmark in the guidelines presented by the London Bullion Market
precious metals industry”.
130 countries and over 40,000 customers. With a
reputation built on more than a century of refining
The strategy was accompanied by a sustainability
and minting excellence, the mark of The Perth Mint
report that highlighted the Mint’s sustainability
Association and the Organisation for Economic
precious metals stands as a seal of quality and assurance. journey and its efforts around seven core ESG topics Cooperation and Development and customers are
– safety and wellbeing; anti-money laundering and
In a mining and investment world undergoing
assured that gold and silver passing through the
seismic change, The Perth Mint has recognised it
counter terrorism financing; waste and hazardous
perfection
refinery is from trustworthy sources and is certified
must innovate to remain relevant. New high-
materials management, ethical and sustainable
under the international Conflict-Free Smelter
supply chain; ethics and values; cyber, data and
tech equipment, an expanded silver facility and
to the world for a benchmark sustainability vision have all been privacy; and air emissions and quality. Program.
introduced to meet new consumer and investor
It is even more reason, says chief sustainability
The Perth Mint in 2022
expectations and retain its place as the gold mining
officer Stephanie Ward why mining clients can
industry’s most trusted partner.
In May, a new Chief Executive Officer, Jason Waters,
benefit from the learnings and experience of The
120 years The Perth Mint is Australia’s oldest operating Perth Mint’s journey as it works on targets across took the helm at The Perth Mint. Mr Waters
joined The Perth Mint with more than 30 years of
precious metals enterprise. Established in 1899
the ESG spectrum.
experience in the Western Australian energy sector,
– amid the early days of the Western Australian
“Miners who choose to work with us have the
having led Government Trading Enterprises Synergy
gold rush – the Mint continues to operate from
benefit of working with an organisation that is
its original premises in East Perth but is now a
vertically integrated group, operating across the striving to be a benchmark in sustainability and and Verve Energy.
Mr Waters is only the fourth CEO since the
transparent reporting,” she says. “They have access
entire precious metals value chain in refining, to our sustainability performance. So, mid-tier and organisation was established by the Gold
manufacturing, investment products and services, junior miners get the benefit of our relentless focus Corporation Act in 1987 – testament to the legacy
Through our trusted products and services we develop the and storage for customers and stakeholders on sustainability whether it be environmental, and stability of The Perth Mint.
around the world.
social or governance issues.”
This year, with new equipment and technologies
markets and create the demand for Australian precious metals. At the heart of The Perth Mint’s standing is its Among the initiatives is working with a leading- soon to be installed will see The Perth Mint continue
position as the world’s only government-owned edge technology specialist to develop the world’s to grow as a global leader and reliable partner in the
and guaranteed precious metals enterprise and first mine-to-market ethical gold supply chain precious metals sector.
From refining and assaying Australian gold to manufacturing for clients and stakeholders. This provides comfort assurance solution – trueGold. As the official forum awards sponsor for 21 years,
bullion bars and coins, and offering secure storage solutions and commercial certainty from its S&P AA+ rated Additionally, the organisation is investigating a The Perth Mint greatly values the opportunity to
Government guarantee.
and innovative digital gold platforms, we’re making gold and The Perth Mint also boasts one of the largest carbon offset initiative for transportation and is in join its many refinery clients in showcasing Western
Australia’s precious metals industry. Make sure you
discussions with partners to bring its sustainability
and best equipped laboratories in the southern vision to fruition. come and visit us as Stand 78, to see what’s on the
silver accessible assets to own. hemisphere. Accredited by the London Bullion horizon for The Perth Mint.
Market Association, The Perth Mint has some of Supply chain due diligence systems and procedures
are compliant with the responsible gold and silver
the highest standard of bullion analysis accuracy,
1899 – The Perth 1940-64 – The Perth 1966-73 – Australian 2000s – 8,400 sqm 2018 – Gold goes digital
Mint opened on 61st Mint produced currency flips to decimal, manufacturing and with digital buying,
anniversary of Queen hundreds of millions of 829 million 2c coins and 26 commercial facility selling and trading
Victoria’s Coronation Australia pennies million 1c coins produced opens next to historic platforms released by
by The Perth Mint Perth Mint in East Perth. The Perth Mint
1899-1931 – 106 million 1957 – Striking the 1987 – Gold Corporation 2012 – The Perth Mint 2021 – The Perth
gold sovereigns and purest gold: Six nines was created and Australian Kangaroo Mint’s Commitment
735,000 half sovereigns (999.999 parts of gold Australia’s official bullion One Tonne gold coin to Sustainability
produced per thousand) became coin programme began was awarded the title launched
The Perth Mint’s of ‘largest coin’ by the
A sponsor of the
benchmark standard Guinness World Records
Diggers & Dealers Mining Forum for 20 years.
perthmint.com/refine
MINT0128B-DPS_420x297mm Perth Mint DiggersDealers col press.indd 1 7/6/19 1:34 pm
It may have a history dating reliability and integrity.
back more than 120 years In the modern era, however, stakeholders, investors
and customers require so much more and in recent
but innovation remains at years The Perth Mint has bolstered its ESG and
technological credentials.
Proudly taking reputation. Sustainability at its core
the heart of The Perth Mint’s
The Perth Mint
Last year The Perth Mint launched its inaugural
sustainability commitment which articulates the
Last year, The Perth Mint distributed pure gold, silver
Australian - Refined to and platinum bullion bars and coins to a staggering vision “to be the sustainability benchmark in the guidelines presented by the London Bullion Market
precious metals industry”.
130 countries and over 40,000 customers. With a
reputation built on more than a century of refining
The strategy was accompanied by a sustainability
and minting excellence, the mark of The Perth Mint
report that highlighted the Mint’s sustainability
Association and the Organisation for Economic
precious metals stands as a seal of quality and assurance. journey and its efforts around seven core ESG topics Cooperation and Development and customers are
– safety and wellbeing; anti-money laundering and
In a mining and investment world undergoing
assured that gold and silver passing through the
seismic change, The Perth Mint has recognised it
counter terrorism financing; waste and hazardous
perfection
refinery is from trustworthy sources and is certified
must innovate to remain relevant. New high-
materials management, ethical and sustainable
under the international Conflict-Free Smelter
supply chain; ethics and values; cyber, data and
tech equipment, an expanded silver facility and
to the world for a benchmark sustainability vision have all been privacy; and air emissions and quality. Program.
introduced to meet new consumer and investor
It is even more reason, says chief sustainability
The Perth Mint in 2022
expectations and retain its place as the gold mining
officer Stephanie Ward why mining clients can
industry’s most trusted partner.
In May, a new Chief Executive Officer, Jason Waters,
benefit from the learnings and experience of The
120 years The Perth Mint is Australia’s oldest operating Perth Mint’s journey as it works on targets across took the helm at The Perth Mint. Mr Waters
joined The Perth Mint with more than 30 years of
precious metals enterprise. Established in 1899
the ESG spectrum.
experience in the Western Australian energy sector,
– amid the early days of the Western Australian
“Miners who choose to work with us have the
having led Government Trading Enterprises Synergy
gold rush – the Mint continues to operate from
benefit of working with an organisation that is
its original premises in East Perth but is now a
vertically integrated group, operating across the striving to be a benchmark in sustainability and and Verve Energy.
Mr Waters is only the fourth CEO since the
transparent reporting,” she says. “They have access
entire precious metals value chain in refining, to our sustainability performance. So, mid-tier and organisation was established by the Gold
manufacturing, investment products and services, junior miners get the benefit of our relentless focus Corporation Act in 1987 – testament to the legacy
Through our trusted products and services we develop the and storage for customers and stakeholders on sustainability whether it be environmental, and stability of The Perth Mint.
around the world.
social or governance issues.”
This year, with new equipment and technologies
markets and create the demand for Australian precious metals. At the heart of The Perth Mint’s standing is its Among the initiatives is working with a leading- soon to be installed will see The Perth Mint continue
position as the world’s only government-owned edge technology specialist to develop the world’s to grow as a global leader and reliable partner in the
and guaranteed precious metals enterprise and first mine-to-market ethical gold supply chain precious metals sector.
From refining and assaying Australian gold to manufacturing for clients and stakeholders. This provides comfort assurance solution – trueGold. As the official forum awards sponsor for 21 years,
bullion bars and coins, and offering secure storage solutions and commercial certainty from its S&P AA+ rated Additionally, the organisation is investigating a The Perth Mint greatly values the opportunity to
Government guarantee.
and innovative digital gold platforms, we’re making gold and The Perth Mint also boasts one of the largest carbon offset initiative for transportation and is in join its many refinery clients in showcasing Western
Australia’s precious metals industry. Make sure you
discussions with partners to bring its sustainability
and best equipped laboratories in the southern vision to fruition. come and visit us as Stand 78, to see what’s on the
silver accessible assets to own. hemisphere. Accredited by the London Bullion horizon for The Perth Mint.
Market Association, The Perth Mint has some of Supply chain due diligence systems and procedures
are compliant with the responsible gold and silver
the highest standard of bullion analysis accuracy,
1899 – The Perth 1940-64 – The Perth 1966-73 – Australian 2000s – 8,400 sqm 2018 – Gold goes digital
Mint opened on 61st Mint produced currency flips to decimal, manufacturing and with digital buying,
anniversary of Queen hundreds of millions of 829 million 2c coins and 26 commercial facility selling and trading
Victoria’s Coronation Australia pennies million 1c coins produced opens next to historic platforms released by
by The Perth Mint Perth Mint in East Perth. The Perth Mint
1899-1931 – 106 million 1957 – Striking the 1987 – Gold Corporation 2012 – The Perth Mint 2021 – The Perth
gold sovereigns and purest gold: Six nines was created and Australian Kangaroo Mint’s Commitment
735,000 half sovereigns (999.999 parts of gold Australia’s official bullion One Tonne gold coin to Sustainability
produced per thousand) became coin programme began was awarded the title launched
The Perth Mint’s of ‘largest coin’ by the
A sponsor of the
benchmark standard Guinness World Records
Diggers & Dealers Mining Forum for 20 years.
perthmint.com/refine
MINT0128B-DPS_420x297mm Perth Mint DiggersDealers col press.indd 1 7/6/19 1:34 pm
The Goldfields Soup Patrol Service
is a mobile food service in the
Goldfields, Western Australia,
that delivers essentials to those
Optimising against in need in the rural camps and
communities.
In collaboration with the Salvation
sloppy stoping Army, the van services around 9,000
residents who are either homeless,
at risk of homelessness, socially
disadvantaged or on low incomes.
In just a few years, Minnovare’s the Production Optimiser™ ents throughout the development process ensured we built the
has redefined drilling set up and execution in underground set- technology to meet each stakeholders’ needs, ensured it fitted Minnovare, along with a group
tings across the Australian mining industry. in with the mine’s current workflows and most importantly was of other local organisations, is
The Production Optimiser™ system combines hardware and simple and intuitive to use.” sponsoring the initiative to ensure
software to improve drilling efficiency and productivity in un- The results have been obvious. At Cracow, initial analysis
derground mines. Its patented Opti-Box technology calculates showed that in the previous alignment process only 20% of it can continue running. The
optimum boom dip and dump angles independent of on-board holes surveyed recorded toe points within the 300mm toler- sponsorships will help cover the run
inclinometer systems, reducing blast-hole deviation. ance blast-hole deviation. In contrast, the Production Opti- and maintenance costs of the van, the
A 2020 study conducted by Minnovare of down-hole surveys miser™ was proven to limit rig alignment error, reducing aver- partial wages of the volunteers, and
across 17 underground mines showed average deviation of age blast-hole deviation and increasing the number of holes the food and water supplies.
more than 5.8%. drilled within tolerance by 160%.
“Blast hole deviation is one of the primary causes of poor stop- Cracow – now owned by Aeris – has continued to utilise the The van will be servicing the
ing outcomes,” Minnovare director Mick Beilby says. “When we Production Optimiser™ with the operational team estimating a community at the time of the annual
started our analysis of blast holes, we saw a clear trend of error massive improvement in ounces recovered thanks to the more Diggers and Dealers conference, held
happening before the drill bit hit the rock face, which was the accurate stoping outcomes.
result of poor set-up. We identified that this error was contrib- “Before the introduction of the Production Optimiser™, very in Kalgoorlie from the August 1-3. With
uting to around 60% of the resulting error at the toe” Beilby narrow stopes [less than 1.5m] would have been uneconomi- the van patrolling the same area, the
said. “If we could improve the accuracy of the set-up, we could cal to mine,” Cracow senior mining engineer Thao Nguyen conference presents an important
improve the overall stope performance.” says. “In 2018, the majority of stope designs were 2.5-3.5m, opportunity to raise awareness of
The results have been warmly welcomed across an under- now they are 1.5-2.5m. Cracow has been able to recover $59 the disadvantaged communities that
ground mining industry which is eager to rectify the inefficiency million worth of ounces that were at risk due to the narrow vein reside nearby.
problems associated with blast hole deviation. nature of the stopes.”
The Production Optimiser™ is already being used in more Those figures have since been repeated at operations owned To many families and individuals in
than 30% of long-hole stoping operations across Australia – by Evolution, Gold Fields and at Northern Star Resources Ltd’s the area who are struggling to make
major clients include Northern Star Resources Ltd, Evolution Kalgoorlie operation where additional stoping efficiencies led
Mining Ltd and Aeris Resources Ltd – but the push to lower to 8,300oz being recovered in just one mine. ends meet, a cup of soup and a
mining costs in the underground environment means further The Production Optimiser™ technology can be retrofitted to packet of bread is warmly welcomed
take-up is likely. any underground production drill rig, regardless of age or style. when there are no other nutritious
Initial development trials were conducted in partnership with Crucially, it removes operator error, reliance on survey mark-up food services available. As part of
Evolution (at the Cracow gold mine in Queensland) and Gold and existing onboard systems from the set-up process. an ongoing commitment to its ESG
Fields Ltd (Granny Smith, in Western Australia) to refine the The Production Optimiser™ does exactly that. It is not reli- programme, Minnovare looks forward
technology for underground production scenarios. ant on survey, operators or existing onboard systems and is
“The approach we took when developing the technology has proven to reduce errors at set-up by 50-70%. For Beilby, it is Minnovare’s Production Optimiser™ is already being deployed to supporting the local Goldfields
also been a factor,” Beilby says. “Engaging with multiple cli- proof that deviation can be contained by improved set-up. in around 30% of long-hole stoping operations in Australia community as a sponsor of the soup
van initiative.
Mick Beilby “This was quite a contrarian view to what many in the industry driller and rig performance to be analysed. The system has will enable us to deliver our industry leading technology and
believed when we started to develop the technology,” he says. been well received by Production Optimiser™ clients with downstream benefits to mining companies across the world,”
“The assumption was that the majority of deviation occurred around 125,000m per month logged via Minnovare CORE and he says. “As part of Hexagon, Minnovare continues our focus
during the drilling process. We now have data which shows this 7 million total metres logged by Production Optimiser™ cli- on delivering value to our clients through the successful imple-
trend is clear and apparent all over the world. ents to date. mentation of our technologies, combined with ongoing service
“The results our customers have achieved post implementing The successful introduction of the Production Optimiser™ and support throughout the life of the contract. Being part of a
the Production Optimiser™ have shown a material reduction has not precluded Minnovare from continuing to refine the larger organisation also provides Minnovare with access to the
in blast hole deviation while also improving drilling consistency, technology. additional resources required to continue our current growth
leading to better blasting outcomes and reduced dilution, im- “We continue to invest significantly in R&D to provide custom- rate while maintaining the same quality, value and support for
proved recovery and better ore fragmentation.” ers with improvements in functionality and reliability and our our customers into the future.”
Analysis has also been made easier through the use of Min- business model means that both new and existing clients get
novare’s Client Online Reporting Engine (Minnovare CORE). the benefits from these improvements,” Beilby says.
Minnovare CORE is a proprietary software platform that inte- With Minnovare recently becoming part of the larger Hexagon
grates the company’s technology systems with third-party soft- Group, Beilby expects the Production Optimiser™ to expand
ware providers (as an example drill and blast design software) into international markets.
serving as a data hub for clients’ entire drilling operations. The lished global channels and an engaged customer base, which minnovare.com
“Being part of Hexagon has provided Minnovare with estab-
system includes reporting and analytics functionality, allowing
The Goldfields Soup Patrol Service
is a mobile food service in the
Goldfields, Western Australia,
that delivers essentials to those
Optimising against in need in the rural camps and
communities.
In collaboration with the Salvation
sloppy stoping Army, the van services around 9,000
residents who are either homeless,
at risk of homelessness, socially
disadvantaged or on low incomes.
In just a few years, Minnovare’s the Production Optimiser™ ents throughout the development process ensured we built the
has redefined drilling set up and execution in underground set- technology to meet each stakeholders’ needs, ensured it fitted Minnovare, along with a group
tings across the Australian mining industry. in with the mine’s current workflows and most importantly was of other local organisations, is
The Production Optimiser™ system combines hardware and simple and intuitive to use.” sponsoring the initiative to ensure
software to improve drilling efficiency and productivity in un- The results have been obvious. At Cracow, initial analysis
derground mines. Its patented Opti-Box technology calculates showed that in the previous alignment process only 20% of it can continue running. The
optimum boom dip and dump angles independent of on-board holes surveyed recorded toe points within the 300mm toler- sponsorships will help cover the run
inclinometer systems, reducing blast-hole deviation. ance blast-hole deviation. In contrast, the Production Opti- and maintenance costs of the van, the
A 2020 study conducted by Minnovare of down-hole surveys miser™ was proven to limit rig alignment error, reducing aver- partial wages of the volunteers, and
across 17 underground mines showed average deviation of age blast-hole deviation and increasing the number of holes the food and water supplies.
more than 5.8%. drilled within tolerance by 160%.
“Blast hole deviation is one of the primary causes of poor stop- Cracow – now owned by Aeris – has continued to utilise the The van will be servicing the
ing outcomes,” Minnovare director Mick Beilby says. “When we Production Optimiser™ with the operational team estimating a community at the time of the annual
started our analysis of blast holes, we saw a clear trend of error massive improvement in ounces recovered thanks to the more Diggers and Dealers conference, held
happening before the drill bit hit the rock face, which was the accurate stoping outcomes.
result of poor set-up. We identified that this error was contrib- “Before the introduction of the Production Optimiser™, very in Kalgoorlie from the August 1-3. With
uting to around 60% of the resulting error at the toe” Beilby narrow stopes [less than 1.5m] would have been uneconomi- the van patrolling the same area, the
said. “If we could improve the accuracy of the set-up, we could cal to mine,” Cracow senior mining engineer Thao Nguyen conference presents an important
improve the overall stope performance.” says. “In 2018, the majority of stope designs were 2.5-3.5m, opportunity to raise awareness of
The results have been warmly welcomed across an under- now they are 1.5-2.5m. Cracow has been able to recover $59 the disadvantaged communities that
ground mining industry which is eager to rectify the inefficiency million worth of ounces that were at risk due to the narrow vein reside nearby.
problems associated with blast hole deviation. nature of the stopes.”
The Production Optimiser™ is already being used in more Those figures have since been repeated at operations owned To many families and individuals in
than 30% of long-hole stoping operations across Australia – by Evolution, Gold Fields and at Northern Star Resources Ltd’s the area who are struggling to make
major clients include Northern Star Resources Ltd, Evolution Kalgoorlie operation where additional stoping efficiencies led
Mining Ltd and Aeris Resources Ltd – but the push to lower to 8,300oz being recovered in just one mine. ends meet, a cup of soup and a
mining costs in the underground environment means further The Production Optimiser™ technology can be retrofitted to packet of bread is warmly welcomed
take-up is likely. any underground production drill rig, regardless of age or style. when there are no other nutritious
Initial development trials were conducted in partnership with Crucially, it removes operator error, reliance on survey mark-up food services available. As part of
Evolution (at the Cracow gold mine in Queensland) and Gold and existing onboard systems from the set-up process. an ongoing commitment to its ESG
Fields Ltd (Granny Smith, in Western Australia) to refine the The Production Optimiser™ does exactly that. It is not reli- programme, Minnovare looks forward
technology for underground production scenarios. ant on survey, operators or existing onboard systems and is
“The approach we took when developing the technology has proven to reduce errors at set-up by 50-70%. For Beilby, it is Minnovare’s Production Optimiser™ is already being deployed to supporting the local Goldfields
also been a factor,” Beilby says. “Engaging with multiple cli- proof that deviation can be contained by improved set-up. in around 30% of long-hole stoping operations in Australia community as a sponsor of the soup
van initiative.
Mick Beilby “This was quite a contrarian view to what many in the industry driller and rig performance to be analysed. The system has will enable us to deliver our industry leading technology and
believed when we started to develop the technology,” he says. been well received by Production Optimiser™ clients with downstream benefits to mining companies across the world,”
“The assumption was that the majority of deviation occurred around 125,000m per month logged via Minnovare CORE and he says. “As part of Hexagon, Minnovare continues our focus
during the drilling process. We now have data which shows this 7 million total metres logged by Production Optimiser™ cli- on delivering value to our clients through the successful imple-
trend is clear and apparent all over the world. ents to date. mentation of our technologies, combined with ongoing service
“The results our customers have achieved post implementing The successful introduction of the Production Optimiser™ and support throughout the life of the contract. Being part of a
the Production Optimiser™ have shown a material reduction has not precluded Minnovare from continuing to refine the larger organisation also provides Minnovare with access to the
in blast hole deviation while also improving drilling consistency, technology. additional resources required to continue our current growth
leading to better blasting outcomes and reduced dilution, im- “We continue to invest significantly in R&D to provide custom- rate while maintaining the same quality, value and support for
proved recovery and better ore fragmentation.” ers with improvements in functionality and reliability and our our customers into the future.”
Analysis has also been made easier through the use of Min- business model means that both new and existing clients get
novare’s Client Online Reporting Engine (Minnovare CORE). the benefits from these improvements,” Beilby says.
Minnovare CORE is a proprietary software platform that inte- With Minnovare recently becoming part of the larger Hexagon
grates the company’s technology systems with third-party soft- Group, Beilby expects the Production Optimiser™ to expand
ware providers (as an example drill and blast design software) into international markets.
serving as a data hub for clients’ entire drilling operations. The lished global channels and an engaged customer base, which minnovare.com
“Being part of Hexagon has provided Minnovare with estab-
system includes reporting and analytics functionality, allowing
Providing rental equipment to the
mining, drilling, exploration and
civil engineering industries.
“For all the costs associated with drilling, I tell you what is really ex- cess to drill-hole performance.
pensive; drilling a hole in the wrong direction,” Ayris says. “It starts with the geologist who designs the programme,” Gillies
He should know. Since starting Downhole Surveys (DHS) in 1989, says. “The programme is uploaded to the DeviCloud. Drillers can
Ayris has been at the forefront of gyro surveying, watching the pro- then access it but so can DHS. That remote technical support capa-
Given cost pressures cess move from expensive nice-to-have to essential part of the drill- bility allows Mike and the team to look at it every day and identify
continue to bite across ing process. issues early. Previously, it was reliant on drillers calling us but now we
exploration, companies “We provide the instruments to ensure that you start a hole in the look at data and anticipate problems. Tech support may even notice
are increasingly insistent right direction and then monitor it all the way through to depth.” issues where the driller doesn’t.”
on getting the most from That transformation has been enabled by technological advances Ayris said the system enhanced the speed of surveying.
which allow for quicker and more accurate diamond drilling. DHS has
“This is our bread-and-butter, resolving problems we might see in
every hole. For Downhole kept pace with this rapid rate of change. In 2018, the company part- the cloud, so we can rectify the programme quickly,” he said. “It be-
Surveys senior technical nered with Norwegian directional drilling comes real-time tech support and that will
adviser Mike Ayris, group Devico to develop the DeviGyro only improve as more underground op-
that means one thing – brand A miniature gyro sensor with differ- erations get Wifi. That will allow us to take
precision. ent configurations to suit a range of sur- our support to the next level. Quite often
vey applications. there is a huge amount of time wasted
“Technology has enabled this,” Ayris calling and waiting, with wifi it becomes
explains. “Sensors are getting smaller smoother and quicker and will be really
and cheaper which allows surveying to powerful when geologists can change the
become quicker and more inobtrusive. set-up based on the existing deviation.”
We can survey every 30m and it takes For Gillies, the development of its soft-
no longer than it does to pull the core. It ware capability enables DHS to react to
means drillers are surveying more with- clients’ needs quickly and effectively.
out it costing the client.” “This is the beauty of software, you can
Not only are they cheaper, but the sim- make massive changes by improving the
plicity of the DeviGyro and associated software and adding features,” she says.
Devicloud platform means they are easer “It is often about us developing and show-
to use. ing clients what the equipment is capable
“DHS has always been about putting intu- of but our development is based on the
itive technology directly into the hands of feedback we have received from them.
operators,” DHS general manager Megan We are continually seeing what clients do
Gillies says. “Where traditionally a lot of training was required to be with data and what they need from it. This is not a finished product,
able to conduct accurate surveying, our systems are now about as we continue to develop and enhance it.”
simple as running an iPhone. The drillers operate all of the tools via While gyros are extensively used in exploration drilling, there hasn’t
a handheld PDA, and the feedback is that they are very easy to use, been the same uptake in production scenarios but Ayris sees evi-
smart, reliable and robust. dence of this changing.
The key is in the software, it really unlocks all the potential in the tool “With the technological advances, there is a strong trend towards
and enables the drillers to conduct surveys quickly and easily.” surveying blast holes,” he says. “You might wonder why you would
The technological advances provide a wealth of information drillers survey a blast hole when it is only 25m but it is around the space
and geologists can access from the gyro. between the blast holes. If two holes are both deviating 2-3m, the
“We have got more data than ever before,” Ayris says. “The survey blasting result could be problematic. Surveying allows for more ac-
tool is recording 10 shots a second, where it used to take two min- curacy and therefore greater productivity.”
utes to set up a shot. We are taking a survey every 30m and each
survey repeats from 0m. The data builds up and we average it out to
validate the information.”
downhole.com.au When combined with the cloud-based DeviCloud platform, the
wealth of data gives drillers and exploration teams near-instant ac-
PAGE 60 JULY 2022 AUSTRALIA’S PAYDIRT AUSTRALIA’S PAYDIRT JULY 2022 PAGE 61
Providing rental equipment to the
mining, drilling, exploration and
civil engineering industries.
“For all the costs associated with drilling, I tell you what is really ex- cess to drill-hole performance.
pensive; drilling a hole in the wrong direction,” Ayris says. “It starts with the geologist who designs the programme,” Gillies
He should know. Since starting Downhole Surveys (DHS) in 1989, says. “The programme is uploaded to the DeviCloud. Drillers can
Ayris has been at the forefront of gyro surveying, watching the pro- then access it but so can DHS. That remote technical support capa-
Given cost pressures cess move from expensive nice-to-have to essential part of the drill- bility allows Mike and the team to look at it every day and identify
continue to bite across ing process. issues early. Previously, it was reliant on drillers calling us but now we
exploration, companies “We provide the instruments to ensure that you start a hole in the look at data and anticipate problems. Tech support may even notice
are increasingly insistent right direction and then monitor it all the way through to depth.” issues where the driller doesn’t.”
on getting the most from That transformation has been enabled by technological advances Ayris said the system enhanced the speed of surveying.
which allow for quicker and more accurate diamond drilling. DHS has
“This is our bread-and-butter, resolving problems we might see in
every hole. For Downhole kept pace with this rapid rate of change. In 2018, the company part- the cloud, so we can rectify the programme quickly,” he said. “It be-
Surveys senior technical nered with Norwegian directional drilling comes real-time tech support and that will
adviser Mike Ayris, group Devico to develop the DeviGyro only improve as more underground op-
that means one thing – brand A miniature gyro sensor with differ- erations get Wifi. That will allow us to take
precision. ent configurations to suit a range of sur- our support to the next level. Quite often
vey applications. there is a huge amount of time wasted
“Technology has enabled this,” Ayris calling and waiting, with wifi it becomes
explains. “Sensors are getting smaller smoother and quicker and will be really
and cheaper which allows surveying to powerful when geologists can change the
become quicker and more inobtrusive. set-up based on the existing deviation.”
We can survey every 30m and it takes For Gillies, the development of its soft-
no longer than it does to pull the core. It ware capability enables DHS to react to
means drillers are surveying more with- clients’ needs quickly and effectively.
out it costing the client.” “This is the beauty of software, you can
Not only are they cheaper, but the sim- make massive changes by improving the
plicity of the DeviGyro and associated software and adding features,” she says.
Devicloud platform means they are easer “It is often about us developing and show-
to use. ing clients what the equipment is capable
“DHS has always been about putting intu- of but our development is based on the
itive technology directly into the hands of feedback we have received from them.
operators,” DHS general manager Megan We are continually seeing what clients do
Gillies says. “Where traditionally a lot of training was required to be with data and what they need from it. This is not a finished product,
able to conduct accurate surveying, our systems are now about as we continue to develop and enhance it.”
simple as running an iPhone. The drillers operate all of the tools via While gyros are extensively used in exploration drilling, there hasn’t
a handheld PDA, and the feedback is that they are very easy to use, been the same uptake in production scenarios but Ayris sees evi-
smart, reliable and robust. dence of this changing.
The key is in the software, it really unlocks all the potential in the tool “With the technological advances, there is a strong trend towards
and enables the drillers to conduct surveys quickly and easily.” surveying blast holes,” he says. “You might wonder why you would
The technological advances provide a wealth of information drillers survey a blast hole when it is only 25m but it is around the space
and geologists can access from the gyro. between the blast holes. If two holes are both deviating 2-3m, the
“We have got more data than ever before,” Ayris says. “The survey blasting result could be problematic. Surveying allows for more ac-
tool is recording 10 shots a second, where it used to take two min- curacy and therefore greater productivity.”
utes to set up a shot. We are taking a survey every 30m and each
survey repeats from 0m. The data builds up and we average it out to
validate the information.”
downhole.com.au When combined with the cloud-based DeviCloud platform, the
wealth of data gives drillers and exploration teams near-instant ac-
PAGE 60 JULY 2022 AUSTRALIA’S PAYDIRT AUSTRALIA’S PAYDIRT JULY 2022 PAGE 61
www.orexplore.com
Innovation is a hot topic across all facets of
mineral exploration as companies seek to
streamline processes and enhance efficiencies,
but practical solutions are few and far between.
Enter Australian-Swedish technology company
Orexplore Technologies, who believes they have
a solution effective across the entire spectrum.
While most exploration innovations are focused on the chemical assay proprietary software platform, Insight®, produces a 3D visualisation of the drill
component of the exploration process, Orexplore’s GeoCore X10® digital core core’s interior, allowing geology teams to look around and through the sample
analysis technology is being adapted to provide solutions to explorers, develop- almost immediately.
ers and miners. Suitable throughout the discovery cycle, from decision support Extracted data can be accessed in minutes and easily shared through the
to project techno-economics, orebody characterisation, sorting, and sample Orexplore Insight® software platform while also allowing the export of lithology,
optimisation, the GeoCore X10® solution is fast, sustainable and perhaps the RQD and elemental data, planar and linear geological structures and density to
biggest drawcard, mobile. preferred geo-modelling software.
A rock mass scanning technology using XRF and CT scanning technology to “Users are transporting information, not core,” Giroud says.
extract structure, density, chemical and mineralogy data, the GeoCore X10®
provides a digital “through the rock” image of drill core samples, with results With units deployed in-field, including a recently delivered commercial project for
available on site and within 15 minutes of extraction, opening a world of pos- Wiluna Mining Corporation Ltd on its namesake gold operation in Western Austral-
sibilities for geology teams. ia, Orexplore’s custom-made sea containers take mobile scanning and portability
to the next level. In a matter of days, clients can have an on-site scanning lab, with
“Our technology fits perfectly with the increasing demand from industry for the self-sufficient containers able to be deployed anywhere, globally.
fast, in-field information from drilling that’s fit-for-purpose and highly targeted
towards improving the speed and quality of exploration decision-making,” “The deployment at Wiluna in conjunction with their exploration drilling further
Orexplore managing director Brett Giroud explains. supports Orexplore’s strategy and vision, and we are enjoying delivering new value
with innovative companies such as Wiluna who seek to transform the exploration
While it has ambitions to cover the entire exploration process, Orexplore’s primary space through technology adoption,” Giroud said in announcing the partnership.
focus at present is providing information at the beginning of the drilling process.
Under the agreement, Orexplore placed a containerised unit housing multiple
“There is a huge time component in almost every step of the exploration process, GeoCore X10® units and the associated Orexplore Insight analysis software, with
and not all of them are assay related,” Giroud says. “In some instances, you need an accompanying scanning technician to operate the unit and integrate it into the
the complete JORC-compliant assay, but there is other data which, if delivered mine’s workflows.
quickly, can significantly affect decision-making
timelines. Seeing the application of the technology in the
field really illustrates the value potential and news
“Allowing geologists to immediately access data on travels fast in this industry.
orebody characteristics such as structure, altera-
tion, density, and mineralogy means they can make Orexplore will operate the units on a lease basis, a
informed decisions while the drill rigs are still in the model ideally suited to the campaign-based systems
field. The GeoCoreX10® provides data that can be of explorers.
instantly accessed by exploration teams anywhere “The fridges can support some field based decision
in the world, bypassing the need for timely uploading processes that have historically only relied on long-lead
and logging. assay processes. If there is information on structure,
“Not only are you receiving data immediately, but the lithology and alteration available straight away this can Drill for
GeoCore X10® also gives users a 3D representa- speed up workflows.”
tion through the core, allowing geologists to examine While 3D imaging of the drill core is the immediate
internal structures and texture in depth. priority, Orexplore also has its eyes on other aspects of
“It has the potential to be transformational for the exploration sector.” the exploration process.
The concept behind the GeoCoreX10®’s functionality has been in development Giroud’s background in delivering disruptive technology projects for Tier-1 miners
since the 1980s when geotechnical engineer Anders Ullberg –who was developing gives him and Orexplore an intimate knowledge of the global megatrends to which information.
new methods for scanning minerals in rock – met professor of radiology Ragnar the industry needs a solution.
Kullenberg – who was researching the use of X-ray fluorescence to measure bone “We are mapping our market entry strategy to address the industry pain points.
minerals in the human body. Our technology is capable of so much more; we’re just getting started,” Giroud
After significant focus and development in the world-renowned Swedish innova- says. “From exploration decision support, operational assay efficiency optimisa-
tion sector, Kent Swick of powerhouse drilling company Swick Mining Services tion and ore sorting, through to potential grade control applications, we are well- Digital geology at your fingertips.
backed the developers and brought the technology to Australia for further develop- positioned to create added benefits to our customers.”
ment. To achieve those aims, Orexplore is continuing to advance the GeoCore X10®’s
The result? The GeoCore X10® – affectionately known as a “fridge” by the team capabilities with a focus on everything from project studies to grade control, ore
at Orexplore. A portable, easily deployed scanning unit, ready for use as the core is sorting and crushing and recoveries.
brought to the surface. Capable of scanning and analysing up to four 1-metre core “We will continue advancing the units with new sensing technology all the time,”
samples per hour, at the touch of a single push-button, the GeoCore X10® brings Giroud says. “And, over time, we will use the information we receive from industry
form and functionality – offering digital geology at the users’ fingertips. and start producing ‘self-driving’ units which will allow the geologists more time
Offering a combination of CT and XRF scanners to test for detected elements, for high-level thinking.”
emerging mineralogy, geological structure, texture, and density, Orexplore’s
Fast . Mobile . Sustainable